SKS Malfunction

Seven65

Seven65

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Has anyone else had problems with the op rod (I think that's what it is) getting stuck extended into the action?

It is happening often on an open magazine, the bolt will be open and the rod will be sticking into the action. It seems to be moving slow in general, I have been getting stovepipes and pinched casings.

Is there something in the regular maintenance I can be doing better to prevent this from happening?

Thanks

Edit: Posted some pics on page 2
 
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Seven65 said:
Has anyone else had problems with the op rod (I think that's what it is) getting stuck extended into the action?

It is happening often on an open magazine, the bolt will be open and the rod will be sticking into the action. It seems to be moving slow in general, I have been getting stovepipes and pinched casings.

Is there something in the regular maintenance I can be doing better to prevent this from happening?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Have you taken it apart to see if maybe the spring is broken or damaged? There are lots of places to get replacement parts if so... Lever Arms is one place.

Maybe I am missunderstanding... are you talking about the rod from the gas tube or the follower that pushes the next round in?
 
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I had that problem on my sks years ago. Change your gas tube. Found mine was out of spec and sticking(was superclean and could not tell by eye). Exact same issue. Bolt moved extremely slow, would not cycle. Only enough to eject but not load the next round. All components were fine. Lucky I had two sks's. Switched out parts until it worked. Piston, spring, and extension were all good. If you got it from Lever, do not return it. You will get nothing out of it...more like in one ear out the other and they'll give you a ear full of you didnt clean the rifle, its used, theres no returns..blah blah blah. A spare gas tube will not be hard to find.
 
I had the same thing on one of mine. Russian refurb. The op rod was actually bent.
Fortunately I bought mine from Kelly's in Ontario, so we just swapped it for a fresh rod and off to the range I went!
Good luck.
 
Thanks for the replies.

The spring doesn't seem damaged but I will try replacing it anyways, and will start looking for a new gas tube.

I'll check and make sure the rid is straight as well, though when I had it out a couple days ago it looked fine.

Yes I did clean the cosmoline out. I will try sticking a brush in there, maybe on a drill or something to make damn sure it's clean.
 
I always wondered why that spring is made from twisted together wires, unlike the one for the bolt carrier.
 
So I looked everything over, the spring seems fine, the rod seems straight, but i'm guessing it isn't supposed to have a flat spot on the top?



Also, here is a picture of how it looks after the last shot, just fired 80 rounds through it with no malfunctions though so I don't know how big of a deal it is. I just don't think that this is how it's supposed to function. It didn't used to do it anyways :p

 
The flat spot should have a small indentation - this is where the hardness was checked after heat treatment. There will be one on the piston rod too. These are not defects.
Check the back of the gas tube where it was ground to fit at the rear sight - a burr on this surface is common.
In the stuck condition is the gas piston forward or is it also held rearward?
 
There is not a lot to the working parts of an SKS. I have doubts that any parts need to be replaced, but rather a good cleaning. Residual cosmoline tends to get hard like cement from heat if not removed. If you take off the parts, use a cordless drill and a .410 brass brush to clean out the gas tube, and a .22 brush to clean the small part of the tube and the push rod hole in front of the bolt.

You can also hold a straight edge along the rods and gas piston to see that they are actually straight. Its not imperative that these rods have a gas seal because the only pressure that is required is forward of the gas piston head itself.

It looks to me like there is crud or a burr in the push rod mechanism. That spring should have several pounds of force and should retract freely when operating properly. You can test the smoothness of the operation by hand by just pushing the piston onto the rod and spring.
 
It may be just different but your lock/take down lever for the gas tube is up or not all the way down.
I would double check clearance on the OP rod with out the spring to make sure it moves freely.
The piston may be sticking in the lower portion of the gas tube. A good scrub with a bronze brush maybe?
Now I also noticed you have removed the original rear sight. IIRC the top of the OP housing is exposed if you remove the sight.
Also could there be a chance the rail mounting could be putting strain on the block especially in the fact the take down lever appears to be partially up. Try shooting again BUT remove the rail and put back the original rear sight.
 
Beermaker said:
It may be just different but your lock/take down lever for the gas tube is up or not all the way down.
Click to expand...

The lock /take down lever only stops the rod from moving forward for removal. If the rod and spring functions and moves freely, its likely a problem with the gas piston sticking in a portion of the gas tube, eg; crud, grease, rust or a burr.
 
Yes, did it function fine before installing that rail?

Beermaker said:
It may be just different but your lock/take down lever for the gas tube is up or not all the way down.
I would double check clearance on the OP rod with out the spring to make sure it moves freely.
The piston may be sticking in the lower portion of the gas tube. A good scrub with a bronze brush maybe?
Now I also noticed you have removed the original rear sight. IIRC the top of the OP housing is exposed if you remove the sight.
Also could there be a chance the rail mounting could be putting strain on the block especially in the fact the take down lever appears to be partially up. Try shooting again BUT remove the rail and put back the original rear sight.
Click to expand...
 
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