Well. I got the top cap and went to install it. I had a lot of trouble getting the old one off. It literally took me half an hour.
They can be very tight. I took mine off my V3 and it took me maybe 20 min.
So I got it off and soldered the new one on and then when I went to set it back into the tube I couldn't get it in. I spent another 30 m trying to get it in. It isn't going to go back in and at some point I broke the wire on the PCB. It's fixable, but I'm considering giving up on Fasttech and ordering a new APV from a domestic supplier.
Now I really need one.
Very sorry to hear your troubles. Vicflo who did this mentioned it's tough to get in, but doable. Maybe putting something on the cap's rim would have helped? (little WD40 for example?). Also cleaning both rims with chrome cleaner or the like so they're slidey.
As for ordering stateside, all Vamos come from manufacturers located in China. From what I understand there are at least two manuf that make Vamos, which accounts for some of the variations within the same models. Like most V3s no longer have the MEAN/RMS switch, but some do. Some V5s have the option to switch between RMS/MEAN, some don't. These might come from different plants.
Some Vamos also seem to have more problems than others, such as buttons not working for very long. It was speculated that one of the manuf's might turn out shoddier product than the other(s), and that generally speaking Vamos from FT seem to have fewer problems. (I know that's all vague and conjecture and not a hard fast 'truth' by any means... just a general observation that may or may not be correct.)
All to say... go with your gut but FT is generally respected for providing good gear and standing behind it.
And FTR while I didn't need to resort to this, when I was reading about people putting tops on their Vamos I saw that some people wrapped the Vamo to protect the finish, and used a vice to slowly and carefully press-fit the top on. I don't know if they set the vamo's 510 connector in the vice (protected by leather or the like) or if they just put the edge of the rim in and then rotated the Vamo as needed to press it in evenly all the way around.
I screwed one of the batt tubes on top, then screwed another batt tube on the bottom and put the bottom cap on that so I could press on it, aligned the top and then turned the Vamo unspide down and pushed the top of the Vamo down into the carpet... and pressed it on that way. It didn't go down all the way but left a tiny bit of space which I want to leave in case I want to take it off again...
Good luck.
