XCR-M Owners: Bit of a warning

It looks like we have this problem licked. Whether you go to a gunsmith or a machinist, get some experience in your corner.

Ideally it's the heli-coil that was loctited in, and the fastener just broke from fatigue.

I'm not familiar with these rifles. Generally, putting in a heli-coil in an aluminum part is a quality procedure where a fastener requires high torque, or must be removed often. This saves pulling, or wearing out the threads. The rifle may have been built this way, or is a previous repair. Good luck and I hope you are out shooting soon.
 
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andrew3081 said:
For the OP, during shooting....the barrel nut came loose enough for you to unscrew the screw by hand?
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It wasn't sitting there lose, but I was able to completely unscrew it with gloved fingers. At 200 in-lb of torque from the factory this shouldn't be possible I don't think.

bc308 said:
It looks like we have this problem licked. Whether you go to a gunsmith or a machinist, get some experience in your corner.

Ideally it's the heli-coil that was loctited in, and the fastener just broke from fatigue.

I'm not familiar with these rifles. Generally, putting in a heli-coil in an aluminum part is a quality procedure where a fastener requires high torque, or must be removed often. This saves pulling, or wearing out the threads. The rifle may have been built this way, or is a previous repair. Good luck and I hope you are out shooting soon.
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Rifle was bought new, so it's definitely factory installed.

@Wolverine Supplies, I still think this happened due to a factory defective screw being used. Is it possible to get a replacement from RA under any kind of warranty?
 
There is no question that this will be covered under warranty. This is the first time I have heard of this bolt breaking and yes, they are to be tightened to 200 in/lbs. They can come loose over the break in cycle but once broke in and torqued to spec they should not cause you any more trouble. If you take it back to your dealer they should send it back to Wolverine for repair.
Best regards.
Guy.
If you have any problems, please e-mail me at sales@wolverinesupplies.com and I will make sure that Grumpy takes care of it for you. Thanks Grumpy:)
 
Did you stop when the torque wrench clicked for the 200 in pounds? most torque wrenches indicate you are at the torque, but will continue to torque well past what you set it at....
 
I'm wondering if RA got a bad batch of bolts at some point. On mine it was the cap-screw that holds the fast-stock. Removed the fast-stock and when I went to replace it the bolt just broke off. Not a big deal as I had enough bolt sticking out to grab it with channel locks and remove. And fortunately it's a common thread, so it was easy enough to get a replacement at the local hardware store for about 89 cents
 
Nyksta said:
Did you stop when the torque wrench clicked for the 200 in pounds? most torque wrenches indicate you are at the torque, but will continue to torque well past what you set it at....
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This torque wrench makes a loud click when you hit the desired torque. The click never happened, so the head sheared off before the 200 in-lbs was fully applied.
 
wow,,for a riffle of that price,,i would expect a bit better quality,,,cheap bolts shouldn't be on there....proper graded ones would show care and quality,,,not to mention cheap ass Helicoils,,,,ever hear of timserts????,,,,way better process than helicoils,,,but a bit more expensive,,,i guess they dont make enough profit on their guns,,,LOL..
 
hootguy said:
wow,,for a riffle of that price,,i would expect a bit better quality,,,cheap bolts shouldn't be on there....proper graded ones would show care and quality,,,not to mention cheap ass Helicoils,,,,ever hear of timserts????,,,,way better process than helicoils,,,but a bit more expensive,,,i guess they dont make enough profit on their guns,,,LOL..
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Considering my post is the only one I can find about this kind of issue, I assume I may of just got a lemon screw. Happens with everything, even with the strictest quality control when you end up going into full production of any product.

I'm willing to give RA the benefit of the doubt on this one. I called up the retailer I purchased the rifle from, they're looking into who needs to be contacted for warranty repair / etc. I'm pretty sure they'll just get back to me with information that I already know (call Wolverine), but I want to be sure! :)
 
17 ft lbs is "3 fingers" tight with a wrench. a 1/4" bolt should take at least 90 ftlbs before failure, more if grade 3 and above. That bolt is cheap crap.
 
You're not the only one with this issue, I had the exact same thing happen about 2 days ago. Was also using a proper torque wrench set to 200in-lbs. Got in contact with Wolverine already and it looks like the issue should be resolved fairly painlessly. Only problem for me is that now I can't try my .308 pistol mags that arrived today. :( Its not a big deal, especially considering the flooding that Wolverine is dealing with the past couple days. Stay safe guys.

Cheers,
Mitch
 
I got to try out my 10 round pistol mags in this before it acted up. Fun stuff and no feeding issues before the barrel screw became lose!
 
There is a heli-coil in there and that is what you will be seeing the red from. The barrel bolts are not loctited. The proper setting is 250 inch pounds and we torque them down to that all the time here at the shop. Remember too, one click, don't bounce click the torque wrench. Once we are able to get back into the shop, drop us an email and I'll get you sorted out with a new bolt.
 
Grumpy Wolverine said:
There is a heli-coil in there and that is what you will be seeing the red from. The barrel bolts are not loctited. The proper setting is 250 inch pounds and we torque them down to that all the time here at the shop. Remember too, one click, don't bounce click the torque wrench. Once we are able to get back into the shop, drop us an email and I'll get you sorted out with a new bolt.
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Awesome, thanks Grumpy Wolverine! I'll keep an eye out here for an announcement as to when you're back to normal operations.

In the meantime I'll look into having a gun smith remove the existing screw body.
 
KePet said:
And fortunately it's a common thread, so it was easy enough to get a replacement at the local hardware store for about 89 cents
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You should get the replacement bolt and not just any bolt. The contact point with the barrel has a precision angle cut that matches both parts, ensuring the same precision fit every time you mount the barrel. In other words, the bottom of the bolt has a V-shape taper that matches the V-shape groove on the barrel. This aligns the chamber correctly, or else you could have headspace issues among other problems such as not holding zero.

The bolt on the stock, sure 89 cents.
 
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"hand tight then turn another 70 degrees...... Or max 200in/lbs"
Manual sounds a bit misleading as hand tight isn't all that tight to start with... Follow by another 70 degrees... Versus 200in/lbs which was obviously enough to shear the head off.... Interesting problem there!
 
sofarsogood said:
"hand tight then turn another 70 degrees...... Or max 200in/lbs"
Manual sounds a bit misleading as hand tight isn't all that tight to start with... Follow by another 70 degrees... Versus 200in/lbs which was obviously enough to shear the head off.... Interesting problem there!
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Its for field use, not everybody has a torque wrench in their car.
 
bobsonofbob said:
Wow, seriously that must have been a cheezy bolt.....
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Had the same issue with "aircraft grade" components that I was using on a Bell 214. Bolt heads kept sheering off when torqued to spec. Turns out the Vancouver B.C. company where the parts were made was actually just getting them shipped from China with some really whacky metallurgy. RA may or may not be to blame as I doubt they manufactured the bolt.
 
captainamazing said:
Had the same issue with "aircraft grade" components that I was using on a Bell 214. Bolt heads kept sheering off when torqued to spec. Turns out the Vancouver B.C. company where the parts were made was actually just getting them shipped from China with some really whacky metallurgy. RA may or may not be to blame as I doubt they manufactured the bolt.
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Well isn't that just lovely..
 
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