jacobsed 0 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 I have a Saiga .223 and want the an FSB that mounts the cleaning rod. How do you remove the old FSB and install a new one? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Frank Rizzo 8 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 Technically the cleaning rod goes through the gas block and the HG retainer and HG as well. But anyway, drive out the 2 pins, bang the old sight off, apply oil to the barrel and to the inside of the FSB, tap it on until the pin holes line up ( assuming that they do ) and punch the pins back in. Depending on what FSB you use, your barrel might stick out the front some. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dlcjr1973 24 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 (edited) jacobsed, I'm not sure if your .223 FSB is dimpled with no pins like my x39, but if so I may be able to help. I recently (last week) removed my FSB with only a few issues. Many here recommend drilling the divots (dimples) on each side of the FSB just until you're through the shroud but not into the barrel. Then you should be able to tap the FSB and shroud (one piece) off the rifle. I don't have a drill press, but my dremel-fu is great so I went another route. After reading a bunch of other threads (imarangemaster did a few), I decided to just cut my FSB off. I used a dremel with a red cut-off wheel and carefully cut the length of the FSB/shroud along its bottom side. It takes a while, not because the dremel has trouble cutting the steel, but because you don't want to score the barrel after cutting through the FSB/shroud. By only removing a little material at a time, I was able to make the cut without even scratching the barrel. Once the cut is made, some guys recommend using a cold chisel to open the gap. I used a pair of heavy duty snap ring pliers and wooden shims to open the FSB up. Once I had it spread about 3/4", I was able to remove the FSB/shroud by hand. I'll never be able to use the original FSB again, but the dimples pretty much precluded that anyway. I haven't installed a new FSB yet, but I'm planning to use an AK-74 24mm FSB. They come complete with the cleaning rod hole you are interested in as well as a bayonet lug. Other FSBs work equally well, but I've read that there are some barrel diameter variations with the .223. Dinzag's site has a bunch of great info on FSBs, muzzle devices, etc. Check him out at Dinzag Arms. Re-installation of the new FSB is pretty straightforward as far as I understand it. You press or pound the new FSB onto the lubricated barrel, true it vertically using a square or string, drill two pin holes through the FSB's existing holes (into the bottom of the barrel), set the pins and add a muzzle device. I haven't gotten this far yet, so I'm only going off what I've read here in other posts. All this having been said - if you have an older pinned-style FSB currently on the rifle, you may only have to do what the above post recommends. Knock the pins out, pound the FSB off, pound the new FSB on, true it vertically, pound the pins back in and enjoy. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Regards, Sapper Edited October 18, 2009 by Sapper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jacobsed 0 Posted October 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 Oh yea, the gas block would need to be changed out also I see. Ok, how do you change that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dlcjr1973 24 Posted October 18, 2009 Report Share Posted October 18, 2009 Oh yea, the gas block would need to be changed out also I see. Ok, how do you change that? jacobsed, If you use the AK74 FSB I mentioned above, you shouldn't need to change the gas block. The cleaning rod will pass through the AK74 FSB bayonet lug and lower handguard retainer into the lower AK-style hand guard. The current Saiga gas block doesn't interfere. Regards, Sapper Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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