Good Day Gone Horribly Wrong

[cztulsa]

I've kind of sworn off of new guns lately as the money has been tight, but made an exception today.  Have been looking for a Security Forces rifle for some time, and finally picked one this morning.  Looked it over real well (I thought), all numbers I could see match, and made the deal.  Got it home, and could  not for the life of me get the gas tube off.  In the process of trying I cracked the damned handguard, and still no success.  Figured I've got another one somewhere, so I should be OK.  But wait - also in the process of trying, the top cover latch somehow got hung somewhere and broke off!  Now that one is going to take some doing, as I'll have to educate myself on how to replace that.  Crap.  Started putting it back together, and found out that the trigger doesn't release the hammer; of all the things I looked over when looking it over, I neglected to dry fire it.  I'm typically very thorough, but this time I really stepped on my junk.  So I've got some work to do to be able to turn it into a viable, functional rifle, from a paperweight.  Any tips on very stuck gas tubes, broken latches, and bunk trigger assemblies? 

[Draq]

Without any more info, my initial guessfor the trigger is some cosmoline that didn't get cleaned out. Possibly on the gas tube too... That's very perplexing

[carls sks]

that stinks.  maybe copes, Natchez, eBay or other sellers will have something.

[spongemonkey]

Darn the bad luck!   

[Boris Badinov]

Regarding the gas tube. I had a problem with stuck piston once. Rifle was pretty clean, but there was just enough dried up crud at the forward end of the tube to prevent the piston from seating fully forward. I pried, pulled, banged for about an hour, and scratched my head til I nearly bled.

Once I figured out the likely culprit, I sat for about 20 minutes heating the tube fore-end with a hair dryer on hot to get enough of the crud too ooze away ---with the barrel pointed down, the excess spilled into the barrel via the gas port.

Once enough material had seeped out, the piston was able to seat fully forward and the tube assembly slipped out with barely a tug.

[Boris Badinov]

No idea what to do with the trigger group, but I'm guessing it'll be a pretty straightforward fix once it's diagnosed...and a learning experience to boot.

I'm also guessing that you've stumbled onto the root causes for the rifle ending up for sale in the first place.

[cztulsa]

OK - youtubed the latch; shouldn't be too tough there.   The gas tube looks like it's just too long and binds hard when trying to remove it; not sure if the Chinese didn't do a good job fitting it or what.  Trigger has me stumped.  Pulled it and compared it to one of my /26\ rifles, and the difference in quality is staggering (this is an 0140 rifle).  I can get the hammer to drop with the trigger assy out, and gently manipulating the disconnector as with any other SKS, but it won't drop the hammer when installed.  I compared the angles of the disconnectors, and the Factory 26 rifle's has a steeper "forward" angle than the 0140.  Not sure if this is contributing, but I'll keep messing with it.  Again, the difference in quality, machining, etc., is pretty dramatic between the two; the /26\ is a work of art compared to the 0140.

Oh - and one thing I was going to ask before this all fell down around my ankles: this rifle has a "dent" in the receiver cover, something I've never seen before.  It's not that it appears to have been damaged after the fact, but the dent/impression is under the bluing, and there's no sign of touch-up.  With as rough as the rest of this thing is, is it possible that the Chinese just left a manufacturing flaw, blued it, and issued it?  I was always under the impression that the Security Forces rifles were supposed to be a "cut above".  Not this thing.  I guess it can be satisfied that if it once brought pain and discomfort to some poor Red Chinese citizens, it's continuing the trend in its civilian retirement!

[cztulsa]

I'm also guessing that you've stumbled onto the root causes for the rifle ending up for sale in the first place.

More than likely.  Unfortunately, the last time that happened, I got a pre-ban Springfield SAR-48 Bush rifle for cheap; rifle looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the late 80s, and the gas piston was stuck.  He sold me that "POS single shot rifle" for a song.  Too bad this one isn't going to be so easy.  Need to listen to that little voice in my head that says "no more guns for a while".  Would have saved me money and headaches.

[cztulsa]

OK.  Got the gas tube off; I'm going to do some fitting, plus got the hand guard off.  Now I've driven that pin out before I know, but not this one.  Drill baby drill!  Now I just have to locate my spare hand guard.  Also removed the damaged latch. I think I've half-assedly figured the trigger issue out, too; the disconnector sits flush with its surroundings, so the bolt doesn't push it down so the trigger will trip the hammer.  Wondering if a new disconnector will fix it, or....?  It doesn't appear to be worn too much, so I wonder if there is some kind of adjustment I can make.  More research.

[Boris Badinov]

Possibly a former owner tried to do some DIY trigger work-- and put it back together incorrectly.

[cztulsa]

May have it somewhat figured out.  Pulled the trigger group from yet another Chinese rifle, and bent the disconnector of the new one to the same angle as the the known good rifle.  A little fine tuning, and now it dry fires like a champ.  I think it was slightly bent from overzealous installation of the trigger group in the past.  It's now just slightly bent the opposite direction, but functions fine.  So maybe it's back on the road to being a respectable Security Forces rifle again. 

[newchi]

The gas tube looks like it's just too long and binds hard when trying to remove it; not sure if the Chinese didn't do a good job fitting it or what.

I have a Russian thats the same, you would swear it doest come off until it does.  Putting it back on isnt easy either.
Must be a bad day all around, i rammed a tree branch through the front grill/headlight on the tractor today.