[Custer]

How do I disassemble an AK extractor to look for a broken spring?

If the spring is not damaged, is there any other tell tale sings of damage that I should be looking for.


(Fyi, I am having a failure to feed problem)

 

[Custer]

Thanks, Zoid. I looke forward to the pictures.

I've sort of concluded failure to feed as the round is being pushed up; i.e. bullet nose up in the air and then the casing is gouged on the side and stuck.

I've tried a number of different mags and different Wolf ammo. All of which were previously 100% reliable.

 

[Custer]

What kind of rifle is it? There may be issues with the bullet guide, i.e., the round may be hanging up between the magazine and the chamber.

Some AK's that were converted from single-stack to double-stack rifles have this problem. You might look for a burr or something on the edge of the bullet guide that faces the magazine.

It's hard to diagnose over the internet!

It is a 1987 Prochine pre ban. Predecessor to Norinco.

Never had the problem before and I've done no work on it.

Round stands straight up in the chamber.

I'll look for a burr....but not exactly sure where.

 

[Custer]

It is all OEM parts. Never added a thing or changed a thing.

I am going to fool with the bolt and extractor on my lunch hour here at work.

I was looking at the extractor in the bolt and wonder if it is off center?

In other words, the extractor seems to be down from the top of the bolt just a tad. It is not flush/evenly spaced. I can press it up and make it fairly flush and even with the top of the bolt. Makes me wonder if something in side is broken or somehow got knocked off center.

Not sure if that description makes sense.

 

[Custer]

I'll bet to the extractor today and take a look. Ran out of time yesterday.

I guess I look the receiver over as best I can for burrs. What would be the likely areas for a problem?

As far as the spring, it looks ok, but I am not sure what subtle damage to look for there.

Doctor Zoid, I really appreciate your help and advice. Many thanks.

 

[Custer]

I have the bolt assembly apart.

I've never taken it apart before, so I have nothing to compare.

However, I am wondering if the extractor is showing some wear that could be the problem.

If you position it so the round, half moon part is up and then look at the edges, both far side edges show some wear. Again, maybe this is normal.

 

[Custer]

Sang, what would a "good'" front of extractor edges look like?

 

[Custer]

I'll try to help .All the extractors I've ever saw should have crisp sharpe edges to clean these up I use a small stone ( not a rock they are at brownell Iuse the tri edge ones in dif sizes) If the spring is weak it will cause this problem, it should be stiff almost to the point that it hurts your finger to move it all the way out.AS far as the underside goes again all the ones i've seen it is sharpe and not rounded. I hope this helps I always use the stones so I can go slow and mess things with alot of refiting,Good luck and keep at it.

Well, just took a triangular file and sharpened up the edges. I worry about less metal, but maybe that will help.

Weather permitting, I'll give it a try this weekend.

If that does not work, guess I'll become a customer of Numrich.

 

[Custer]

Well, that did not solve the problem.

I am now thinking Zoid was right and the problem is with the recoil spring.

I looked it over after shooting yesterday and while it looks ok, it is, as best I can describe it, a bit "floppy".

Not sure what to look for in a bad recoil spring.

 

[Custer]

Unfortunately, it's hard to diagnose things over the internet. Recoil springs are relatively inexpensive if I remember correctly. Being that we are now getting ready to "try different remedies and see what works," the recoil spring is one of the least expensive replacement parts out there.

Let me know if you need disassembly instructions (Gulp).

Zoid, Custer is a dumb ass.

Actually, I had a dream about my AK last night. I guess it's malfunctions have been weighing on my mind...

Anyway, part of the dream was that I looked into the bolt carrier where the recoil spring is inserted and found that a piece of cloth was stuck in there from cleaning it out.

When I got up at 5:00 a.m. today, I looked in there with the aid of a flashlight, and sure enough, there is some paper towel wedged in there from a cleaning session.

I have to assume that is the culprit....not allowing the spring to function properly. Hopefully I have not damaged the spring in the process, but at least I know the cause.

I feel pretty dumb at this point, but I guess it's not the first or last time in my life that will happen.

Kinda shows cleaning AK's can be more of a problem than leaving them alone!

Thanks to you and everyone else for the help and patience.

 

[Custer]

Glad to be of service Zoid.