The MG34 Repair and Troubleshooting Thread

fingers284 said:



Just read this and although it is a good idea for feeding rounds continuously...and I'm not disputing the fact that it is needed for reliable feeding but have to wonder if this is the cause of most of the rollers being destroyed that are mentioned much earlier in this thread.

If you oil the links then the case also has oil on it when it is chambered. Hand loading manuals & gun manufacturers, for years, have all cautioned against using ammo that the case lube/oil has not been thoroughly cleaned off...the claim being that cases with lube on them do not "grip" the chamber walls and control bolt face pressure the way they were designed too , consequently much more pressure is allowed to be forced onto the bolt. Constantly using lube on the cases used in your guns would allow every round to hammer the bolt back much harder than the rollers manufactured in North America were engineered/designed to handle. From reading this thread I have garnered that the "original" German manuf. rollers last a long time...the German manufacturers probably identified this early on when the wax links were required.

I don't own one of theses guns so don't have any "first hand" experience at all, just an observation from an interested old shooter.
Click to expand...

The oil applied to the links is intended to be a very thin coat. Also, the link only engages part of the case, so there will be some oil transfer, but it will be minimal.

A good point to keep in mind though - excessive case lubrication can increase bolt thrust on recoil. The MG34 depends on this recoil impulse to cycle.

I think the main cause of bolt roller failure is simply poor lubrication of the rollers - they need to be packed with lubricant like an M14 bolt roller. TNW recommends a specific lubricant - TW25B. I bought some from Amazon and it works well.

The MG34 needs to be “initialized” properly before each range trip, including proper lubrication of the bolt and rollers, plus confirming that the flash hider and booster cone assembly is hand-tight. I have heard of several owners simply heading to the range and popping off hundreds of rounds, and wondering why parts start breaking...
 
fingers284 said:



Just read this and although it is a good idea for feeding rounds continuously...and I'm not disputing the fact that it is needed for reliable feeding but have to wonder if this is the cause of most of the rollers being destroyed that are mentioned much earlier in this thread.

If you oil the links then the case also has oil on it when it is chambered. Hand loading manuals & gun manufacturers, for years, have all cautioned against using ammo that the case lube/oil has not been thoroughly cleaned off...the claim being that cases with lube on them do not "grip" the chamber walls and control bolt face pressure the way they were designed too , consequently much more pressure is allowed to be forced onto the bolt. Constantly using lube on the cases used in your guns would allow every round to hammer the bolt back much harder than the rollers manufactured in North America were engineered/designed to handle. From reading this thread I have garnered that the "original" German manuf. rollers last a long time...the German manufacturers probably identified this early on when the wax links were required.

I don't own one of theses guns so don't have any "first hand" experience at all, just an observation from an interested old shooter.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
I actually don't lube my belt and have only had a couple rounds jam in the feed tray.
 
I made an "L" shaped aluminum tool to keep the bolt open behind the feed tray. That way I don't rely on the safety to hold the bolt when loading, and allows air to circulate through the barrel when the gun is open. Some of the parts seem delicate and don't want to take any chances of breakage.
 
1340 said:
Interesting.
I actually don't lube my belt and have only had a couple rounds jam in the feed tray.
Click to expand...

Yes, not a strict requirement - most belts grip the round firmly but still allow release by the cartridge stripping device on the top front edge of the bolt.

It does enhance reliability a bit with newer belts. I use older German belts that are worn in (I cringe to think how). Some later war versions of the links have little metal stamped dimples that actually engage the case body to lower grip resistance and to enable more reliable feeding.
 
Another thing, if you're serious about this gun, buy all the spare parts you can.
Even if you get tired of it the spare parts are easy to sell.
 
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1340 said:
I made an "L" shaped aluminum tool to keep the bolt open behind the feed tray. That way I don't rely on the safety to hold the bolt when loading, and allows air to circulate through the barrel when the gun is open. Some of the parts seem delicate and don't want to take any chances of breakage.
Click to expand...


That is similar to what I do as well - then the tool can fall down through the ejection port during loading. Works well.
 
I was wondering, does the flash hider have to be screwed on (or backed off) a certain distance or do you just screw it on as far as it will go and engage the flash hider lock?
 
here come the moderators for bumpin this from the depths of hell....



has anyone ever tried to bring in parts kits for these or its brother?
 
Not to my recent knowledge. The TNW MG34 remains non-restricted - surviving the Bill C21 amendments.

I brought in some parts several years ago - had to get a permit from Global Affairs Canada - wasn't that difficult, but I am not sure about how difficult the process is now.

Some MG34 parts and complete TNW MG34 rifles come up on the EE here on CGN from time to time, so you might want to try a WTB ad.
 
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