I recently bought a used Colt complete upper here on the EE.

Upon disassembly and inspection I noted that the bolt had some severely uneven gas ring wear. All three rings were worn into an eccentric shape in relation to the center of the gas ring. All of the openings on all three of the rings were badly worn to needle sharp points. The gaps on a new ring measure approximately 3/64". These rings had ring gaps of approximately 14/64". I mean the gap is huge. I initially thought upon inspection that the rings were broken. Nope, just worn out. I would be very surprised if this upper ran at all. Maybe that's why I got it so cheap?

The bolt appears to be fine with no unusual wear. Same with the carrier, firing pin, cam and key. The upper shows no unusual wear and the gase tube is fine. The bolt headspaces fine and the extension seems to be fine.

Just worried about the unusual offset wear on the rings. Nothing to worry about? Or am I missing something?

Made that way.

Quoted: Made that way.

Ummm, maybe I'm not explaining this right.

I have never, ever seen this wear pattern on gas rings before.

When you say made that way do you mean?

Gas rings were never made with gaps that large.

Should I post a pic?

ETA DOH! See my post below...

yes, trying to explain problems such as this tends to go unanswered without seeing the problem firsthand.
Its like trying to diagnose a problem with a car over the phone with a mechanic.

please stand by

Upon very close comparison and inspection, I see what you meant when you said made that way. I just never noticed that they were eccentric. So much for my powers of observation.

One new gas ring and the three worn ones. They were all perfectly lined up when I removed the bolt. I'd be surprised if this upper worked at all.


New ring and old.

Wow.  Looks strange to me.  Tag.

Quoted: please stand by Upon very close comparison and inspection, I see what you meant when you said made that way. I just never noticed that they were eccentric. So much for my powers of observation. One new gas ring and the three worn ones. They were all perfectly lined up when I removed the bolt. I'd be surprised if this upper worked at all. im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6dc09b3127cce972032f605ac00000016108Eatm7JqxcW New ring and old. im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b6dc09b3127cce972032f7849d00000016108Eatm7JqxcW

It has been proven over, and over, and over, and over again that gas ring alingment has neligible affect on functioning.

Only one way to find out.  Shoot it and see!!

I'd guess that the upper you bought has a lot of rounds through it.  Replace the rings and test fire it again.  I'd bet that it will fire with those rings but after testing it....I'd replace them and then not worry about it.

Quoted: It has been proven over, and over, and over, and over again that gas ring alingment has neligible affect on functioning.

Really? Even with a gap that big? It's almost a quarter inch. Heck, American Rifleman tested an AR15 recently and had problems directly related to ring alignment, at least according to them.

I still have the rings, I could put them back in and test. Might be fun.

Anyway, I realize that the rings fit closely in the carrier walls, but all three of the very enlarged gaps were perfectly aligned.

So, back on topic, is that wear anything to be worried about or not?

Looks like someone clipped them for an easier install, but I doubt it...that would be some crazy shit. Throw a McFarland on there and don't worry about it.

Have the design of gas rings changed over the years?  Could these be an old design?

i have seem gas rings wear like that...
in shorty barrels with too large a gas port.  i believe excessive gas pressure could be the culprit.....
how old are the rings?  could be excess pressure or lots of wear cause a lotta rounds have been put thru the rifle.....hth

Quoted: Quoted: It has been proven over, and over, and over, and over again that gas ring alingment has neligible affect on functioning. Really? Even with a gap that big? It's almost a quarter inch. Heck, American Rifleman tested an AR15 recently and had problems directly related to ring alignment, at least according to them. I still have the rings, I could put them back in and test. Might be fun. Anyway, I realize that the rings fit closely in the carrier walls, but all three of the very enlarged gaps were perfectly aligned. So, back on topic, is that wear anything to be worried about or not?

I didn't notice those old rings had such a gap.  You might be right.  I thought you were refering to gas rings in general.

However, I'm calling BS on the American Rifleman article.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It has been proven over, and over, and over, and over again that gas ring alingment has neligible affect on functioning. Really? Even with a gap that big? It's almost a quarter inch. Heck, American Rifleman tested an AR15 recently and had problems directly related to ring alignment, at least according to them. I still have the rings, I could put them back in and test. Might be fun. Anyway, I realize that the rings fit closely in the carrier walls, but all three of the very enlarged gaps were perfectly aligned. So, back on topic, is that wear anything to be worried about or not? I didn't notice those old rings had such a gap.  You might be right.  I thought you were refering to gas rings in general. However, I'm calling BS on the American Rifleman article.

in a properly working rifle the ring alignment doesn't matter

Just talking about the eccentric part. Those look unusal in that they look worn the same. Seen bad rings but they wear pattern or broken off pieces weer never similar between all the rings.

Replace your rings, if you already haven't.  They're worn.

Quoted: Replace your rings, if you already haven't.  They're worn.

LOL!

Oh, thanks very much! I hadn't noticed!