Perform tilt test.
Check op-rod/gas piston alignment.
Clean gas port on barrel. Air compressor is helpful.
Grease and lubricate.

 

Hamm have you seen a commercial m14 that has oprod gas alignment so far off that it would cause the rifle not to function?

 

No, but I had one op-rod guide that was loose. This caused the rifle to fail a tilt test when otherwise the year before it had. So I loctited it in place once aligned and she passed after that.

His rifle is short stroking.Therefore there is either resistance or too little gas pressure to cycle the rifle. Not enough info to really trouble shoot too much. Just some suggestions of what anyone familiar with mechanical operation would imply.

 

where can U find that commercial ? Maybe my alignment is out as I cleaned the rifle before I put it away in august.

 

Are you sure you got the gas cylinder and the aligned properly with the gas port in the barrel?

 

Hope it wasn't that Wolf/Ruskie ammo. VERY dirty.
LG

 

No I know enough to stay away from that junk

 

Have you swapped the bolts for a gi extractor?

 

NO I don't know too much about that

 

What do you mean by "the next round wont cycle thru"? Is the bolt picking the next round up from the magazine? Or is it getting crossed up as it tries to enter the breach?

 

head over to tonyben3's channel and watch some videos, then you'll be in a better place

the tilt test one is where i'd start

www.youtube.com/tonyben3

 

No the bolt is not picking up the next round from the mag

 

+1 on the tilt test.

 

I would follow Ham's advice, but if it's not picking up a round from the magazine I would strongly suspect the mags.

 

If its not ejecting i would swap the extractor and bolt guys for gi ones. Every new m1a that i have seen has had rogue extraction problems until fixed. Eventually they will pop out or shear off a case head. If the cycle is interrupted by the extraction it is possible that can affect the loading stage.

The loading stage can also be something else, have you checked by trying another magazine?

 

I've been having extraction failures when shooting longer stings of fire and the rifle is hot. I'm definitely looking at getting a new bolt.

 

You need to watch the tony be. Tilt test videos as well

 

Thanks Dredsen. I went to tonybens channel and found the operating rod binds in the rear position when I did the tilt test

 

The operating rod seems to be binding on the barrel right on the fat part that goes into the receiver. Can you bend it to make it clear that part or should I just get a new operating rod ?

 

Did you happen to install a new firing pin OR change anything at all from the first time you shot the rifle?

 

What is the round count? Pictures would be nice.

 

Did you clean / disassemble from your rifle the gas cylinder since the time your rifle was operating correctly? It sounds to me that there might not be sufficient gas bleeding off from the barrel to the gas cylinder. If you haven't already done so, remove the gas plug and piston and gas cylinder and make sure they're clean. Do not apply any lubrication inside the gas cylinder Pay special attention to the gas port holes in the barrel and gas cylinder. Turn the gas spindle valve back and forth a few times. When you assemble the gas cylinder to the barrel, make sure the gas port holes are aligned correctly (there's a tool to do this, but you can also use a very small awl or screw driver or paper clip or something similar).

If after doing the above, the short stroking continues, check for operating rod binding and issues with bolt travel.

 

My Supermatch was short stroking like you described, it drove me crazy trying to figure it out. Until I noticed the gas holes in the barrel and the gas cylinder were out of alignment.The gas cylinder had slid forward just ever so slightly and partially obscured the gas hole in the barrel. Once I removed the gas cylinder and peened over the edges of the spline for the cylinder and drove it back on, all was well. I haven't had the problem since.

 

If you've had the gas cylinder off since it was last working correctly, you may have reinstalled it with the gas ports, in the barrel and cylinder, not lineing up properly. Try fitting a #48 drill up through the gas cylinder, into the barrel, then looking down the barrel and see if the drill is visible. Not getting enough gas to the piston to cycle it properly might explain what you're seeing.

Should have read all the posts in this thread before responding.....Seems, after reading all the posts, that several others think you may have an issue with the ports aligning properly as well.

 

Go through the list here:

http://m14forum.com/reference/73926-m14-m1a-health-check.html

Also, is it a scout rifle with the front rail? Those barrel mounted rails tend to interfere with cycling.

Tony.