howdy. I just got a new WASR-10 and broke it down to clean off all the cosmolene packing grease form it last night. After i cleaned it off, i cycled a few rounds thru the action to see if i came across any problems.

I noticed this:

when I’m working the charging handle manually, sometimes the bolt carrier assembly doesn't go all the way forward, stopping about an inch and a half from completely closing.

i can see what is happening, as well. The bullet will be in the chamber, and the bolt face will be pressing on the chambered bullet. But the bolt itself has to rotate to allow the carrier to go all the way home...  but the bolt DOESN’T rotate.

Now, if i charge it by simply pulling the charging handle back and letting it go, it has enough force to close fully. But if i slide it slowly closed, more often then not the bolt will fail to rotate and the action won’t close

my question is: is that normal? does it usually take a noticeable amount of force to get the bolt to rotate and the carrier to close all the way? i don't have any other AKs handy to compare with and want to make sure i wont damage the bolt when i go to the range tomorrow.


also of note: when the bolt fails to rotate, the extractor doesn't engage the bullet... tho i think that's how the extractor is supposed to work

thanks for any help you guys can throw my way!

I don't belive it is the bolt failing to turn as much as it is just hanging on the hammer.....

I assume you are slowly leting the bolt forward?????

A lot of my AK have done this when I ride the bolt forward....

let it slam forward like it is supposed to and everything is ok???

I will say this is normal...Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

thanks, that makes me feel better :)

yeah, its just when i ride it forward. But i don't think its catching on the hammer. The bolt just doesnt slide easily inside the bolt carrier. But hey, its an AK.. its not supposed to slide like silk, eh?

My slr101s does that also. If i pull the bolt carrier back and let it go slowly i can get it to lock up just enough so i can put a magazine in then smack the receiver and have it slam forward and load a round. If your problem is like mine i dont think its anything big.

Do it like people do their HeXXe rifles....tie it to a tree and put a pull rope on the trigger....give it a few yanks and see what happens.

KF

Agcsy: nah, that's not the same thing as my problem. My buddy's AK does that. My problem occurs when the bullet is chambered, the bolt is pressing on the bullet, and the action is litereally an inch away from being totally closed.

Krinkfreak: thanks fo rthe advice ^_^. id shoot it off in my back yard... but im in the middle of the NJ suburbs. :-\

hmmm, i think ill leave the files at home and break it in at the range, if its safe to fire, which im pretty sure it is.

Motor oil is good fo rbrekaign in an AK? or should i find something else?

Or the hangup may be in another part of the gun. Consider that the Romy gun has the gas piston as a US part, may not be fully straight after the swap stateside, and the hangup may be when the gas piston meets the edge of the gas block. Try a cycle with the upper handguard/gas tube removed but otherwise all the same to see if there is contact at this point.

Quoted: hmmm, i think ill leave the files at home and break it in at the range, if its safe to fire, which im pretty sure it is. Motor oil is good fo rbrekaign in an AK? or should i find something else?

Yep, most lubes are fine including rubbing it with fried food. As long as it does not have a crunchy, gotta shove it hangup, oil her up and let a few hundred rounds fly. Be prepared for  splats on your shirt/glasses at first, then look for the wear marks after cleanup.

hmmm... ill have to check that out in a little while.

I had taken the bolt and carrier out and, with the bolt all the way forward in the carrier, pressed lightly on the bolt face... but it didn’t slide back in the carrier. i pressed a little harder... and it still didn’t slide back. Now, I’m not up on how the AK is SUPPOSED to work in that respect, but it seemed to me that that was hanging up more then I’d think it should. But that might be unrelated to the actual cause of my problem.

I'll check out the gas piston thing tho. thanks.

RS39: i check outthe piston jsut now. the piston is a hair's breadth away from touching the gas block, but doesn't. here's the piston adn gas block when i have the problem:
http://jawatusi.com/WASR10/GasPiston1.jpg

and here's a pictue of the action itself. the little sliver of green is the rim of a round of steel cased Wolf ammo, which im sure you're all familar with ;)
http://jawatusi.com/WASR10/Action1.jpg

Just shoot it, you wont have any problems. By slowly letting it slide back in to position its not seating correctly...like mentioned above if your gonna do by hand...let it slam shut.

oh, i would have already "broken it in" with abotu 500 rounds if i had gotten to the range today

*hangs his head in disappointment*

so to make up for not going shooting, i felt compelled to take it appart, play with in, photograph it, and post about it :-D

Same as mine, which actually rubs. 3 years of abuse created a minor ridge that I needed to Dremel down, but it is fine.
Typical AK minor action hitches.
Have at it!