PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-578
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 578
JANUARY 2001
PS 578
47
JAN 01
unners and armorers, heed these maintenance tips for easier firing and stor-
age of your MK 19s:
The
bolt
has several nuts that are
supposed to be safety-wired. But many
bolts are not being re-wired when
they’re repaired at support. No safety
wire means the nuts can work loose
and the bolt can come apart. When you
do your PMCS, make sure the two nuts
that have holes for safety wire are
wired. Report all wireless holes.
Also check for a rounded or mush-
roomed rear bolt rail or a rounded
charger assembly slide. An MK 19
that’s been fired a lot often has
these symptoms, which can lead to a
runaway gun. Armorers can replace the
slide by following the procedure in
Para 2-40 in TM 9-1010-230-23&P.
Support replaces the bolt.
Charge underhanded
. If
you charge with your hands
on top of the charging
handles, the downward force
can bend the receiver rails. In-
stead, charge with your hands
under the charging handles.
The
MK 19 rack
requires
a lock with a 3-in shackle that used to be hard to get. But no more! Armorers can
now order the lock with NSN 5340-01-408-8434.
MK 19 Machine Gun . . .
pm
is the
key
to
happy
mk 19
s
!
no ammo
for me, i just
don't feel
hungry.
thaT SOUNDS
LIKE YOUR
FEED
SLIDE
IS
OUT OF
LINE
!
Bolt rail or
charger slide
worn?
Charge underhanded
Bolts and nuts safety- wired?
test, turn the MK 19 into support for
slide adjustment.
If the feed slide
passes, it’s time to
check the vertical
cam for nicks, pits,
burrs, or carbon
build-up from
firing. If you can’t
remove nicks and
burrs with crocus
cloth and bring the
cam surface to a
mirror finish,
replace the vertical
cam.
But even if the feed slide and verti-
cal cam are in great shape, you’ll still
have feeding problems if your gunners
aren’t doing the PMCS and lubing
spelled out in TM 9-1010-230-10.
Make sure they do.
n MK 19 machine gun that won’t
feed is a gun that won’t fire. And too
many MK 19s are having feeding prob-
lems because their feed slide is out of
adjustment. But, armorers, a little ad-
justment with PM can keep your MK
19s feeding happily.
First, check that the feed slide as-
sembly works by doing the function
test on Page 2-21 of TM 9-1010-230-
23&P. If the feed slide doesn’t pass the
Can’t remove
scratches?
Replace
vertical cam
If primary pawl doesn’t move
up, slide needs to be adjusted
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