AR gas tube issues
 

Does anyone have any whiz bang ideas on clearing an obstruction from a gas tube on the AR. I think it is probably carbine but I do not know. I was told the rifle is not cycling but will feed and fire. I have not looked at it yet but another AR armorer said the gas rings look worn out. When I get the gun I will replace the rings but if that does not take care of the problem I suspect the gas tube or gas block will be the problem. Any suggestions or products that have worked for you in the past or should I just get a new gas tube? Thanks

If your gas tube is THAT fouled up, you have a serious problem. We have seen, MAYBE, 10 gas tubes that needed to be throated or replaced in the last 4 years, and all of those have been SWAT team guns....

For cleaning the gas tube of "normal" build up, a common pipe cleaner and some normal solvent works great, followed with a couple of blasts of compressed air just to clear it out.

If your gas rings are worn, that is a MUCH more common problem...

JD

I owned and shot my 1980 vintage Colt SP-1 for 20 years before I even knew that I was supposed to clean the gas tube. I must have had several thousands of rounds (mostly my own re-loads) through that AR by the time that I first cleaned the gas tube. Now I make a point to do it every year or so. Geeze, this is really NOT an issue, but IMHO it is a bunch of BS to sell gas piston AR variants. It's just not that neccesssary! Never had probelms with the gas rings either!

My brother bought one of the first civilian Colt AR-15's in the 1970's. He has never cleaned his gas tube or replaced the gas rings. I have never known ANYONE who has had to clean the gas tube on a semi-auto AR-15 because of a carbon build-up. It's probably a good idea to spray it with gun scrubber or run a pipe cleaner through it from time to time, but I don't see it as a necessity for continued function. Full auto M-16's & M-4's are a different story.

All I have ever done is spray brake cleen down the tube every 4-6 months. I have sent thousands of rounds through 4 different variations of AR's that I own and have never had a gas tube issue.

As most have already stated, strange to have probs there, unless the ammo was extremely dirty to begin with, or the tube has seen a couple lifetimes of hard use, or someone has been playing Spec-Ops/Delta Farce and going swimming in the local pond with their AR....

Just squirt some gun scrubber or brake cleaner or some type of safe solvent down into the tube, let it sit for a while to work on whatever is in there, use a couple pipe cleaners to scrub it out, spray some compressed air through to blow out any residue. I think there is a kit put out by some of the bore cleaning guide folks now...Dewey, Kleenem & Howe :rolleyes:

Slo

There's, also, a small gap in the, 'bolt' (or gas) rings. Those gaps should never line up. Ideally, you want them set 90 degrees apart from one another. Check to see how the stock buffer and spring is functioning, too.

Gas ring spacing is a MYTH ;)

To the OP,
Other things to check...

These were quoted..

Also, a link with alot more helpful info...

AR15BARRELS.COM - Randall's description of AR gas operation and how everything works in harmony

Slo

Thanks all, I git the rifle today and looked it over. It is a Olympic Arms 6.5 inch "pistil" with a collapsible but stock. I checked the gas rings and found one was about 3/4 gone, and the other two were not in good shape. I then looked at the gas tube and found it has broken off the front sight gas block. I don't know how this happened but it is a SWAT rifle so who knows. I have a call info the CO to see if they can get me a new gas tube. As long as the gas block was not damaged I think I can put the new gas tube on and be ready to go. I will keep you all up dated but it might take some time, the CO is talking 3-4 months out for any parts for there rifles. I will be doing some other looking to get the part faster. If anyone knows of a good place to look, IE Brownells, Midway and such let me know. Thanks again, BigGuns

Come on, Slo! (I'll bet they don't call you that for nothing, huh.) ;)

If you're going to call me wrong on something at least don't use a reference article that clearly verifies what I've said. :eek:

Pay more attention. Things are going to get a lot tougher from here on out! OK!