M14 Bolt Dissasembly Instructions?

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Northman999

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Hey guys, I'm trying to detail clean my M14, but I can't figure the bolt dissasembly. I checked surplusrifle.com (and I have their CD's) as they are usually great, but damn if that's the one bolt on thier site they don't go into. I don't want any slamfires, so I'd really like to be able to keep the bolt spotless. Oh, and I have a Garand I'll be doing too, so if you have info on that one and could throw that in, all the better. Thanks!
 
sgt.maj,

Thanks for the link. It seemed exaclty waht I needed at first. Unfortuantely, it assumes I have a garand tool, which I don't. I do have the M14 tool, which appears to have something for the bolt face on the end of the tool (by the six sided hole used for the gas nut), but I couldn't get it to work. I didn't want to really torque on it as I wasn't sure if this was actually the intended purpose, and didn't want to damage my bolt.

Does anyone know how to dissasemble one of these without a garand tool?
 
sgt.maj,

Thanks!

I got ticked and basically "had at er" with the darn tool and it worked fine. From the tutorual it seemed like a little finger pressure would be enough, but I really had to torque on it. It's apart now and I'm off!
 
I usually use a chisel, since I don't have a combo tool. But the really "fun" part is getting the buggers back together. I always seem to manage to get stirred up into a fit of angry.
 
I have the garand tool... But getting the extractor spring back in was a real #####... little screwdriver really helped...
 
Holy crap, what a nightmare to get back together! Took me and my wife three hours to get it back together. No way I could do it alone; gave up after the first two hours. In the tutorial pictures the extractor spring and plunger sit almost flush with the hole they recess into, and so the extractor just slides into place. I wish! On my Norinco bolt the extractor spring and plunger stick way far out. This means you have to manually compress the extractor spring and plunger at the same time as you are manually compressing the ejector spring and ejector and pushing in the extractor to lock it all in place. Craziest system I've ever seen! I had pieces flying all over the place like twenty times. In the end we had to use a set of needle nose vise grips to push in the extractor spring and plunger in and lock them in place, then push in the ejector spring and ejector with the M14 tool, then use another huge pair of vise grips to sqeeze the ejector in place and force off the first pair of vise grips as the ejector covered over the extractor spring and plunger. I say again, craziest system I've ever seen. And I can't believe how many times we managed to find the springs and plungers etc after they went flying all over. The next time I dissasemble one of those bolts will be right after hell freezes over.
 
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Northman999 said:
Holy crap, what a nightmare to get back together! Took me and my wife three hours to get it back together. No way I could do it alone; gave up after the first two hours. In the tutorial pictures the extractor spring and plunger sit almost flush with the hole they recess into, and so the extractor just slides into place. I wish! On my Norinco bolt the extractor spring and plunger stick way far out. This means you have to manually compress the extractor spring and plunger at the same time as you are manually compressing the ejector spring and ejector and pushing in the extractor to lock it all in place. Craziest system I've ever seen! I had pieces flying all over the place like twenty times. In the end we had to use a set of needle nose vise grips to push in the extractor spring and plunger in and lock them in place, then push in the ejector spring and ejector with the M14 tool, then use another huge pair of vise grips to sqeeze the ejector in place and force off the first pair of vise grips as the ejector covered over the extractor spring and plunger. I say again, craziest system I've ever seen. And I can't believe how many times we managed to find the springs and plungers etc after they went flying all over. The next time I dissasemble one of those bolts will be right after hell freezes over.
Click to expand...

I'm not gonna say I told you so! but I tried to warn you....
 
Other posts have stated that the Norc extractor spring is too long and powerful and a handful to reinstall. Shortening it may be an option, but I haven't done a Norc bolt.
On the M1 rifle, for reassembly, I hold the bolt in a padded vice and something under the bolt which holds the firing pin at the right height for reassembly. With the right punch to push in the extractor, it goes together fairly easily.
It should work for the M-14. I believe Hungry uses a .30/'06 case in the rifle's chamber and does it in his rifle. It might be on his video.
Hope this helps.
 
You are correct the Chinese ejector spring is alot longer than a USGI one !
I recommend you get a USGI or equvelint aftermarket spring for the ejector ,you will not belive how much easier it is . Also the 30.06 empty case is the easiest way to reassemble the bolt .
You just remove the op rod spring and put your bolt in and line up all the bolt parts ,then install the empty 30.06 case and gently use your op rod to apply pressure ,ease it forward into the 30.06 case until the ejector spring compresses ,then drop your extractor in place and give it a good whack with a small rubber hammer or a piece of wood ! You could use a M1 garand combo tool instead of the spent case .
This method has always worked for me .Give it a try and if you need some of the replace ment springs you can email me at :mikebaker1129@aol.com , I have a few extras to spare .
Hope this helps !
Mike
 
I've been trying to warn all of you in previous posts.... don't bother trying to pull your Norc M14 bolt apart. Save yourself the grief and just blast the firing pin hole with 'Gunk Out' or Aerosol Brake Cleaner...

Well now you have a great story to tell others.

barney
 
I will NEVER take my M14 bolt apart EVER again. Chemical cleanings from now on for sure.

I did take my bolt apart. Once. It came apart, no problem, but getting it back together a different story. Shoulda never tried it in front of my computer (I was searching for instructions or tips or a prayer or something) because the ejector flew out and hit my LCD monitor and put a big, colourful 'spider's' web in it. I would have been less p1ssed if it were my eye or something, but my 23" LCD!
 
I decided to do the chemical cleaning right after I got mine back for the first time. I thought of using WD40 followed by canned air to really clear it up. Hungry's Gunk Out or brake cleaner may be a better way to go. In a way I'm sorry I'm not the only one who found out the hard way about these bolts.

Hungry - How about a stickie somewhere warning us all. I haven't seen one, but I would have followed your advice if I had seen it before hand!

Hungry here.... that message was likely (scratching my buzzcut head here....) burried in posts way back as far as 2004 or 2003. Anyways, you have just resurrected this issue. Marstar has been bringing in these darlings since 2002 when Skullboy and I first got on the; DON'T buy ONE, buy TWO bandwagon.
 
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Now back to the aerosol cleaning methods... The reason I say go with the Gunk Out or Brake Cleaner solutions is because we don't want flying (and hard to recover) parts all over your shop floor. Remember that we M14 Norinco-Plinko lovers cannot find spare parts are readily ANYWHERE. And that's why I recommend buy TWO of the darn lovelies.

Besides none of us are taking this M14 to a 2 way range, so the aerosol Gunk Out or chemical Degreasers are simpler to use. Maybe followed up by compressed air and some lubrication... :evil:

Cheers,
Barney

PS: remember to grease yer bolt lugs, bolt raceways, hammer nose, and finally smooth up yer trigger pull by greasing the hammer hooks.
 
After reading Northman999's re-assembly adventure...and laughing a little bit because it was not happening to me :p...I will not be taking my bolt apart, ever. I am glad that I read this because I was eyeing my bolt when I was cleaning my Nork last week and thinking that I should take it apart and clean it :runaway: I will be following Hungry's advice and using the chemical cleaners :D
 
It's realy not that difficult to take a M14/M1 bolt apart. Forget about special tools. I use the following method which doesn't need a third hand and prevents the small parts from flying around. :rockOn:

Use a .308 case head, (cut about 3/8" above the extractor groove) and a good size bench vise (3" or larger opening). Clamp the bolt with the case head into the padded vise, bottom side up, to relieve the ejector presure. Tap the extractor out and catch it in a rag or something. Now carefully release the bolt from the vise while holding your other hand around the bolt face to catch the ejector and ejector spring. That's it, remove all other parts and you're done. It probably takes longer to read this than to do it :D

To re-assemble, do the reverse. :wave:
 
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