WK 180 piston issue.

I bought a used wk180 gen 1 for a decent price that has an upgraded charging handle. I’ve been reading for years about the issues it will likely have but I don’t mind tinkering, I got my Type 97 running great after a lot of fine tuning so I’m willing to try with this. I bought a replacement brass guide for the op rod and am looking at an adjustable gas regulator . Anything else I should consider as a must have to keep it running? Previous owner said he put about 1200rds through it without issues a(other than the charging handle) and had used it for 3. Gun. He had told me he tightened the gas block and takedown screw after every few hundred rounds so I’ll start with that. Good advice is appreciated, thanks!
 
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I have seen one gent who documented 2K through the rifle without issues,added a shell deflector and new retaining pin,magpul stock..but the system itself was not dicked with...luck of the draw I guess.
 
I love shooting the WK Gen 2. Its the only thing that has given me that AR feel since the bans. I've went to PCC's and although fun, it's not that AR feel. So what's the options? At $1300, and it means I have to check it after every range day, I'm o.k. with that. I do that with my SKS' too.

If you like to tinker as many AR owners do, you can upgrade with aftermarket parts. I've enjoyed the Gen 2 so much I put the TNA adjustable gas block and Brass Bushing in. I'm not sure if it's going to help with longevity but meh, what else am I going to spend the little surplus cash on at the end of the month on? The crusader is quite a bit heavier and doesn't quite feel as much like an AR. I have about 500 rounds though mine, and shooting the WK puts a smile on my face every time!\

Do I wish we had better options? Yeah. Do we? IMO no. Should we demand better? Of course! In the interim, I can compete with the Gen 2 just fine and for that, I'm thankful to the Canadian market for giving us what they could.
 
You certainly see the word tinkering thrown around when discussing the wk180. Very fitting.
Tinkering,
“ an attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory way, often to no useful effect.”
 
i am willing to invest the time to make the gun run properly, and willing to share what i know. if tightening a few set screws on a regular basis will keep a $1300 gun running then perhaps you don't have to buy a $2600 gun. and mebbe that means more folks with $1300 guns which means stronger canadian industry, bigger lobby, etc.
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Jas anyone tried dimpling the barrel under the gas block screws like was done on many AR15 gas blocks?

Having my own machine shop, minor fixes are easy for me. Not sure what the piston brass bushing is about but if needed I can just make one up. If the charging handle presents an issue don't see why I can't just drill the BCG for a larger diameter charge handle and then make a custom one to fit. I get that most guys are not in this position but for me the WK180 was a decent platform at a very reasonable price. It was bought for the wife and will never see huge amounts of rounds through it.
 
Here’s what I’ve experienced having owned almost all 180’s on the market as of this date. That includes gen 1 MCR, gen 1 WK, gen “2” MCR with spectre lower, gen 1 lynx lower with lynx upper, gen 2 lynx lower, and Sterling Arms R18.

The best combo IMO as far as reliability and weight is my current set up, I’ve sold every other 180 I had. I have all the bits from a gen 1 WK, upgraded to the WK gen 2 upper with brass bushing and adjustable gas block from TNA, with gen 2 lynx lower. The gen 2 upper solved the charging handle issue, the lynx lower is light weight and has best ergonomics and the adjustable gas block tamed the recoil.

The trick with the piston is the adjustable gas block. From what I found is hi temp, hi retention locktite for the set screws. For the adjustable portion, it takes some trial with the handguard off. Once you find the sweet spot, locktite both screws in place along with the valve. I found that the adjustable screws almost completely closed the gas and that the gas flows around the threads, as carbon builds up it chokes the gas more. So you have to set it up with a little more gas at first and let in foul to get the perfect setting. I’ve learned this through about 1000rds over a few shooting trips. If I were to design an adjustable gas block for this platform, I’d go with fine threads for the set screws on the gas valve.
 
I Dont Care About You said:
Jas anyone tried dimpling the barrel under the gas block screws like was done on many AR15 gas blocks?

Having my own machine shop, minor fixes are easy for me. Not sure what the piston brass bushing is about but if needed I can just make one up. If the charging handle presents an issue don't see why I can't just drill the BCG for a larger diameter charge handle and then make a custom one to fit. I get that most guys are not in this position but for me the WK180 was a decent platform at a very reasonable price. It was bought for the wife and will never see huge amounts of rounds through it.
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sure. i bought a dimpling jig from tna and it worked fine. i think the best soln is probably to pin the gas block, but i suspect that a piston gas block sees more fouling that a DI gas block so the designers wanted it removable for easier cleaning. i think the brass bushing is just to reduce shear force on a mis-aligned piston when the gas block gets loose. again less gas will stop it all from rattling apart, but then it becomes more selective to what it can shoot. soln there is an adjustable gas block; either buy from tna or make your own by drilling/tapping/adding set screw to gas block. or as noted previously a buffer does wonders also. my x39 180 was a horror show; when i put a grendel barrel on it (much higher pressure) i spec'd a smaller gas port and added a tna buffer and it calmed right down.
 
Is the WK gas block not pinned??
My first gen WK was pinned from factory, I wonder when they changed that?
Had all sorts of problems with that POS, but never broke a piston.
 
Hmmm..I dimpled the bbl and set the hex screws in with loctite....no reason you couldn't stake them in place...it's the piston that bothers me,it seems too small in diameter,but I could be wrong...will shoot and find out..
 
I bought a gen 1, early production. I got it to where I liked it, but it was a journey. Best mod was having a Smith drill out the gas key and put a grub screw in to make it adjustable. The gun was way overgassed and broke rods like crazy. I don't know if a Gen 2 works right out of the box, I would call the Gen 1 trigger unusable.
 
It would seem someone with a lathe would be able to easily mod the gas system to making it adjustable. As well that applies to upgrading the plastic buffer.

Don't know anything about the Gen1 trigger but the Gen2 trigger is just an AR trigger so upgrading that is super easy.
 
Observations.....are they getting gradeschoolers assemble them.?...almost everything is loose on them from the buttstock retainer to the gas block...front handguard was badly misaligned,but easily fixed with a round file...lets see what falls off at the range...
 
SA85M1 said:
Observations.....are they getting gradeschoolers assemble them.?...almost everything is loose on them from the buttstock retainer to the gas block...front handguard was badly misaligned,but easily fixed with a round file...lets see what falls off at the range...
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The people assembling some of these rifles are probably forced to wear gauntlets by the boss given how obsessed Crusader is with larping as a knight LOL.
 
I've got roughly 370 rounds through my G2, no issues what so ever. In fact it's really accurate and fun to shoot for me. Everything I've read and spoken to people about, if you don't keep it clean and oiled, you'll have problems.

wk180cg2-3.jpg
 
All variations are garbage. How is it even possible. Its an AR-180b clone.....................

Impressive.
 
For me, the biggest issue is the damn gas block slowly sliding forward because somebody thought it was an excellent idea to secure a gas block to a barrel using two tiny ass screw underneath. Was it so hard to just use one or two cross pins?

I'll do my darnest to fix my Gen 1 rifle to that it finally just start working right. Had one piston rod break and THREE seperate screw handle failure, where the damn thing breaks in half and i have to fish out the remaining screw inside the hole, all of that in a short period of maybe 5-6 months, shooting occasionally. In the end, i used a standard M8 metric bolt, 3D printed a simple handle for it, screw it on and guess what? Never broke ever since and it's been two years.

Thankfully Kodiak just sent replacement parts no question asked, but trying to actually use this rifle for anything serious just to break in the middle of a shooting session and making me look like a ####ing clown isn't amusing in the slightless.

Honestly, overall really disappointed to have such a lemon of a gun. It's such a shame because when it works, it's really controllable and accurate and i like the ergonomics.
 
My early gen 1 came with a pinned gas block from the factory. When I say early, it came with the weak/sloppy magnetic charging handle that chewed up the upper receiver. Thinking back, I don't remember anyone complain of pistons breaking early on. Our initial hate came from chewed up aluminum uppers and cracked bolts due to bad machining/metallurgy. Wouldn't that be something if the early gen 1s were the "reliable" ones LOL.

Does TNA still sell dimpling jigs? That should help keep things where they need to be, provided high temp loctite is used.
 
Got my adjustable gas valve, little confused with where to put the set screws. I put the set screws in from the square muzzle facing end until half the gas hole was visible and then tightened it with the second screw as per TNAs instructions online. Is this the right way to put these in or do they go from the threaded side that faces the piston? Checked on YouTube, Reddit, here, but I haven’t found any that say which side the screws go in. Any help is appreciated!
 
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