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Posted: 11/3/2004 2:27:06 PM EDT
| I have a AR15 that suddenly wont feed consistantly. It is not stripping a new cartridge every few shots. The bolt does close on the empty chamber. This occured with several ammo brands, and several mags. The gun is clean. Could it be a dirty gas tube ( I have not cleaned the gas tube and dont know how)? Could I have 3 mags that suddenly have weak springs?? Thanks for your thoughts. |
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Check to make sure that all your parts are tight first. Unless you've been putting things into your gas tube, it's really VERY rare that they clog. The nature of the hot gas going down it limits the build up of carbon, much as it is limited by design in the bolt carrier. Have you had your handguards off recently and maybe bumped, bent, or otherwise damaged your gas tube? Many people "clean" their gas tubes by spraying or dripping a carbon cutting cleaning fluid down it from inside the upper, or they just shoot gun scrubber or brake cleaner down it. Often times they will follow it up with extra long pipe cleaners shoved down the hole. Almost every manufacturer of ARs recommends, or at least did, that you NOT do this, as it's unnecessary and often times leads to problems of shed material from the pipe cleaners CAUSING a blockage (or getting stuck). I've seen both. I "clean" mine by inserting a fully loaded magazine, closing the bolt, pulling the trigger, and repeating until empty. YMMV. Also, I would try inserting an empty magazine and single feeding a few rounds. If the bolt comes back and locks open with each round (as it should) and you don't have any loose parts or damaged parts, I would expect that the springs in your mags have gone south. As a diagnostic, you can take one spring out, and stretch the center 3 coils A LITTLE BIT, and reassemble the mag. If it works ok, it'll get you through until the new springs that you're about to order get to your door. Tom 
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Not unless you've done something to clog the gas tube previously, like stick something in it while trying to clean it, or gotten something like mud or clay clogged in the end of the barrel once and blocked the gas port there - but you would have mentioned that. Let's take this in steps. * Can you borrow someone else's magazines to see if the same problem occurs with their mags? * How long have you had the 3 mags that failed? * Are they your only mags? * Are they USGI magazines, British surplus, or some other brand? * When was the last time you cleaned your magazines? |
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I wouldn't recommend red loctite for the carrier key screws. Both threaded holes go through the top of the carrier into the firing pin / bolt bore "area" If you put too much loctite you can gum up the area. Staking in 2-3 points on the screws is plenty. The bolt carrier assembly gets plenty hot enough to make the red loctite pretty much useless. Just my .02 John |
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