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Posted: 9/1/2011 5:56:43 AM EDT
how often do you clean the gas piston?
on one of my FAL's i must have neglected it as it had so much buildup on the piston that it would not traverse by hand through the receiver.
i have not put more than a couple hundred rounds through it, maybe 500. is this a part that needs cleaning every hundred rounds or so?

DSA receiver and Tapco gas piston.
Link Posted: 9/1/2011 10:37:13 AM EDT
[#1]
Thats where all the gas goes......but i'm a clean freak i clean after every trip to the range, even if it was a 10 rounds to check zero
Link Posted: 9/1/2011 8:39:45 PM EDT
[#2]
Yah I would clean mine after every range trip too; used Marvel Mystery Oil or something like that.   You can get a little rust in there even if using non-corrosive, for some reason.
Link Posted: 9/2/2011 12:24:05 AM EDT
[#3]
I just wipe the piston with CLP or top engine head cleaner. The tapco piston may have mushroomed, pretty sure they are just made of stainless steel and are not hardened, I would replace gas piston with an OEM.

However you do need to clean the gastube as that is where rust will show up.

I just run a swab with CLP on it down the tube then follow with a dry patch.
Link Posted: 9/2/2011 2:45:15 PM EDT
[#4]
Link Posted: 9/5/2011 7:26:27 PM EDT
[#5]
Clean the piston after each range trip. Use a 45 cal pistol bore brush and swab the gas tube with a good gun solvent and wipe everything down with Marvel Mystery Oil.
Link Posted: 9/7/2011 6:20:03 PM EDT
[#6]
Agreed, I clean the piston and the entire gun after every range trip...
Link Posted: 9/8/2011 7:52:26 AM EDT
[#7]
I'll clean it every 500 rounds or so. It's not something I worry about, nor does it need regular attention. I'll put some G96 on it, but that's more for the gas tube.
Link Posted: 9/8/2011 1:05:33 PM EDT
[#8]
I have read that carbon attracts and holds moisture, ensuring the formation of rust beneath it if not removed and oiled within a reasonable period of time.  Since the gas tube and piston are the carbon centers on this rifle, I clean them after every use, regardless the round count.  The .45 cal brushes work perfectly.
Link Posted: 9/20/2011 5:29:53 PM EDT
[#9]
Interesting, I am using OEM chrome plated have not done anything past wiping it with a rag.

I hear the South africans never ever got serviced, cleaned adjusted etc  As they wherre inthe hands of people that were (I am quoting here, no idea myself so please do  not go off on me ) "the stupidest most ignorant people in the world"

Just wondering if their FALs had this problem?
Link Posted: 9/22/2011 6:34:33 PM EDT
[#10]
Like the AKs belonging to the NVA or VC, if they rusted shut due to high humidity and corrosive ammo(and they did..)the rifles could just be shot loose.
Link Posted: 9/24/2011 2:36:29 PM EDT
[#11]
well with the carjackastan ammo i sometimes use the guns get CLP before and after range time.
Link Posted: 9/27/2011 12:32:07 AM EDT
[#12]
I wouldn't worry about cleaning it every range trip. There have been many of FAL owners who have shot well over 1k rounds without a good cleaning and the rifle worked fine. It will start to get difficult to remove but some "motivation" will get things moving.
Link Posted: 9/30/2011 10:30:36 AM EDT
[#13]
Mine gets cleaned after every trip with stainless steel wool.  Never had a problem.
Link Posted: 9/30/2011 10:48:09 AM EDT
[#14]
Not a FAL, but in another gun that I received, the piston had not been cleaned in over a decade.  I just soaked it in cleaner overnight, scrubbed, and repeated.  Came clean.
Link Posted: 9/30/2011 2:55:34 PM EDT
[#15]
We had L1A1's issued for my first couple of years in the Army we used scotch brite to clean the gas piston and plug
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