PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-716
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 716
JULY 2012
37
PS 716
JUL 12
Spot carrier key problems—
If the
bolt carrier key doesn’t mate properly
with the gas tube, gas escapes and the
weapon will Fre slowly or not at all.
Plus the gas tube can be damaged.
Check to see if the carrier key is
mating easily with the gas tube. If it’s
not, your repairman can use the carrier
key tool, NSN 5315-01-310-0370, to
repair small dents or distortions in the
carrier key. Here’s how:
2.
Insert the small end of the tool into
the tube of the carrier key.
3.
Gently strike the tool’s large end
with the 4-oz soft-brass hammer
that’s part of the small arms
repair kit.
4.
Keep doing this until the carrier
key is back to its original shape.
If the carrier key still won’t mate easily with the gas tube, then it needs to be
replaced. The procedure is in WP 0013 of TM 9-1005-319-23&P (Nov 08).
Make sure bolt cam pin fts—
Some bolt cam pins won’t lock in the bolt carrier.
You should be able to stick the cam pin in the carrier and rotate it one full turn to lock
it in place. If you can’t do that, you need a new bolt carrier. Tell your armorer. He
should Fle a PQDR.
Test For bad gas rings—
If the gas rings on the bolt
are worn out, there isn’t
enough gas pressure to push
the bolt back correctly. The
rate of Fre slows or the
weapon jams.
But it’s easy to see if the
gas rings are OK. Remove
the bolt cam pin and push
the bolt up into the carrier
until it locks in place. Turn
the carrier so that the bolt is
pointing down. If the bolt
drops
out
of
the
carrier,
the gas rings need to be
replaced.
Cam pin
M16-Series Rifle, M4/M4A1 Carbine…
Bolt Carrier CheCkup!
if your m16 rifle or m4/
m4a1 carbine’s bolt carrier
isn’t
carrying its load,
your weapon will soon be
out of business!
I just
always
seem
to be
running
out of
gas. I
think
my bolt
carrier
needs a
checkup.
give your
bolt carrier
this checkup
to stay in
the firing
business…
Bolt falls out
of carrier?
Gas rings
need to be
replaced
Bolt cam pin should be able to be
inserted in carrier and turned one
full turn so that it locks in place
Carrier
key tool
corrects
minor
dents and
distortions
1.
Place the key and bolt carrier in a vertical
position so that the rear surface of the carrier
key is supported on the edge of a table.
716 36-37.indd
1-2
5/21/12
10:39 AM
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