I had several failure to extract problems at the range and after reading the forums it sounds as if i may have a weak ejector spring.  The problem is I am unable to get the ejector pin out of the bolt.  Any help on how to properly remove the ejector would be appreciated I was unable to find the info with the search option.

There is a roll pin in the side of the bolt that secures the ejector. Remove the pin and the ejector and spring will fly out. Make sure if you do attempt to remove the ejector you secure the ejector. I have had success by doing it inside a large ziplock bag. I would test the ejector first, I doubt you have a bad ejector or spring. Push on it with a punch and see if it has spring tension.

Failures to extract are usually due to several other problems.

Dirty or corroded chamber.
Not enough gas to cycle the action.
Loose carrier key.
Worn gas tube.
Worn gas rings.
Excessive gas blow by at the gas port.
Improperly sized ammo (if reloaded).
Bad extractor.
Improper chambering job leaving rings, pits, etc.

thanks, I thought that was the correct method but I was unable to get the roll pin to move.  I have replaced the extractor and extractor spring.  I did notice that the notch in one of my gas rings is larger than the other two, is this normal or has a piece of the gas ring broken off? thanks in advance

If you have a bigger gap on one of the gas rings,you need to replace the set buy a couple sets of gas rings they are not that expensive!!!

I took the gun to the range today after replacing the extractor and extractor spring.  The same problem is still persisting.  I have ordered a new bolt from del-ton that should be here in afew days.  I will post a range report then.

16",

So, what is it?  Failure to extract or failure to eject?  Two different animals.

Dave S

This is the problem:
stove pipe
Yes, the barrel is a 16" inch DPMS I have had no problems in the past several years with this rifle, but just "rebuilt" it as a flat top.
The rifle only partially ejects the spent case, and then attempts to chamber a new round.  The dent on the new round in the picture is the aftermath.

The specs are as follows:
DPMS 16" HBAR
Del-ton gas tube
YHM front sight/gas block
Bravo Company T-marked flat top upper
Bravo Company 6 Position stock
Bolt carrier from Gun Smoke Enterprises only markings are HM on the tops of the set screws for the gas inlet.


I also just got finished polishing the bore with 400 grit sandpaper as was suggested by another member.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated as I still have a few days to wait until the new bolt is in from Del-ton.

As I said before, I believe you have a gas problem, not a ejector problem. These are the most common and the cheapest and easiest to fix.

Check the carrier key and see if it is loose.

Check for blow by at the gas port, since you say you replaced the gas block this could be your culprit.


I would under no circumstances have polished the chamber *at this point*. I also hope you meant chamber and not bore like you typed.

Sorry, I did mean chamber.  I am hoping you are correct on the gas problem and that it is related to the gas ring issue that I spoke of above.  How do you check for blow by at the gas port.  Thanks for the info and I will check the carrier screws.

16",
Got a feeling that your extractor is slipping off the head.  Cannot for the world see how it could be a gas problem.  The carrier group is cycling and pushing a fresh round toward the chamber.  Only problem is that there is a spent case in the way.  The reason that there is no gravity in your world is because your extractor {extractor spring, insert or extractor claw} sux.

Dave S

Quoted: 16", Got a feeling that your extractor is slipping off the head.  Cannot for the world see how it could be a gas problem.  The carrier group is cycling and pushing a fresh round toward the chamber.  Only problem is that there is a spent case in the way.  The reason that there is no gravity in your world is because your extractor {extractor spring, insert or extractor claw} sux. Dave S

With some gas problems, there is enough gas to cycle and feed the round, but not enough for the carrier to go all the way back and eject the fired case. Been there, done that.

Originally Posted By 16inch shorty: Sorry, I did mean chamber.  I am hoping you are correct on the gas problem and that it is related to the gas ring issue that I spoke of above.  How do you check for blow by at the gas port.  Thanks for the info and I will check the carrier screws.

Look at the gas block where it is attached to the barrel. Look at the area immediately forward and to the rear of the block. See if there is any carbon staining coming from underneath the block and out onto the barrel. One other question. How hard was it to get the gas block on the barrel? Did it just slide on or did it take a whack with a rubber mallet to get it to go?

Quoted: Quoted: 16", Got a feeling that your extractor is slipping off the head.  Cannot for the world see how it could be a gas problem.  The carrier group is cycling and pushing a fresh round toward the chamber.  Only problem is that there is a spent case in the way.  The reason that there is no gravity in your world is because your extractor {extractor spring, insert or extractor claw} sux. Dave S With some gas problems, there is enough gas to cycle and feed the round, but not enough for the carrier to go all the way back and eject the fired case. Been there, done that.

He's got an AR not an AK.  

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: 16", Got a feeling that your extractor is slipping off the head.  Cannot for the world see how it could be a gas problem.  The carrier group is cycling and pushing a fresh round toward the chamber.  Only problem is that there is a spent case in the way.  The reason that there is no gravity in your world is because your extractor {extractor spring, insert or extractor claw} sux. Dave S With some gas problems, there is enough gas to cycle and feed the round, but not enough for the carrier to go all the way back and eject the fired case. Been there, done that. He's got an AR not an AK.

No shit, Sherlock.

I have 3 AR's and one of mine had the exact same thing happen. Turns out my barrel had gas blow by at the gas port which was causing this. Replaced the front sight housing with a tighter fitting one and the problem went away.

The first thing I tried was to replace the extractor and extractor spring.  The problem still persisted, so I have been able to rule out a faulty extractor.

Rebel Rifle:  The carrier key was tight .

The gas block is a YHM front flip sight design that takes four set screws to secure the block.  They are all tight and are "locktighted" in.  The gas tube fit into the gas block tight when I installed it.  There is no carbon on the barrel in front or in back of the gas block.

The problem did not start until after I replaced the original gas tube, which I buggered up removing the original front sight base, with a new tube from del-ton.  Keep in mind though, I did not notice the problem with my gas rings until this time either, so I do not know if the new gas tube has anything to do with the problem, I can not see why it would.  The new gas tube is a standard CAR length just as the old one was.

Problem Fixed

I replaced the original bolt with a new one from Del-ton, this was not actually the fix though.  It seems as if the problem was due to junk ammunition.  I bought a fifty round box of Winchester ammo in the white box from the local Bass Pro Shop.  I have until now never had a problem with this ammo, but today at the range I tried two different types of ammo (Federal and Wolf), and both functioned flawlessly.  I shot a total of eighty rounds with the new ammo.  I then went back to the Winchester and the same type of jam persisted.  On the rounds that did fire the cases were only ejected a few inches from the gun instead of the normal three to four feet up and to the right.  So it would appear as my problems were related to ammunition.  It just really sucks that I had to pick up a bad batch of ammo at the same time that I was going to test fire a newly rebuilt rifle.  Go figure just my luck.
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