Wasr gas tube issue!

[Peezer123 1]

So I had 2 wasr and was selling one of them, but the guy liked the furniture on the one I was keeping and was willing to pay a little more if I swapped the furniture...so I did. Well I didn't reassemble the one I was keeping because I was in a hurry....so now here's my issue, now that I'm trying to put the furniture back on and everything is going rite on...BUT the gas tube lever will not close to lock in the gas tube? So is there something I'm not doing rite or is there that much difference in parts that it just the wrong size? I want to mention that the gas tube from this rifle fit perfectly on the rifle I sold...so I can't for the life of me understand why this would happen? PLEASE any help will be greatly appreciated.

[mancat 2,368]

You switched the gas tubes between the two rifles?

 

AKM gas tubes are often individually fitted to a rifle, but before you make any changes, make sure nothing at all is causing the tube to bind up. Make sure the lower handguard retainer lever is fully depressed - this can touch the bottom of the gas tube. There is also a small "foot" at the bottom of the receiver end of the tube - make sure that this is dropping into the small slot on the rear sight block, or else the gas tube won't drop down as low as it needs to go. Sometimes you need to push the gas tube back towards the receiver as you press downwards.

 

If all else doesn't work, you'll have to fit the tube to its new rifle. To do this, lightly file the angled cam locking surface where the locking lever cams in. It doesn't take much to loosen things up enough for it to close down. I suggest you keep the locking lever tight enough so that it requires the use of the buttstock cleaning kit to open/close - there is a small slot in the side of the kit for this purpose, which will fit onto the gas tube locking lever, and allow you to use the cleaning kit as a lever extension.

 

Just make sure you check everything before filing a gas tube. If the problem turns out to be something else, you could end up with a rattly loose tube.

Edited February 8, 2013 by mancat

[XdamagedX 248]

so if this one is tight... I'd think the one you traded onto the guy was loose

eta: guess that's his problem now

Edited February 8, 2013 by XdamagedX

[Peezer123 1]

Hey thanks for the response...but that's the thing it fit perfectly on the rifle that got sold no wobble at all, and I'm quit familiar with my ak's had one my whole life ...just NEVER had any issue with a gas tube....in hindsight I would of not swapped the WHOLE tube but I was running late and in a hurry so I just swapped instead of taking time to just switch the furniture. I never relized there could be that much difference between to exact same rifles, I will try the advice you gave but I think I might just try to get a new tube instead of filling down just incase it screws it up. Is there any place that stocks wasr gas tubes that you may no of?

[mancat 2,368]

It's a pretty safe bet that any replacement tube you get will have to be fitted to the rifle, especially if it's an unissued part.

 

The only AKs that have any sort of self-adjusting gas tube is the AK-74 series and its derivatives. Earlier AK-47s and AKMs were expected to be hand-fitted. The production tolerances were never that tight in this area of the rifle. Even from the same factory and same country, the gas tube length can differ by as much as a millimeter or so, but probably not much more than that.

[Peezer123 1]

Ok thanks...guess I'll file it down a tad.