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Posted: 9/5/2002 8:08:36 PM EDT
| The extractor does not pull out the spent case and a live round is fed into the back of the old one. When I clear the live round out and close the bolt, it comes out with no problems. It just seems that the spring is weak. Where can I pick up a heavy duty extractor spring and a new extractor. Most importantly is the heavy duty spring, I can find new extractors anywhere. I remember there was also a fix with small fuel tubing from a hobby shop, but I cant remember what it was. I've had this gun for a long time without ever having problems. Now it jams every other round. Thanks for the help. |
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Sounds like either you changed ammo, or the chamber neck end is fouled and causing over pressure. It may be time for a good chamber scrubbing if you haven't changed ammo. Bypass the cleaning kit brush and use a slightly oversized solvent mop(30 cal) with a cleaner such as bore bright. Soak the bore, then spin the mop using a drill to polish and scrub the chamber. You will be surprised on the amount of fouling that is left in the chamber neck end. Also, if you have been shooting in dusty areas, The dust can collect on the ammo casings and cause some chamber scratching. The polishing will resolve this problem at the same time. As for the extractor and spring, start with the cleaning and see if it does the trick. The idea of changing out to a heaver spring may be a band-aid if the rifle ran in the past. Granted that some people have used them in CAR rifle due to the gas pulse being too quick, but this doesn't sound like the problem your having with the rifle. The tubing method is just a trick to add pressure to the spring(like a D-fender) and is added to the outside of the spring. If the extractor lip is worn, or the stock spring is collapsed, then maybe a replacement is needed and can be bought from any supplier such as DPMS, Bushmaster, JT supplies or such. http://www.dpmsinc.com/ http://www.bushmaster.com/ http://www.jtdistributing.com/ Hope this helps. |
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While I would certainly support the notion of a good cleaning, I wouldn't be so ready to pooh pooh the heavier extractor spring. after 15 years of flawlwss operation my CAR15 started doing the same thing a few years back. I cleaned it to the point of even replacing the gas tube with a new one. No help. Hung the gun up for 4 or 5 years, til I read about the extractor spring thing on this web site last year. Got the springs from Wolff Gunsprings; installed and now have perfect operation again. Heck, they're cheap enough. Sure, try the cleaning first, but I suspect that your piece, like mine, needs a new spring, and you can get the heavy duty jobs from Wolff cheaper than Colt will sell you a standard one. 
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Shamayim, you are corrct that just a cleaning will not fix a mechanical deficiency. But the point we are trying to get across is that a heavier spring is not NECESARY, as opposed to a standard spring accompanied by proper maintenance. Too many AR owners get the [incorrect] notion that you need anything other than milspec parts to have a perfectly reliable AR15. Aftermarket parts are too often, as Dano put it, 'band-aids' for a poorly maintained/manufactured AR. |
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I clean it after every time I go out shooting. I polished the bore with a case and polish about a year ago after I had replaced the upper and barrel to an A2 configuration(was an SP1). I have shot Wolf ammo in the past which may have caused some wear on the extractor. I stopped using it after a case got stuck from the lacquer and ended my day very early at the range. The polishing I mentioned earlier was to ensure that I got all of the laquer out which I'm sure I did. I haven't had any problems since then and I've shot it a number of times since then with no problems until now. I have been using q3131a since abandoning the Wolf ammo. Anyway, I had some small silicone tubing here and cut a piece about 3mm and put it in without any spring and headed off to the range the next day. It works like new again. I shot off 320 rounds with 0 jams. I'm going to order in a new extractor and a spring spring from Wolfe gunsprings to keep with me in case of more failures. But in the meantime I'm going to keep the piece of tubing in to see how long it lasts. Thanks for all the replies. |
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Some things in your post to point out. Use the tubing around the spring, not in replace of the spring. Lacquer will only clean off with acetone, barrel solvents will not break it down. Polishing/cleaning with a fired case leaves the chamber end lip untouched. Most cases do not extend to the end of the chamber, and will not clean the fouling that builds up at chamber end lip.This is why you use a mop to clean, it will extend to the end of the chamber. |
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