Lubricating the M14 Type Rifles.
The only two thing you want to lube with gun oil are the trigger assembly pivot points, and the firing pin.All other lubing should be done with a good quality grease.
You want to grease the following areas:
-Bolt roller
-bolt lugs
-The bolt tracks inside the reciever
-the underside of the bolt
-the nose of the hammer
-Operating Rod track
-Inside the Op Rod "hump"(where the bolt roller fits.HINT a small syringe filled with grease works great for lubing this area).
-Recoil spring guide rod
-Where the Op Rod slides through the op rod guide
Source for Grease Syringes:
Okay M14 , M1A and M1 Garand lovers:
I found the curved tip glue syringes that are perfect for applying GREASE to your :
Op rod raceways
Op rod guide
Bolt lugs
Bolt raceways
Hammer hooks
Hammer nose
Go to Lee Valley Tools (google it for yerself) and here is there product number:
Curved-Tip Syringe, ea.
25K07.05 in 2009, they were retailing for $ 2.60 plus taxes. I usually have them for $ 2.00 including the grease at my clinics.
Buy a few for yourself and fill them with whatever CHEAP grease works for your purposes (cold-snowmobile , high-tech- Plastilube, cheap- Ukrainian Tire Bearing Grease)
DO NOT use any lube/oil on the gas assembly!!!!This is a dry gas system.If you use any type of lube here, powder residue will cake up and plug the gas system.You can use a little bore cleaner to clean the gas system, but them make sure to thoroughly clean afterwards.The inside of the gas cylinder nut and the gas piston need to be cleaned out periodically, or carbon will build up inside them and, causing the rifle to "bark" and cycle harder if left long enough.You can use a 5/16 drill bit TURNED IN YOUR FINGERS to clean out the carbon build up from the inside of the gas piston and gas nut.DO NOT use any drills or the like to clean out the inside of the gas cylinder assembly!!!You do not want to scratch the interior walls of the gas cylinder.I would say the gas system should be cleaned every 400 to 500 rounds.
The gas nut does not have to be "cranked" on super tight.Just snug it down enough that it won't loosen up from the recoil.Check the gas nut for tightness every so often.