[Charlene32]

ok....here we go. i know this is a common problem with m14 types (so i hear) but i am asking advise, if i should leave my gun be, or try and fix this. as you can see in my pics my op rod does not perfectly line up with my gas cylinder. i assume because the op rod guide is off a little maybe? anyway, i am thinking of just leaving it. i get about 3 moa out of this gun and i dont know if i could do better wtih my op rod more straight? anyway, any advise is much appreciated.

GI3

 

[82nd ABN]

Try tapping it back into place with a plastic hammer. It does have some give to it. Do you kno wif it was loc tited in place? Its easy enough to straigten out. One problem though it may move back to the same spot over time. Most gi style op rod guides dont fit tight on the shoulder of the barrel. They typically get dimples by using a punch or knurled and then the guide is installed. As I said you can try tapping it back into place the pin is not there to keep it in perfect allignment. You can remove it apply some loc tite and reinstall it with a new pin if your is beat up. Hope this helps. I did nothing to my rack grade I just tapped it in place and it seems to like that position.

PS it does not take a lot of force to move it so use light taps

 

[Charlene32]

i did try tapping it with a malet but its really on there. i was wacking kind of hard and was afraid i was going to damage my gun........so i just left it. i figured i might do more harm than good. thanks for the advise though. i could break it down but i have a rail and optic attatched to the barrel and it would be a pain to remount it. im kind of weighing the pros and cons right now.

 

[MemphisMachinists]

Do you have any alignment issues on the other end of the OP rod. That's where the rubber meets the road. Tilt test for the OP rod only?
Before you start tapping on it. Mark the barrel and reciever with a magic marker, just in case the barrel is not tight.

 

[82nd ABN]

It may have been peened or knurled already. Is it a SAI rifle?

 

[Charlene32]

yes it is a SAI M1A standard. and i cant remember if it was always like that. at first i thought i torqued it by not using a gas tube wrench when prying off the gas nut. and then i thought maybe i did it by bump firing it too much. the piston does have a full seat, it is just not centered and i heard that can effect accuracy. that op rod guide is on there good though so im thinking the gun came to me that way.

 

[82nd ABN]

Unless your built like Arnold I doubt you twisted the barrel or tweaked the gas cylinder on the splines. If you were holding the rifle with your hand over the op rod you may have tweaked the guide. The worse that can happen if you tap it more is if there is loc tite on there you would break the adhesion. You can always take it off and redo the loc tite. I don't think they use it I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Charlene32]

well, i know the trigger and the barrel and key factors in accuracy but i am also wonding if this is one too. i feel like i should be getting better groups than 3MOA but then again ive been shooting Wolf ammo.

 

[chumney]

Do away with the Wolf ammo

Wolf ammo is steel cased and it is hard on the chamber. The M-1A / M-14 chamber was designed around brass cased ammo. I have heard horror stories about it being over pressured for the operating system. Better ammo is not that much more expensive. There are threads all through this site about the WOlf ammo. With that being said it is your rifle and you can shoot what you want through it, but at least try some Black Hills or Federal Gold Metal Match through it to really determine it accuracy.

 

[Charlene32]

i do put some surplus brass through it when i can get it. but i like to shoot a lot. i will put at least 100rds through my gun every time i shoot. who knows....maybe with the shift in congress ammo prices will drop a little.GI4

 

[bd111]

You're not bad out. What appears on the metal to be a circle of piston impact actually extends toward the center of the op rod's tip, so I'll speculate your barrel may be slightly out of index or the op rod may be slightly out of straight. Try to nudge the op guide to compensate, end up with a mirror-image of the present condition. If the guide's tightly on the barrel as-is, don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. If that were a M1 Garand op rod, anybody who looked at its entry-exit at the gas cylinder would say it's fine.

 

[chumney]

Cheaper ammo

That is all I need. Thinking of trading a perfectly good M-24 clone for another M-14 type weapon and I have nearly 500 rounds loaded just for it that I can't use if I traded it. So maybe a M-1 to go with another M-14.

 

[chomp]

You can use JB weld instead of lock tight. I have seen allot of threads on here with guy using it. . I think yours is real close anyway. I don't think you need to do anything. I would keep an eye on it. See if it keeps moving over the next 500-1000 rds or so.

 

[Gus Fisher]

Sorry to have come to the thread rather late.

The first thing I would want to ensure is the op rod is not being pushed off center by the scope mount over the barrel. It probably isn't, but I would check that first.

When I was a standard MOS 2111 Infantry Weapons Repairman/Armorer and we worked on real G.I. M14's, we did not worry about where the op rod aligned on the gas cylinder as long as the op rod slid freely in it's track and the rifle functioned properly. Most op rods did not align perfectly to the pistons.

As a MOS 2112 Rifle Team Equipment Repairman/ NM Armorer, we glued all the op rod guides so the front of the op rod would align as close to center of the op rod front to the gas piston side to side, but not up and down. You can't adjust where the op rod will hit the piston up and down. We did that for accuracy of the rifle loading the round and that does help accuracy of the rifle. How much? Depends on the rifle to be honest. I don't even have a clue how much better accuracy you would get if the only thing you did was properly align and glue the op rod guide as we never tested that modification all by itself.

If you want to see if your rifle will shoot better, use Federal's American Eagle ammo or Winchester's white box with red Winchester letters and all other letters are black. These are loads that are meant to be used in military type gas guns.

 

[jameslawson71]

You can use JB weld instead of lock tight. I have seen allot of threads on here with guy using it. . I think yours is real close anyway. I don't think you need to do anything. I would keep an eye on it. See if it keeps moving over the next 500-1000 rds or so.

Ill second that. Its not perfect, but its not what's causing 3 min groups either if thats all the rifle is capable of...

 

[jameslawson71]

i did try tapping it with a malet but its really on there. i was wacking kind of hard and was afraid i was going to damage my gun........so i just left it. i figured i might do more harm than good. thanks for the advise though. i could break it down but i have a rail and optic attatched to the barrel and it would be a pain to remount it. im kind of weighing the pros and cons right now.

Yeah, dont whack it hard, and hit the guide as close to the barrel as possible. But dont smack it if it doesnt move otherwise. If its glued, heat it first, with a heat gun or something. You can and will distort the guide and/or barrel if you hit it hard enough. Barrel steel is relatively soft...

 

[ripsaw]

groups

I would bet money your gas cylinder is hitting on the front ferrel inside the rifle stock and causing these 3 " groups, check it for shiny spots on bottom of gas cylinder and ferrel...you can file the ferrel down until it quits hitting, fire it and check it, keep filing till it quits rubbing and your groups will tighten up. I wouldn't worry about that misalignment at all on the piston. If it was more I might fix it.

 

[Gus Fisher]

I would bet money your gas cylinder is hitting on the front ferrel inside the rifle stock and causing these 3 " groups, check it for shiny spots on bottom of gas cylinder and ferrel...you can file the ferrel down until it quits hitting, fire it and check it, keep filing till it quits rubbing and your groups will tighten up. I wouldn't worry about that misalignment at all on the piston. If it was more I might fix it.

Excellent point about the rod probably rubbing on the ferrule.

 

[Charlene32]

thank u all 4 the replies. your advice is worth a million.GI1

 

[artifex]

Something else you might consider, I used a tap and threaded the roll pin holes on my op rod guide, then put a set-screw in each side, centered it where I wanted it and gently tightened them down until no more give. Don't ape them too hard though - don't want to warp the barrel.