WK180c Findings and testing

I would have just torqued up the nut, replaced the followers with anti tilt Magpuls, put an O ring on the fin and called it a day. Little problems with easy fixes.

Cheers
Moe
 
CeeJay said:
Update.

I took the rifle back to where I purchased it, and they are going to get a hold of Kodiak and send the rifle back. Unfortunately I don't know how long this will take.. and it sucks cause despite the mag issues, I was really liking the rifle and with the red dot and magnifier it was getting better and better.. I will update once I get the rifle back
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Sucks bro. Hope everything works out. Thanks for your post, I'll be steering away from this rifle.
 
CeeJay said:
There was always a bit of up and down wobble between the upper and lower, more or less the same that's on my Colt SP1. There is a rubber O ring you can get to stick around the fin of the upper so its much tighter when its closed, you can also replace the front pin to make it extra tight. I ordered these parts from TNA, but didnt get a chance to try them as the rifle is gone now.

The wobble I had on the handguard was more a tilt wobble, than an up and down wobble, no real rattling to speak of. I could turn the handguard a few degrees slightly from side to side or clockwise/counter clockwise. This was not there when I bought the rifle only appeared or noticed after my last outing. So my first thought was to check the handguard screws and yes the bulk of them were loose. However even after tightening them I could still move the handguard the same way, thats when I decided to remove it and check the barrel nut. The hand guard is screwed into the barrel nut and nothing else, so if the barrel nut is loose then the handguard is technically loose too.
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Thanks for this information...very helpful. I just checked mine - screws are tight on the handguard and no play.

I have a Magpul RVG foregrip added in the front attached to the handguard so when I hold onto it and then hold the pistol grip as well and try to move them in opposite directions, the only slight play is between the upper and lower where the front pin is. Maybe it is just a slight annoyance, but it is not a great reflection of quality. Of course, as usual I checked my threaded charging handle and it is loose - again - so I had to tighten it - again - as I have to do every range visit and obviously forgot last time. Guess maybe it's better loose than sheared off...
 
I just finished up putting loctite on all the suggested locations and tightening everything up. Several screws we just barely tightened. If nothing else I would suggest checking all hardware. Next question. Can the flash hider be removed anyone done this? I want to take the brake of my AR and install it but don't want to mess the barrel up it isn't meant to come off. Thanks
 
I think I've said this before, getting a WK is like getting a bike from Canadian Tire or Walmart. Sometimes it is put together well, and sometimes it is barely fastened together. To be sure of things, it is best to strip it down if you have the ability, re-fasten everything yourself, making sure everything is aligned, tightened and thread locked if needed.
 
ERICK TUIN said:
I just finished up putting loctite on all the suggested locations and tightening everything up. Several screws we just barely tightened. If nothing else I would suggest checking all hardware. Next question. Can the flash hider be removed anyone done this? I want to take the brake of my AR and install it but don't want to mess the barrel up it isn't meant to come off. Thanks
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Yes, I removed mine and put a Lantac Dragon on it. Required quite a bit of torque to remove the stock one but I got it off and installed the Dragon, which is amazing and has improved performance for me.
 
ERICK TUIN said:
Thanks just wanted to make sure the treads were compatible etc.
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When I put my Dragon on originally, after screwing it in, the orientation didn't quite match the photo on the packaging. It was then that I realized I had to use the "crush washer" that came with it, in order to get the tightening orientation right. Once I took it off again and put the crush washer in first and then screwed in the Dragon muzzle brake, it tightened and aligned perfectly.
 
Good read, thank you. Love the customizability of the AR platform, but this half assed build quality is very disappointing. I had figured that Kodiak had improved the quality over the two year period since the ban.

A banged up abused C7A2 I used that literally went inside mud-caked trench, left outside in hail snow & rain and cycled through over 150 blanks a day seem to be much more reliable... unsure if I want to purchase this.
 
kcrlawlghks said:
Good read, thank you. Love the customizability of the AR platform, but this half assed build quality is very disappointing. I had figured that Kodiak had improved the quality over the two year period since the ban.

A banged up abused C7A2 I used that literally went inside mud-caked trench, left outside in hail snow & rain and cycled through over 150 blanks a day seem to be much more reliable... unsure if I want to purchase this.
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I tend to agree. I haven't necessarily had any problems with my WK's functionally, but as a precaution I did loctite the gas block screws. Considering changing the charging handle, but honestly no one should have to buy something new and immediately start having to do preventative maintenance on it, particularly at this price point. That said, it does appear that Kodiak has decent customer support and for sure, being within Canada is an advantage. But industry reputation also goes a long way - the WK is really essentially the only mass market rifle that is available - they have the K9 PCC coming out, and you would think with the historically shaky build quality (which sounds like of which there are still some remnants), it is not making their products screaming buys, if you know what I mean.

That said, I am overall happy with the performance of mine so far, but unfortunately everytime I take it to the range, in the back of my head I am always thinking, "is this the day the charging handle shears off?" or "is this the day the piston rod breaks?" or "is that rattle something I should continue to ignore?" When I take my X95 to the range, I have none of these apprehensions.
 
kcrlawlghks said:
Good read, thank you. Love the customizability of the AR platform, but this half assed build quality is very disappointing. I had figured that Kodiak had improved the quality over the two year period since the ban.

A banged up abused C7A2 I used that literally went inside mud-caked trench, left outside in hail snow & rain and cycled through over 150 blanks a day seem to be much more reliable... unsure if I want to purchase this.
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Of course a C7 is more reliable. It's a rifle system that has had incremental improvements and massive industrial support for over half a century. The WK/MCR was designed and made for the insignificant Canadian sport shooting market by Canadian companies that (despite their great service to us, the shooters) aren't Colt, HK or FN. If you want a still legal rifle from those company's catalogues go ham. But you'll be spending multiple times more money that what a WK or MCR cost. The other non restricted rifles in the same general price range are a Type 97, a keltech SU16, or a Type 81. None of which are decent alternatives in my mind.

A few videos on YouTube and a cheap AR barrel nut tool are all it takes to solve the OPs problem. Sure, in a perfect world everyone's rifle would work perfectly out of the box. Or a tiny bit of learning on how to fix a really simple rifle system can get you back on the range shooting sooner than Kodiak can ship your rifle back to you.

I know I sound like a Kodiak apologist, but all I'm really advocating is some self sufficiency. If you can change a tire you can torque a barrel nut. It's the exact same thing.
 
Levon12345 said:
Of course a C7 is more reliable. It's a rifle system that has had incremental improvements and massive industrial support for over half a century. The WK/MCR was designed and made for the insignificant Canadian sport shooting market by Canadian companies that (despite their great service to us, the shooters) aren't Colt, HK or FN. If you want a still legal rifle from those company's catalogues go ham. But you'll be spending multiple times more money that what a WK or MCR cost. The other non restricted rifles in the same general price range are a Type 97, a keltech SU16, or a Type 81. None of which are decent alternatives in my mind.

A few videos on YouTube and a cheap AR barrel nut tool are all it takes to solve the OPs problem. Sure, in a perfect world everyone's rifle would work perfectly out of the box. Or a tiny bit of learning on how to fix a really simple rifle system can get you back on the range shooting sooner than Kodiak can ship your rifle back to you.

I know I sound like a Kodiak apologist, but all I'm really advocating is some self sufficiency. If you can change a tire you can torque a barrel nut. It's the exact same thing.
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I do mostly agree with what you are saying here however, If it were a $200-600 Norinco 1911, AR15, or M14 clone I would have no problem doing the work myself and have done so on countless M305s and an AR or 2. That being said I have not seen a brand new norc barrel or barrel nut come loose after soo few rounds. Over indexed, under indexed yes for sure but Not loose. And for a rifle that starts at $1300.00 one would expect a bit better quality control. Now I am not trying to poop all over Kodiak here, I really like the rifle, how it looks and shoots, the price point has been great so far. I understand that yes sometimes #### happens, but in this case I feel that this issue should be looked at/fixed by Kodiak. I am very much looking forward to getting it back and getting back out with it. And I plan to keep it around for years to come.

Do you know what the actual torque spec is? The best info I have seen so far is somewhere around 30 - 80 ft lbs. A 50 ft lbs margin is a bit much.
 
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