help?

the opening in the ak gas tube looks smaller.. and it appears thats whats causing my issues.. i was under the impression that this was a simple drop in replacement..

Can you test it by pushing the piston through the gas tube with both removed from the gun?

ok with the ak gas tube the piston itself went in fine but the rest (long black part bolt?) wouldn't clear the hole in the ak tube.. i hit it with some sand paper taking off like one one millionth of a centimeter and it works fine.. i guess it was just a little extra material.. seems fine.. is this ok?

thanks again.. it already looks SO much better just with the ak front.. lol

yeah that was actually the first thing i did... = )

I have an E-German one as a spare, works fine on my Saiga!

when i sanded the opening i took off BARELY any material.. and it seems like it slides fine now...

dunno..

You don't have to take much off, what matters is where you take it off. I put my Saiga gas tube by my AK74 gas tube and noticed the subtle difference on one or two angles on the face that slides past the lever.
I took off a little at a time until it would go completely in.

If you get it right you should be able to push down and then just barely forward and you will hear a click noise. I think it is the spring locking into place.

louielouie

its wierd a lot of guys talk about issues with pushing the clip back down.. mine physically went into the rifle smooth as could be.. it was the actual opening that was a little too small.. and when i say sand its misleading.. like i literally sanded off some of the paint and a MINUTE amount of metal.. and everything was smooth as could be... i sanded the INSDIE of the gas tube.. just a TINY TINY bit... i think its good now.. obviously i wont know till i fire it.. but it seems really fine compared to stock..

Damaged World
You just "jogged" my memory. My new gas tube (an AK74 tube is what Dinzag recommends) would not even begin to go in and I noticed that the front of the tube was not slipping onto the gas block connection on the barrel.

I have a cone shaped piece of steel that I used to flare it. I got that end opened up a little but I still had to take a small amount off of the other end to get it to clear the lock down lever. Most of the gas tubes come with a spring (around the end of the gas tube). This spring is what makes a click noise when you install the gas tube. Its function is to keep tension on the gas tube so it stays sealed when firing. If you take too much metal off or take the spring off, you are more likely to have a gas leak.

louielouie

it was the rear part i sanded.. and it was really just a TINY ammount.. i talked to Dinzag and he is pretty sure its just the paint, because i really took off that little...

and another note.. im kind of curious how the vented tubes work? doesnt the gas escape through the vents?

Imagine the head of the piston as a cork, and the gas block is the bottle opening. once the piston is pushed about 3/4", its uncorked and the gas is free to escape around the piston and into the tube. Its not doing you any good to keep the gas in the tube after that point, venting keeps the tube cooler and lets some of the fouling escape. All the gas tube really does is guide the piston head into the gas block.

so the ported one over the stock one is KIND of an "upgrade"?