Problems cleaning.. Gas tube rust

nesterk

nesterk

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I havn't cleaned my SKS properly immediately (corrosive ammo!! :bangHead:), and after 3 days I had gas piston stuck in the gas tube.
Finally I managed to hammer it out, but then I noticed that gas piston cannot go to till the end - it gets stuck in the middle..
What is recommended to get the rust out?

Also spent 2 hours cleaning barrel - at the end it looked almost the same dirty as in the beginning..

And another issue: the limiter knob in the magazin (which limits its capacity to 5) simply felt off. So now I have a kind of prohibited device... :eek:

Any suggestions how to clean and fix this? Because it kind of looks like it's easier to throw it away rather than fix... :mad:

And the last question (hopefully if I manage to get it done) - non-corrosive ammo doesn't cause all these mess? Where to get it and how much it costs?
(I'll keep corrosive crate for zombies - anyway it would not matter to clean the rifle next day.. :D)
 
try using a bore brush to clean inside the gas tube. also i'm not sure but i don't think leaving it for 3 days would cause it to jam up like that, i've heard of people never cleaning their sks after shooting period and they still function fine.

as far as the barrel goes, my mosin is like that, my sks however has a mirror like bore, it all depends on how much it's been fired and how well it was cleaned afterwards
 
I never cleaned the gas tube on my SKS... If the piston is stuck it's probably not only due to rust.

And as for your unfortunately prohibited device... epoxy it back if you still have it. If you lost it, epoxy anything else that limits the mag to 5.
 
Bro, I shot my SKS for an entire year using corrosive ammo and never cleaned it once. Not only did I not have a problem, it also hardly "rusted" anything at all.

Your problem is NOT because you use corrosive ammo, I can tell you that much.
 
Mr. Spectacular said:
Bro, I shot my SKS for an entire year using corrosive ammo and never cleaned it once. Not only did I not have a problem, it also hardly "rusted" anything at all.

Your problem is NOT because you use corrosive ammo, I can tell you that much.
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We're not on the Jersey Shore bro.

It could be rust problems that's making your gas piston stick.

The climate you live in is going to have a huge impact on the speed at which your rifle rusts after shooting. If you're in southern ontario like I am, it won't take long at all to get enough surface rust to get a sticking piston.

Just use a bore brush and some wd-40 or other rust penetrant to remove it.


If its too much hassle you could always sell the rifle to me ;)
 
If I recall correctly, the inside of the gas tube is slightly tapered, so it doesn't go all the way to the end of the tube, only about half way or 2/3rds.

Try a bore brush and oil, don't use sandpaper.
 
Rise with HOT water and dry off the rusting parts. Soak piston in Kroil oil over night. Then take Flitz and polish the $h!t out of it and inside the gas tube and piston the next day tell it looks like a mirror finish again. Then take brake cleaner and clean off all the Flitz and then wipe all the exposed metal parts with CLP. Let sit again for 1 day and wipe every thing dry with a towel or cloth rag.
 
Satain said:
Rise with HOT water and dry off the rusting parts. Soak piston in Kroil oil over night. Then take Flitz and polish the $h!t out of it and inside the gas tube and piston the next day tell it looks like a mirror finish again. Then take brake cleaner and clean off all the Flitz and then wipe all the exposed metal parts with CLP. Let sit again for 1 day and wipe every thing dry with a towel or cloth rag.
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Thanks, I've tried all these.
This is only second time I've used the SKS - last time it was 8 month ago, then I cleaned (in about a week) and it was sitted in the basement.

So it looks like that corrosive ammo is not that bad, just need to clean immediately.
Army regulations for the SKS specifies that it has to be cleaned same day, then in a week, then every month. But suspect that might be to "keep a solder busy" ;)
 
jt_trouble said:
If I recall correctly, the inside of the gas tube is slightly tapered, so it doesn't go all the way to the end of the tube, only about half way or 2/3rds.

Try a bore brush and oil, don't use sandpaper.
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ok, but should it go back so piston would completely open those 2 holes in the tube?
Here it moves only till the first groove - see pic how far it moves:
gas.jpg
 
Sardaukar said:
I never cleaned the gas tube on my SKS... If the piston is stuck it's probably not only due to rust.

And as for your unfortunately prohibited device... epoxy it back if you still have it. If you lost it, epoxy anything else that limits the mag to 5.
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I store it in the basement. Not that wet, but might move safe to the bedroom..

Thanks - yes, I have the knob (it is rattling in the magazine) so will try to glue it back
 
take the rod and the piston get a tinfoil pan of oil let it soak in it for a few days give it a good scrub with the brush thats in the cleaning kit for it thatll get most the rust out for you use a tooth brush and some hopps nine clean every part the gun spotless and scrub out the barrel with a brush and patches to that should fix the problem. As for the no cleanning of corrosive very bad idea here in newfoundland wih our climate three hours of being stored after shooting u can see the corrosin growing in the gas tube. U get these weried shaped rust and corrosian crystals from the corrosive salt.
 
jt_trouble is correct .

SKS is a short stroke gas system so no matter how far the piston moves rearward , it wont move further than the piston extension which will only moves about 3/4" to 7/8 " . try it by removing the piston extension spring and drop the piston extension and see how far it protrudes.

now about the holes on the gas tube , they are not gas escape ports. they are located too far back for that , they are there to reduce pressure behind the piston head as the gas pushes the head rearward.
 
Curtton said:
jt_trouble is correct .

SKS is a short stroke gas system so no matter how far the piston moves rearward , it wont move further than the piston extension which will only moves about 3/4" to 7/8 " . try it by removing the piston extension spring and drop the piston extension and see how far it protrudes.

now about the holes on the gas tube , they are not gas escape ports. they are located too far back for that , they are there to reduce pressure behind the piston head as the gas pushes the head rearward.
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Thank you - this perfectly makes sense!
Yes, I've measured - the piston extension can be moved only 18mm, and my piston "got stuck" at 42mm, so no way this affects operating.

So as the summary - it's really not that easy to damage/destroy SKS with poor cleaning :)
 
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nesterk said:
So as the summary - it's really not that easy to damage/destroy SKS with poor cleaning :)
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I don't know what you would have to do to one to actually "destroy" it. The SKS is built like a friggin tank. Good old Russian Engineering right there.

I bet 200 years from now your SKS would function just as well as it does right now.
 
Look at how the SKS fared in Vietnam-I don't think you could find a more humid and rust encouraging environment anywhere else. It seems that the only thing that was of any concern was the bore rotting out, which is why they were chrome lined. Other than that, they weren't babied in the least, and I never heard of an SKS or an AK47 jamming or misfiring because of dirt, fouling or rust like the initial versions of the M16 were infamous for.
 
nesterk said:
Thank you - this perfectly makes sense!
Yes, I've measured - the piston extension can be moved only 18mm, and my piston "got stuck" at 42mm, so no way this affects operating.

So as the summary - it's really not that easy to damage/destroy SKS with poor cleaning :)
Click to expand...

ya welcome , go shoot it and have fun.
 
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