[Condor1970]

Ok, this may seem like a really dumb question, and I'm only 180lbs, but I searched the forum, and found what I was looking for in regards to Springfield Flash Suppressors being on very tight.

After removing the set screw, and using two channel lock pliers, one with leather around the GC, and other ground/modified for the castle nut, I found this little nut was far tighter than it should have been.

So much so, I marred the little guy a bit, so I ordered a new one. I really didn't have to, but it bothers me to see it. I mean I had to use pretty much all my strength using torque/counter-torque to break it free.

I also had to tap the backside a bit to get the suppressor to slide off.

I guess, since the original barrels were made for bayonetting, then it should be fine, but....

..... this is a Stainless barrel. I know bending it by hand is almost nil, but I hope I didn't throw it off on a tiny scale which could affect its accuracy.

Is this even possible?

 

[Philz M1A]

Thanks for the insight into changing your flash suppressor. I was thinking about changing mine out.


As to your question, men are relatively weak. Think about someone in the NFL, a hulking beast of a man. Then think about that man getting torn limb from limb by a chimp the size of a 10 year old boy.

 

[GreatPlainsRifleman]

Condor, I wouldn't lose any sleep about having bent the barrel. That's a fairly small fulcrum - the gas cylinder to the muzzle; I doubt you would have bent any point in between those two points.

But the reality is that taking it to the range is the best way to check it...and the most fun way, too! GI1

 

[Robertsusaf]

sometimes nuts and bolt can be almost impossible to get loose, I'm a mechanic im 5'11 200lbs benching 375, deadlifting/squatting 500 and sometimes i get a hmmwv or mrap that the bolts just wont break free, and these are bolts that dont even require alot of torque, sometimes the metal just gets fused due to heat and what not. It can be a pain dont sweat it. Nuts and bolts can equalize a man thats why we have leverage bars etc... shoot one time an oil filter was on the housing soo damn tight i had to take the housing off the vehicle put it in a bench vise just to crank it off. My point is it doesnt really matter how strong you are cause sometimes even with the right tools they just dont wanna come off.

 

[Dredsen]

My method is to jiggle the FS until it is slid on all the way, and then hand tight, then turn with pliers until somewhat past hand tight, then to the next slot (which i marked by marring the finnish on the suppressor a bit)

I try not to overdo the gas plug either.

 

[Seventh Fleet]

When reinstalling the flash suppressor I don't get carried away when tightening the castle nut. I tighten the nut until it gets nice and snug and then I go to the next notch on the castle nut and screw the lock screw almost tight, then I back the castle nut up against the lock screw and then finish tightening the lock screw. I've never had one come lose using this technique.

7th

 

[deces]

someone in the forum noted that applying anti-seize lubricant to the threads before installation is a good idea too.

 

[bat45211]

Consider this. One gallon of gasoline is equal to 22 man hours of work. We're really not very strong at all.

 

[There and Back Again]

I, apparently, am not strong enough.

For the first time ever, tonight I tried to remove my flash suppressor and met with utter failure. Well... I coulda marred the hell outta my rifle parts but considering the flash suppressor nut pliers already do that... I didn't feel the need to add further injury to insult.


What's the best way to push the flash suppressor forward so that I can unscrew the nut properly?

I managed to get the flash suppressor housing slid forward about half way but then there it stuck and no matter what I used nor how much strength I used... it would not budge. So there my "old" flash suppressor sat... as my "new" flash suppressor looked on with jealousy (from atop my workbench)... aspiring to find a rifle of its own!


Seriously, this is my first ever grudge I've carried about the M14 platform. First, the flash suppressor nut pliers are garbage... they mar. Additionally, I consider the entire concept of having to unscrew the flash suppressor nut garbage. All it takes is a pin to secure a flash suppressor yet they created this haphazard method of combining front sight/bayonet lug/suppressor into one package.

Sorry for ranting... I'm just seriously PO'd right now. This process should not be that difficult considering I have all the right tools (workbench, vise, proper pliers, et cetera) and followed the M14 armorer directions as written.

 

[D308FAM]

I have long liked flash suppressors. If nothing else..they keep my barrel crowns from getting dinged. Even if they didn't work to suppress flash at all...just keeping the crown protected was a source of comfort to me for a long time.
Then the hair-splitting accuracy bug bit me...got me a subscription to Precision Shooting Magazine and Handloader Magazine...well, there's a LOT to be worried about. After locking a M700 PSS into a rest that would not allow for free recoil and witnessing an obviously thick and stiff barrel vibrate like a tuning fork...well....that allowed for some worry.
THEN someone had to go and prove that the passage of a projectile down a barrel actually causes a slight swelling of the barrel that can be tracked and visualized....uhhhh...brain pain! How could this factor into planning?
Finally there came the notion that twisting on any screw-on attachment to the barrel can possibly have some effect on the inner bore surface in terms of stressing it....and, given the foregoing, I'm not about to rule that out.
What to do?
Well, I finally came to the conclusion that if the rifle is assembled "to spec" with "spec" referenced parts..and it has performed as well as it has for multiple decades...that maybe I could afford to not worry too much about what probably ain't broke. And to help that thought along I often shoot a ration of Tubbs Final Finish projectiles down a bore as these will tend to work more on the "raised spots" and less on the spots that are still lying flat and my idea is that this will tend to "erase" any slight malformation brought on by things like torqing on flash suppressors, etc. The barrels feel a lot smoother while running a bore patch so even if it doesn't help it sure doesn't hurt.
....
I don't know if I should be concerned about a flash suppressor wrench that may be made "too weak" so overtorquing a barrel via overtightening a flash suppressor is hard or try to find someone with gorilla strength pliers and then worry about the bore all over again. Maybe use gorilla strength to get it off...and a weak sister wrench to put it on?
Good luck! Please post when your ordeal is over and share with us your final position on the ongoing ordeal you're enduring.

 

[There and Back Again]

Okay, I took a long break from this agonizing/disappointing suppressor removal process and took a walk through my garage.

I began thinking to myself, "Screw it. I'm just gonna find something that can ensure it comes off and I'm not gonna give a damn what damage is incurred by the soon-to-be-removed flash suppressor".

With that mindset, I went at it again and merely hammered the hell out of my flat iron rod (that I had pressed up against the underside back end of the flash suppressor) and voila! The suppressor fell off.

Interestingly, my Arthur Fonzarelli approached knocked it off without further damaging it. Too late though... I had previoiusly damaged it by "trying to be careful" and now I have a dinged up flash suppressor.

Turns out... my original suppressor was probably more difficult to take off because the factory used Loctite to further secure it in place. This Loctite burdened the entire removal process more than it should and its remnants were caught up in the flash suppressor channels (the grooves on the barrel) making the last quarter inch near impossible to traverse (with the castle nut and suppressor).

Why was the suppressor secured as such... with Loctite I mean? Isn't the flash suppressor assembly secure enough on its own? It sure seems that way given all of its parts...

 

[Gus Fisher]

For REAL m14 rifles we used to tighten the FS's down pretty tight so they would be good for bayonet fighting. We USED TO tighten FS's down that tight for NM rifles UNTIL we found out that being that tight set up a negative node of vibration in the barrel and hurt accuracy.

It is QUITE common to tighten the FS's down JUST barely snug and use loctite to ensure they won't work loose as fast - circumferentially around the barrel. IOW, the loctite fills the gaps between the FS lugs and the barrel channels for the lugs.

 

[There and Back Again]

Well, I didn't Loctite the newly installed NM suppressor. I merely hand tightened it (the castle nut) and then tightened it a bit further with the pliers.

Will this suffice? I only shoot my M14 once or twice a month (about 100 rounds each session). I had tightened the flash suppressor screws a week earlier and went shooting thereafter meeting with no problems (i.e. the nuts didn't loosen any after 100 rounds).

 

[MikeM0331]

Funny. I removed the set screw on mine an removed it with my fingers. Since then I have blue loktite on the threads now.

 

[vanagonjon]

If the FS castle nut (or any threaded fitting) is real tight put some Kroil on the theads and come back an hour or two later. It will probably come off fairly easy. Sometimes tapping the joint/fitting may be needed. We used to break apart high pressure steam fittings that were assembled for 20+ years with this method. Kroil seems to work best for me, but any decent pentrating oil should work. The oil needs time to penetrate into the fitting, getting lube into the areas that are in close contact.

John

 

[dozier]

When reinstalling the flash suppressor I don't get carried away when tightening the castle nut. I tighten the nut until it gets nice and snug and then I go to the next notch on the castle nut and screw the lock screw almost tight, then I back the castle nut up against the lock screw and then finish tightening the lock screw. I've never had one come lose using this technique.

7th

Yes that's the way to do it. Use a wood block at the back to tap with a hammer the back flange of the FS forward and off. It is a plus to have the splines that tight. Use the wood block to reinstall the FS. Little bit at a time, while you take up the slack in the FS castle nut. All temp grease or Never seize should be put on the threads and splines. Assemble as above. dozier

 

[Gus Fisher]

Oh, if one DOES use any kind of Loctite or glue in the barrel channels for the FS. MAKE SURE you put some kind of release agent on the inside of the Flash Suppressor or you may have a devil of a time getting it off in the future. I normally use this:

http://www.associatedindustriesinc.com/store/release-agents/valspar-225-aerosol/

or this:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1045/Product/ACRA-RELEASE-trade-

 

[slayer6769]

I'm confused here, somebody help me please. Should I use threadlocker or anti-seize??

 

[bd111]

A dab of choke tube lube in the castle nut is enough. Then follow Seventh Fleet's instructions. SAI puts those nuts down too tightly at the factory. I think somebody there discovered way back when that overtightening the nut was a slick cosmetic fix for a lack of true square between the muzzle and the f/s ID shoulder so, instead of squaring them up on a lathe or using better parts, they went to overtightening even the good fits. If it gets them out the door and onto the truck, what else matters, right? Seriously. check your f/s and back it off a notch if it's too tight. Your rifle will probably shoot better.

 

[There and Back Again]

Ya Gus, I had no idea manufacturers (at least certain) ones habitually used Loctite on FS's at the time of manufacture.

I have no doubt that untreated Loctite was the primary reason my SEI CG flash suppressor is now scrap metal... well not really... but it is badly dinged up... so I do consider it scrap metal.