Romanian SKS reliability issues

[Kryntik]

I recently picked up a 1960 Romanian SKS and have been experiencing issues with it only cycling between 1 and 4 rounds before the rifle either stovepipes or fails to eject/feed. I have relentlessly cleaned every nook and cranny and lubed it appropriately (not too little, not too much) and am still experiencing reliability issues. There are no aftermarket parts on the rifle so this leads me to believe that it is not the magazine, though I could be wrong. The loop on my sling that rests next to the front of the gas tube has a black residue on it. I may not have noticed it before but I assumed that it would be worth the mention. What other measures could be taken to increase the reliability? Thanks a lot in advance.

[Greasemonkey]

Just gotta ask... Is the recoil spring in correct, the squiggly end up inside the carrier?

And welcome, pictures please

[Kryntik]

If I had a dollar for every person that asked me if the spring was in correct I would have just bought the Cugir plant in Romania and forced them to make me a new rifle lol. Yeah, it's in right. Also, pictures are a no-go as I'm back at school until the first week of May.

[Greasemonkey]

Welp....We cant start at step 9 in troubleshooting without knowing, we cant see it, and in your OP you didn't mention "my recoil spring is correct" or other steps short of cleaning and lube, I'm not a mind reader .... So I just try to start with basics. 

Is the op rod binding up? Gas pistion binding in the tube? Port clean? Gas tube loose fitting on the gas block causing excessive leakage?

And I guess I owe the man a dollar.. I got your dollar

[Kryntik]

The op rod is moving the way it's supposed to but the gas piston has pitting along the rod itself, not the face. I've been told this is a non-issue but it seems to get stuck in the rear of the gas tube. The gas tube itself is somewhat loose, but not much more than my Norinco's tube and it's never had a failure or stoppage of any kind. The port is clear of any obstructions but has some minor pitting.

[Greasemonkey]

Could try and swap the two gas tubes and pistons. This is provided the Chinese has a normal length tube and piston. They should interchange.

It is normal for the pistion to stick down inside of the tube as the piston only has to travel about 3/4 inch to do its job, so they usually are not machined fully, just the first inch- inch and a half. And I wouldnt worry about face pitting, the sides/edges where it seals is more critical.

[Kryntik]

I'll have my brother swap the tubes tomorrow and try it out, what if this does not fix the problems? What else could be causing it to fail so frequently?

[Greasemonkey]

Another question... Does it do this just cycling by hand or only firing? Hand cycling all 10 rounds by hand.......in a safe location of course

[Kryntik]

It will cycle everything when I do it by hand. It only hangs up while firing.

[carls sks]

have you tried different types of ammo?

[Justin Hell]

Where the tube goes into the gas block, it is too loose to seal properly, and you are not getting enough energy to fully cycle the action.  This would be why you are getting residue by your sling attachment point.

I have several NC Star gas tubes that I play around with...all are loose in that location to a varying degree from gun to gun.  Some of them, when especially loose...behave exactly as you describe.

Depending on your ammo, you may be getting some charges that are a little hotter than others. Causing some inconsistency to your dilemma as well....or, If it is loose enough, the whole tube might settle into place after a couple rounds and the behavior might change a little...the spring tension in the magazine changes as you reduce the rounds as well, but I would say your main problem is losing the energy you need to fully cycle the op rod far enough to provide full ejection.

If you have front to back slipping causing it not to seat firmly into place, you could be losing it there, or if it is simply the tube having too great of an inside diameter to seal with the gas block, it would be there.

The only other thing I could think of is if you have an SKSS piston in a full length tube, but the escaping gases would then be though the ventilation ports aft of the piston...or at least where it is supposed to be aft of the piston....I would also think the sound of the piston slipping back and forth in the tube would be a dead giveaway. 

[Kryntik]

It is most definitely not ammo related as I have tried four different types from Tula to Hornady brass. If it is the gas tube not sealing properly with the block, thus failing to move the op rod through a lack of force, what could be done to fix it? Could I just buy a new gas tube and see if it works?

[Justin Hell]

If you have the ability to try swap it with another to see if it solves it, then yes that would be the easiest route.

Is the tube original to the Romy or is it possibly a replacement that came from another nationality? 

I haven't owned one, but the parts I have seen available (which isn't often) seemed more robust, therefore it is possible that they used different machining processes and may have different tolerances.  I haven't seen many folks with Romanians that they have done anything to, they more often are in the hands of collectors rather than tinkerers. Which, aside from their low importation numbers affects how many parts you see in the wild.  I don't believe I have ever seen a Romanian gas tube for sale.

If there is a LOT of wiggle at that fitting, you might be able to 'shim' it with some metal tape that can handle the heat...not that I recommend that, but I might be tempted to try it in your shoes.  Is the overall length of the tube correct with no forward and backward slippage? If it is there, you might be able to wrap a paper clip or wire (neatly) around the gas block fitting to 'lengthen' the tube at the fitting...but that would also be a LOT of wiggle room....and is a pretty crappy fix.  Either of those ideas might be good for troubleshooting and making sure that is where the problem lies before buying a new tube.  I wouldn't use them long term.

A machinist or plumber might know how to 'crimp' down on the tube to get it a little tighter at the fitting, as it shouldn't be much...since I am neither, it might not be possible... but if retaining the original tube is critical, it might be an option.    I suppose it comes down to how much you value it being all original, if it is.

[Greasemonkey]

You could try a decent sized pipe cutter, not on the cutting edges of course, just with the gas tube resting on the rollers, and swaging it tighter. It takes a pretty good tubing cutter to do this. If you have a decent one just keep working it and trial fitting it until the tube fits snug over the gas block, and recheck to make sure the piston moves freely in it still also.

If this doesn't work or your unable to do it, then a gas tube replacement is by far the easiest way. Just swap your handguard over, or install the aftermarket one to play with and keep the factory one for display purposes.

[Kryntik]

The tube is original to the rifle and while I do want to keep it in its original configuration I don't see any harm in having a second tube for shootin' and the original tube for display. That being said, it does move considerably more than my Chiese SKS but I had always believed that my Chinese variant was excessively tight as it takes me nearly four times as long to field strip it as opposed to my Romanian. If I were to buy another tube could I just go with an American company that produces new ones? I could just buy a spare handguard to replace the polymer ones that (Tapco?) produces and nobody would be the wiser to its new part. Or am I a little far off and perhaps the new production tubes are not worth the time or money.

[Greasemonkey]

A normal Chinese or Russian, or any standard SKS tube could be used.. but, like swapping any nations parts, some fitting may or may not be required. Ones that will not fit, the short Chinese commercial or the M59/66 variant. I won't even speak of an Albanian tube, if you find and buy one, you have already paid twice what a Russian or other would have cost.

You could buy one and swap yours or just find another wooden handguard and swap the plastic out. Leaving the factory one alone and complete leaves the collectivity in place because it's original to that rifle. Just swapping a alternate tube and handguard, leaving the factory one at home to shoot it won't hurt any value, but if it is a numbers matching gas tube, altering the number matching part could decrease the rifles overall value.

[Power Surge]

Honestly, it sounds like a magazine feed lip issue. Try closing the feed lips in a bit and see if that helps. Seen this exact issue on a local guy's Chinese letter gun, and that's what it was.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Clean the chamber REALLY good.

Did you make sure the squiggly end of the return spring is forward and into the carrier?   






 

[Kryntik]

What is the best way to close the feed lips without potentially causing damage to the magazine?

[Loose}{Cannon]

Did you chuck up a large brush on a rod in a drill and get after that chamber with some solvent from the rear of the disassembled receiver?   You know many types of ammo have a protective coating that acts like glue and can reduce its ability to extract properly right?

I would do as previously suggested and start swapping parts one at a time from another sks until the issue resolves itself.  Start with the piston, then tube, then mag.  If you still have an issue, its going to be a problem with the chamber, or the gasblock not seated/sealing against the barrel properly.

If you try a dif mag and it still does it.... No need to go bending crap as you may actually introduce a new and second issue.

Normally feedlip issues are nosed up/down rounds when chambering that hang the tip of the round somewhere other then going into the chamber. .  I'm betting your having issues fully extracting and ejecting.....  Thats a short stroke issue, not a magazine issue.