I went to the range.  Came home to clean.  Removing the charging handle normallyl separates the bolt group from the rod assembly.  For some reason the rod and the bolt group will not separate with charging handle removed?  Anyone ran into this problem before?  Thanks in advance.

Didn't have any problems with my xi.  The charging handle holds the op rod to the bolt carrier.  Have you tried removing the gas plug and agitating the piston head to see if that loosens the rear of the op rod?

yeah it will move in the gas tube some...  I can't figure out what could still hold it together?  Could any type of build up be sticky enough to glue it together?

Did you clean or disassemble it before you shot it?  Even if you didn't, I can't imagine that any grease that SIG used would have hardened enough during firing to weld the carrier and op rod together.  Did you try pushing on the front of the op rod with a wooden rod or something?  Maybe if you push it back and let it spring forward under the force of the spring, that will break it loose.  If that doesn't work, you may have to call SIG.

With the charging handle removed and the upper/lower separated, use a plastic or rubber mallet to gently tap the rear of the receiver while holding the barreled receiver pointed vertically. Be careful to hold your upper over a large towel to give a soft landing place should the bolt group hit the deck.

Update.  Sorry I work 16 hours on Sat and Sun.  So I was able to agitate the op rod to have it come free of the bolt group.  I attempted to insert the op rod back into the bolt housing... outside of the rifle.  It will only slide in about half way.  It appears to be able to be manipulated in, but I don't want to naturally have it move in and out.   Ill post a video.  Its been lubed and neither parts appear to be damaged.  Both parts seem to be pretty solid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNLYbMxN9Q8&feature=youtu.be

Think you need to send it back to SIG.  Did you look inside the top of the carrier to see what it's hitting on?  The hole in the carrier for the op rod may not have been drilled out properly.

My email conversation with Sig.  Do you agree?  I copied and pasted then deleted names and personal information.  The conversation starts bottom to top.



Sig Rep:  The one I have here in the office is also a tight fit. It is meant to be that way. The armorer does not feel that it will cause any malfunctions in your gun during operation.




Me:   Its not the charging handle that's the problem.  The op rod no longer fits into the bolt group all the way.  It's lubed and can be "worked" in and out, but it no longer freely slides when you take the charging handle out.





Sig Rep: You will need to depress the lever on the right of the bolt to both insert the op-rod fully and then insert the charging handle. The charging handle is a tight fit and may need a slight wiggle to get it back into place. It will occur much easier if the charging handle is inserted while the bolt is in the gun.





Me:  I was able to agitate the bolt group from the op rod.  They previously have been able to separate with ease.  Now the op rod and the bolt group do not seem to slide back together anymore.  I actually have video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNLYbMxN9Q8






Sig Rep;  Would you be able to snap a photo of the serial number. The one below does not appear complete. The serial numbers usually begin with letters.






Me: Mr. --------

I took my 556xi to the range today.  I had a slight problem with the bolt seeming to be "difficult" to operate.  When I got home to clean it, the OP rod and the bolt group were stuck together.  Neither OP rod nor the bolt group could be removed to clean.  I was unable to reinsert the charging handle.   This is my first Sig product and it has been a very frustrating experience.



Thanks

we need good pics on the inside of the bolt and the end of the op rod to figure out what's causing the problem (excessively tight tolerance, debris, etc...).  It may just be gunked up although I find that unlikely.

The SIG rep obviously doesn't understand the problem.  All the bolt lever does is lock the charging handle in to keep it from sliding out.  You absolutely don't have to mess with it just to insert the rear of the op rod in the carrier.  It is easier to line up the op rod and carrier in the gun, but it should slide in and out even outside of the gun.  The only thing you need to make sure is that the underside notch in the op rod is more or less level (i.e. The op rod isn't rotated to the side).  

Mine slides in and out easily.  The only problem I have is when inserting the charging handle in from the left side, I have to push the op rod back slightly because the op rod notch is slightly out of alignment with the notch in the carrier.  This isn't a problem when inserting the CH from the right since the end of the CH has an angled corner that pushes the op rod back into alignment as you push it in.  When inserting from the left side, it has a square corner, so it hangs up on the op rod notch until I push the op rod back from the front.