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Posted: 11/9/2010 4:54:48 AM EDT
So, I just bought an FAL off of a guy on the EE. Apparently the gas system hadn't been cleaned in years as when I took off the gas shutoff valve there wasn't enough pressure in the spring to bring the piston forward. By poking and prodding I managed to get the piston out, but the spring remained firmly down in the tube. So, I decided to try and take apart the gas tube to get to the spring. When I took off the handguards I found that there is not a full length gas tube!  All the schematics I have found online and the youtube dissassembly videos I was watching show a full length tube. Basically on the rifle I have there is a 2-3 inch gap between the upper reciever where the rear of the spring/piston goes and the gas tube up near the front of the gas system. Has anyone ever heard of this before? I don't have a camera so the best I can do is this:
This is what the front/barrel looks like and in the upper reciever there is a corresponding tube into the bolt area of the upper reciever with the spring and piston hanging in space between the two. If this (as I suspect) is not good, how much $ have I been screwed out of, and how hard is it to replace the gas tube? |
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Perfectly normal, as there are four lengths of gas tubes:
Mod A 266.2 mm long Mod B 254.2mm Mod C 237.2mm Mod D 232.2mm The "short " tubes are fine as long as they are used with the correct length bushing in the receiver. Your receiver should have a Mod C bushing, which if I recall, is approx. 15/8" long from the face of the receiver. The short tubes were made with the intent to allow the barrel to be removed without disturbing the gas block or tube. |
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The short gas tube is great. The forward end of the tube is soldered in place and will not ever leak.
Just turn the selector so it points straight up. I should slide right out. The selector hole on the left side of the lower receiver has a small cut "keyhole"at the 12:00 position. There is a corresponding key on the selector that all you need to do is line up with the hole. Assembly is the reverse. Put the new selector in the hole pointed stright up and slide in. Then rotate the selector back into the safe or fire position. Check the inside of the receiver. I did have a South African kit several years ago that had a cotter pin through the selector shaft that prevented it from coming out. I believe there is a FAL manual here in the Library or you can got to biggerhammer.com and download one. |
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How hard is it to replace the short tube for a long one?
It's not hard, but it is intimidating. My SA58 came with a short tube. Since I wanted to use Israeli handguards I needed the long tube to cover up the spring. First I removed the handguards, front sight, gas adjuster and associated springs. Then I used a map-gas torch to heat things up until I could unscrew the short tube, things had a nice glow. Once the tube was out I had to heat it again to get the rest of the silver solder to let got and get the threads cleaned out. Don't forget to order a gas tube retaining pin if you plan to do this. |
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