Greetings:
Recently I was able to acquire an unissued Yugoslavian SKS. The stock required some sanding and was completely bare of finish. The metal was in excellent condition, rubber pad was brand new.
Now for the ugly:
a. After picking it up I drove to the range with the intent of cleaning it and firing it the same afternoon. NOT.  I was unable to remove the gas piston/front handguard.
I drove to the place I bought it, and after removing the stock we were able to use a brass punch and a hammer to remove the front handuard. No fun. Several strokes with a file and while tight, it is removable.
b. Following weekend. Rifle experiences several failures to eject. After 40 rounds and using Greek ammunition instead of Wolf it starts to eject more consistant.  The rifle fires low I decide to adjust the front sight NOT. It is tilted forward at such an angle that I am unable to insert the adjusting tool.
c. Following day. Removed front sight with needle nose pliers. Removed front sight trunion. Reinstalled in a the proper angle. Reinsert front sight using adjusting tool. NOT. Yugo's front sight is wider. More filing and the tool is usable.
d. Another fun day at the range. $%^&# SOB. Rifle locks open 50% of the time while there's still a round in the magazine.   I am troubleshooting this one as I type.

Conclusion: If someone fired this rifle prior leaving the depot most of thie problem would not have ocurred.

Pretty doesn't mean @#$% my ragged Romanian SKS is as reliable as a hammer. I noticed that the barrel gas port on the Romanian is larger than the one on the Yugo. Or perhaps it more eroded?

Venting

ACK

WOW I hope this aint the norm ! I was going to pick one up to go with the rest of mine.
I heard that the gas blocks give a lot of people trouble with this model is that true ?
Then again new is new ! Just think of the store you'll have to tell about this one. Did it at least shoot straight ? Maybe when you get dun with it it will be one of your best shooters !
Hope it works out ok for you !
I rilly dont care for all that crap on the barrel BUT there Ugo !
Gator

One of the most important things is to make sure that all of the cosmo is cleaned out of the rifle.  This is what will give the biggest problems especially if you don't get it all out of the bolt and firing pin.  Can you say "slam fire"?  The best way to get any excess cosmo out is to put it in the oven at about 300 degrees.  You will be amazed at how much is left in the rifle even after you thought you got it all.  Good luck with your rifle.  I own a Yugo and have had no problems with it other than two doubles out of the 700 rounds I've put through it so far.  It is a very reliable rifle and is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Quoted: One of the most important things is to make sure that all of the cosmo is cleaned out of the rifle.  This is what will give the biggest problems especially if you don't get it all out of the bolt and firing pin.  Can you say "slam fire"?  The best way to get any excess cosmo out is to put it in the oven at about 300 degrees.  You will be amazed at how much is left in the rifle even after you thought you got it all.

I just ordered a Yugo in good condition. The middle price point (109$) between the shooters grade and unissued. And this is my first surplus rifle, everything else is all black and brand new, so I was shocked with all the cosmo that came on it. My FFL was laughing at it since it was so caked. I downloaded some instuctions on taking it apart and took it down to its last part and cleaned it with shooters choice and bore scrubber. The gun still wreaks of cosmo and I am sure cosmo is still lerking since I find some from time to time when I move a part.

When you say put it in the oven do you mean just the SS bolt/firing pin? Or all the metal parts including the barrel? Is that ok for any finishes? HOw long should it stay in? New to these sticky guns.

Once I cleaned the cosmo out of my unissued, I haven't had a single problem with it.  Eats everything I put in it.  Fairly accurate too.

I let my Yugo parts soak in a big pan of gas for about 30 mins then scrubbed em down real good with a toothbrush or bore brush. Nary a problem save 1 stovepipe and it's fairly accurate out to 300 yds.

I just bought a Yugo from www.aimsurplus.com for $149. Should have it in a week. I am gonna soak it in degreaser for 20 minutes and take it apart to the last detail, I will let you know how it shoots.

Quoted: Quoted: One of the most important things is to make sure that all of the cosmo is cleaned out of the rifle.  This is what will give the biggest problems especially if you don't get it all out of the bolt and firing pin.  Can you say "slam fire"?  The best way to get any excess cosmo out is to put it in the oven at about 300 degrees.  You will be amazed at how much is left in the rifle even after you thought you got it all.   I just ordered a Yugo in good condition. The middle price point (109$) between the shooters grade and unissued. And this is my first surplus rifle, everything else is all black and brand new, so I was shocked with all the cosmo that came on it. My FFL was laughing at it since it was so caked. I downloaded some instuctions on taking it apart and took it down to its last part and cleaned it with shooters choice and bore scrubber. The gun still wreaks of cosmo and I am sure cosmo is still lerking since I find some from time to time when I move a part. When you say put it in the oven do you mean just the SS bolt/firing pin? Or all the metal parts including the barrel? Is that ok for any finishes? HOw long should it stay in? New to these sticky guns.

Whatever metal has cosmo on it put it in the oven @ 200 - 300 degrees for ten minutes.  Take it out and wipe as much off as possible and repeat if necessary.  For the stock don't go over 200 degrees.  The stock will have absorbed the most and you will see exactly what I'm talking about when you apply heat to it.  These temperatures won't hurt anything.

ETA:  Remember to completely disassemble the bolt and remove the firing pin so that the channel and pin can be wiped clean.

I picked up two Yugo's from aim last weekend.  An unissued and a shooter.  

I used de-greaser and an air compressor.  

The shooter has a pitted gas shutoff valve and won't cycle the bolt but I was knocking down 3-4" targets at 130-140yds in the first ten rounds fired.  Those sights were dead on right out of the box!

The unissued has the front sight set way to the left so I'm waiting for my adjustment tool to arrive in the mail.  It took a couple hours to clean the main parts.  As it sat in the sun and 90+ deg temp, lots of cosmoline came out of the bayonet and gas block areas.  Compressed air again.  I had let the bolt, carrier, trigger group, etc sit in an ammo can with parts cleaner over night and there was still cosmoline globbed on in places the next day.  Brush and air again.  I bet gasoline although requiring a bit more caution would dissolve the cosmo better.  Obviouslly the heating from the sun worked great and the oven would probably work even better.  Great idea!  

I rubbed both stocks with de-natured alcohol and then after drying, with Ballistol (www.Ballistol.com).  I still smell cosmo.

I wonder if they'll smell that way after a few hundred rounds fired through each.  Sounds like an outstanding research project!!  ht
Good luck!

Shot mine and it was unissued, shot great. I did not have any issues and put about 80-100rnds thru it. VERY IMPRESSED and happy with my purchase.

Got my un-issued, after a godo clean up and 2k shot through it run smooth now. A little tight at the start, but loosened up nice now. hey, for $139 it is still a deal.

Make sure the valve to shut off the gas system is open all the way.. that might have had something to do with the FTE's...

What he is talking about is exactly what happened to me.  I took it home didn't take it completely apart, just opened the receiver the gas piston and trigger group, should of stripped everything down but I didn't, and I realized I didn't clean it off enough.  It was Hella hard to get that gas piston off as he mentioned, but I eventually got it loose.  I used Engine Degreaser from a motor parts store.  I was anxious to take it out and so it didn't get cleaned properly.  The first rounds I put through it, it failed to eject about every 4 shells, got better as time went by.  As I kept shooting it, the intense heat melted off a lot of cosmo, it was all over the gun and the barrel!  I didn't realize this much was on it.  Took it back, cleaned it once more and now it shoots great.  But it is definately about getting that Cosmo off.  my 2 cents.

-mark

I'm about to order my first couple Yugo SKSs here soon.. in fact, my first SKSs ever.  I will definitely detail strip and clean all the parts probably using engine degreaser.   I will probably also try the oven method for all the metal parts, then a lower heat for the stocks.  

I'll do the stocks at like 170° for about 10 minutes then wipe and let it cool, then back in, repeat until it stops seeping.  Then a light sand and some tung oil finish.   Should come out looking very nice.   I'll try to remember to poast in here my results!

Quoted: Quoted: Once I cleaned the cosmo out of my unissued, I haven't had a single problem with it.  Eats everything I put in it.  Fairly accurate too. Same here.  Will note that I did purchase mine when they first came over in bulk and personaly hand selected from around 100 rifles. Tj

PICS, Please......

I love my Yugo. It was a long process to clean but it looks factory new. I stripped the gun. Sprayed oven cleaner on the stock. Wrapped it in papertowels and sprayed more oven cleaner on the paper towels then wrapped it in a garbabe bag and let it set overnight (all outside). The next day I scrubbed the stock with a nylon brush and hosed it down. Then I scrubbed the stock with hot water and oil soap. Let it dry. Hand sanded with 200 grit and finished with Watco teak oil.  All of the metal parts were sprayed and nylon brushed with 4 cans of brake cleaner then cleaned and oiled like any other gun. I couldn't get the handguard off of the gas tube so I just baked it at 150 for 4 hours pulling it out and wiping off cosmo every 10-15 minutes. lightly sanded the handguard and finished with a little teak oil (Watco). Note: I wore chem gloves (10.00 at Home Depot) and safety glasses while spraying the brake and oven cleaners (better safe that sorry).
Cisco
I'd post pics but I don't know how.

I used boiling water w/simple green on my Yugo and ti worked great to clean it.

I was having DTE (difficult to extract) problems for a while, even after attempting to polish the chamber.  It seems to ahve mostly shot itself out though, as I haven't had any problems in the past 100+ rounds.

i've had 4 of these come through the shop. i just soak the metal parts (barrel and all) in gasoline overnight and use an air compressor through the bolt.  works great.  hopps no. 9 on  a rag cleans the stock really well.  btw,  the "very good" condition and the "unissued" look the same.  unless you plan on never firing it save the $30 for ammo.

I have 10 of the Yugo SKS's and NEVER have heard or seen a problem like the one described in the first post. Its UNTHINKABLE to go to the range with the intent of cleaning it while you are there and then shoot it. These things require several hours of cleaning in the SHOP not a park bench at the range.