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Posted: 6/20/2009 4:47:14 PM EDT
And the drive rod broke after firing 20 rounds of 55 gr. fmj. And before someone ask, it wasn't Wolf or Brown bear ammo. Needless to say I was a little pissed and I couldn't believe that it broke after firing just 20 rounds. The rod broke clean off where it tapers down to its thinnest point under the bushing & spring. I had the piston set at the 12 O'clock position and it was running just fine until the rod broke. I would post some pics but I'm not that talented when it comes to posting pics.. The upper I put it on is my factory Armalite 16" M4 style upper that ran 100% prior to this incident.
I discovered the problem when I fired the last round out of a 20 round mag and I looked into the chamber area to make sure the weapon was clear only to discover a 4" piece of steel rod handing from the top of the bolt. 
I'm done. Just wanted to rant because I'm still a little PO. |
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Why did you change it from DI? I have a can and I read that the bolt stays cleaner with the piston system. I put 2 30 round mags thru my rifle with the can on it and it's so gummed up it hardly runs so that's why I thought I would give it a try. I know I know, now it don't work at all .
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| Sucks to hear that. I have a AA piston setup and have about 1200 rounds through it without any problems. Call AA, they will take care of you. Their customer service is top notch. With my limited knowledge, the only way I can picture this happening is through a bad install (no offense intended). |
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Sucks to hear that. I have a AA piston setup and have about 1200 rounds through it without any problems. Call AA, they will take care of you. Their customer service is top notch. With my limited knowledge, the only way I can picture this happening is through a bad install (no offense intended). I plan on giving them a call on Monday about it, and I didn't install it. I bought it from a dealer that sells them and installs them and he installed it for me. |
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Sucks to hear that. I have a AA piston setup and have about 1200 rounds through it without any problems. Call AA, they will take care of you. Their customer service is top notch. With my limited knowledge, the only way I can picture this happening is through a bad install (no offense intended). I plan on giving them a call on Monday about it, and I didn't install it. I bought it from a dealer that sells them and installs them and he installed it for me. I'd call him before I called Adams then. I'm sure he'd be interested to know this happened, and might be willing to take care of it himself (saving you a bit of hassle). |
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Several folks, including myself have had this happen. The operating rod will break very quickly if the gas block is installed to far back. It causes the bolt carrier to hammer the hell out of the whole system when it slams into battery. I was able to see evidence of the poor installation spacing on the components of my gas system so I am quite certain this was the problem. Other have said the same. After speaking with Jim I sent my upper to Adams to have the fix done. Since it returned I have had no issues. I am a bit perplexed as to how so many gun smiths are having problems installing this system spaced properly. It must be costing Adams a mint in repairs. I can see why many of the other piston companies do not allow third party installations.
Incidentally, Even with the broken piston my gun continued to function. The bushing on the opp rod is so tightly toleranced that it kept the broken opp rod in line with the rest of the system despite being broken in two pieces. |
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THe instructions are very clear about having a gap about a couple business cards thick so that their is this tiny bit of play in the rod. When I talked to Adams (before install) they said gunsmiths are their biggest problem, they don't read the instructions.
OP.... if you can hold the broken rod in place, does it appear there was any play if you hold the carrier fully forward into battery, would the rod have been able to wiggle a tiny tiny bit. If not, that was the problem... |
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THe instructions are very clear about having a gap about a couple business cards thick so that their is this tiny bit of play in the rod. When I talked to Adams (before install) they said gunsmiths are their biggest problem, they don't read the instructions. OP.... if you can hold the broken rod in place, does it appear there was any play if you hold the carrier fully forward into battery, would the rod have been able to wiggle a tiny tiny bit. If not, that was the problem... When I first read this thread, my first thought was there as too much of a gap between the end of the piston rod and where it makes contact with the (modded gas carrier key). When I installed mine, I made sure the gas block was as a close as it could be, without the piston rod making contact with the carrier key when the bolt was in battery. When I installed mine, I didn't read the instructions thoroughly, but my instincts told me the rod should be as close as possible to the carrier key,while not making contact with the carrier key when the bolt is in battery. I don't know this as a fact, but I felt the less travel the operating rod had between it and the carrier key (with the bolt in battery, the better. You want he operating rod to push the bolt, not slam it. Call Jim at AA, he'll be happy to help trouble shoot and offer suggestions. First I would call the installer and inform him of the situation. My guess is, the gas block is too far toward the muzzle end allowing the piston rod to strike, rather than push the BCG. Again, call AA and let them help diagnose and offer suggestions. They have top notch CS and want to know when anyone is having trouble. I considered using a gunsmith for my installation, but knew they had less knowledge of the system (because of my research) than I did. As I consider the AA piston system new and and under testing, I always do a rapid fire (as fast as I can) mag dump after each range trip for stress testing; I've had zero issues. For your benefit and the benefit of AA and Users, I'm going to link this thread under their industy forum This is what mine looks like after 1200 rounds ( forgive the less than professional pics). I hope my point gets through: This is a close up of the carrier key: 
close up the the rod tip (which makes contact with the carrier key): 
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Well it is quit obvious that their an issue with the system on this specific rifle.
As most of our customers know and by reading their statements here now everyone else knows. We will resolve your issues and make things right. We know this is an opportunity to build a great reputation its not a stain on it. As several of our happy customers here have said if the system is not installed properly it can have issues. (like all product) Call us on Monday and we will get your rifle up and running better then any other rifle on the face of the planet. Thanks Jim |
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Well it is quit obvious that their an issue with the system on this specific rifle. As most of our customers know and by reading their statements here now everyone else knows. We will resolve your issues and make things right. We know this is an opportunity to build a great reputation its not a stain on it. As several of our happy customers here have said if the system is not installed properly it can have issues. (like all product) Call us on Monday and we will get your rifle up and running better then any other rifle on the face of the planet. Thanks Jim WOW! My next piston wil be an AA. -tree |
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Well it is quit obvious that their an issue with the system on this specific rifle. As most of our customers know and by reading their statements here now everyone else knows. We will resolve your issues and make things right. We know this is an opportunity to build a great reputation its not a stain on it. As several of our happy customers here have said if the system is not installed properly it can have issues. (like all product) Call us on Monday and we will get your rifle up and running better then any other rifle on the face of the planet. Thanks Jim Wow, no interest in piston system for me but kudos on the customer service. |
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