I pulled everything apart on my new Raven to do a lube tune on her and wanted to share my findings. My expectations weren't very high when I purchased this gun and I'm glad it wasn't. Here's a couple of key areas I'm not too thrilled about:

Barrel Hinge - First off, the barrel hinge is secured in place by a roll pin and not a hinge bolt. The hinge area is all plastic, there's no thrust washers.

Spring Guide - The guide is plastic and feels pretty cheap. It fits in the spring very snug which is nice, but the spring gouged it pretty good just getting it off. If it were a better quality plastic/material I doubt it would gouge up so easily. I may have one one machined out of delrin later on down the line.

Trigger Group - The trigger is plastic and the housing is plastic. I'm not sure how long this will hold up. I already polished up some of the trigger engagement areas and it's a bit smoother but my main concern is the housing, which also holds a small nut at the bottom rear for the rear stock screw. Not only that but the plastic trigger housing is what holds all the guts in place and is secured by a little 1/8" diameter cross pin.

I was going to do a little custom barrel hinge work on her, but I guess that's out of the question for now. The roll pin seems to hold that end together pretty nice and tight, but it's still too early to know for sure. After a complete debur and lube tune, I'm planning on adding a washer over the piston guide in front of the spring. I also have a bunch of buttons coming in from JM - this one will need buttoning as there's quite a bit of slop in the piston/tube fit.

I was thinking about the rear guide, which rests against top of the trigger housing. Since it's plastic on plastic I'm not too sure whether I should add a washer/bearing or just leave it as is. Suggestions?

Here's a couple of photos. In the first photo, the longer spring/piston is from a G1 for comparison. I'll be heading to the hardware store in a few to try to find some washers and other parts...

This is what the stock piston seal looks like after only 5 shots. A new seal and some buttons are now definitely in the works here...

YES put a washer between the plastic.

yup, that seal looks like:moon:

By the looks of that trigger housing, I don't think it would handle a tougher spring without letting go sooner or later. Looks like Crosman might have a lawsuit on their hands if they get any cheaper with their design. You could probably thread that roll pin hole and add a shoulder type bolt to the breech if it starts to loosen up on you. I would definitely scrap those plastic washers for some brass ones too. Sorry to knock your rifle. I just can't believe that the trigger housing is plastic. Does it shoot/cycle well?

Yeah I feel the same way Ralph; especially about the plastic housing. Those aren't washers - they're part of the barrel hinge (raised areas) which doesn't give me much to work with unless I decided to start cutting into the plastic. Threading the roll pin hole through the plastic housing sounds like a good idea. It shoots/cycles normally, but I only shot 5 rounds before pulling her apart. I'll take it as far as I could and see just how long she lasts after a tune.