M1A Question

[Nordland173]

Went to the range today with my Standardized M1A, fired roughly 70 rounds no speed shooting or any fancy fireing just some normal useage, after I finished took the rifle to a back table to give it a decent field clean before I went home and saw that the operating rod spring had cracked and broke in two, has anyone had this happen to them or know of this kind of defect with the M1A's? I ve looked around and have come up with nothing. now one thing i can say is its only a few years old and WELL cared for, only a few hundred to maybe a thousand rounds run through it its not a beater and its got me stumped.

 

[bpm990d]

It's kind of unusual but like anything mechanical, things break. If you got it new, doesn't SA Inc. have a lifetime warranty?

B

 

[KMM696]

It's a pretty big spring, and it's put under a lot of stress during normal operation. Wouldn't take much of a manufacturing defect to cause it to fail prematurely, which is what this sounds like to me.

http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=2&mID=97

Not that there aren't other decent spring manufacturers out there, but Wolff makes good ones.

 

[FPrice]

You may want to take this question to the M14 forum

http://m14forum.com/

They have a lot of M1A experience there and someone might be able to give you some specific advice.

For replacement parts you can also try here:


http://www.sadlak.com/

 

[Nordland173]

Im going to contact Springfield monday as the warrenty after reading it covers it, hopefully they will rplace it as I have NEVER seen or heard of a weapon's spring just break, and this is 13 years in the Army talking as an 11B/19D, I have again never had a weapon just break under normal circumstances, I'll check the M1A forum, maybe someones seen this before...hopefully.

 

[Smash05]

What kind of ammo?

 

[bpm990d]

I'll check the M1A forum, maybe someones seen this before...hopefully.

What answer are you are looking for, some kind of metallurgy thing or a story about a lot of bad springs?

There was a guy at Hampden that had his M1 op rod spring break in two. He just replaced it with a nos spring. Didn't worry too much about the why.

B

 

[mac1911]

can this spring be kinked or bent in any way will tear down and assembly to clean.....consider yourself lucky you have not had a gun spring fail on you.
it only takes a nick or a slight kink to put stress on a spring. I bet if you talked to a armorer you would find it not so uncommon for springs to break.
I would guess at some point that spring was fatigued or just a bad spot in the wire, like a air gap or something in the metal. Can the spring get caught on anything in or arround its point of travel....does the spring buckle along the rod at this point. if the spring buckles up and sort of kinks. Think bending a coat hanger. If a spring goes off its horizontal movement its goeing to have stress where that spring rise or bends verticle? I have a pic somewhere of what I mean

http://m14forum.com/gus-fisher/108507-my-armorers-rant-op-rod-springs.html couldnt find the pic but came across this in my files.

I tried reviveing a norinco clone M1a........reciever had been damaged from shooting with a broken spring..

 

[Nordland173]

What kind of ammo?

60 rnds 149gr federal FMJ & 20 rnds MILSURP

 

[Nordland173]

can this spring be kinked or bent in any way will tear down and assembly to clean.....consider yourself lucky you have not had a gun spring fail on you.
it only takes a nick or a slight kink to put stress on a spring. I bet if you talked to a armorer you would find it not so uncommon for springs to break.
I would guess at some point that spring was fatigued or just a bad spot in the wire, like a air gap or something in the metal. Can the spring get caught on anything in or arround its point of travel....does the spring buckle along the rod at this point. if the spring buckles up and sort of kinks. Think bending a coat hanger. If a spring goes off its horizontal movement its goeing to have stress where that spring rise or bends verticle? I have a pic somewhere of what I mean

http://m14forum.com/gus-fisher/108507-my-armorers-rant-op-rod-springs.html couldnt find the pic but came across this in my files.

I tried reviveing a norinco clone M1a........reciever had been damaged from shooting with a broken spring..

Great info and exactly what I was looking for! Thanks.

 

[Smash05]

I just wonder if some heavy or over pressure ammo made it through - sounds like no. Op Rod seems ok I assume?

 

[Nordland173]

Yeah everything was GTG internally, the brass showed no overpressure signs, I spoke to S.A and there going to replace it as they have a lifetime warranty, after going over the M1A forum's and the info here seems like it was a bad spring? S.A rep seemed skeptical since she said never has she heard of that happinging but with all things bund to happen sometime