Cleaning and servicing ejector

[Tzed250]

This:

That's what I do.

[Heavy Metal]

^That's what I do too. Add a drop of lube periodically and keep working it till it runs clear out the side weep hole. Never remove it unless there is a problem that the above illustrated procedure wont solve.

[Suwannee Tim]

I once heard a wise man say that roll pins are one use items...just food for thought.

Your wise friend was well informed. Roll pins gouge out metal from the holes they are installed in much more so from aluminum than steel. Roll pins are designed to be installed and left alone. I am loathe to remove a roll pin. I have shot thousands and thousands of rounds of 5.45 from my AR, this stuff is filthy and leaves a heavy deposit of primer sealer on the bolt face. If anything was going to give an ejector trouble it is 5.45 but so far, no issues.

[ptmccain]

Is that document that contains that helpful instruction set available on the Internet? I'd love to have a copy. Good stuff. Never seen it before.

I admit I've done a detail strip on my bolt to the point of removing the ejector, etc.

[hk_shootr]

I once heard a wise man say that roll pins are one use items...just food for thought.

Very true, they are considered to be a one-time use fastener.....they have also been called "spring pins".

[Iraqgunz]

And to be clear, I didn't pull that from thin air. I learned that myself many years ago. Someone wiser than me explained how the roll pin was designed and then had me do some practical exercises. One thing I noticed was that the smaller roll pins were less forgiving than the larger ones.

The issue is people are generally lazy about getting parts and having them on hand. They then start tinkering with their weapon and because they don't have new roll pins, they stick the old one right back in. We are talking about something that when purchased in bulk, costs mere cents. The side effect is that certain ones can deadline the weapon and stop it real quick.

I once heard a wise man say that roll pins are one use items...just food for thought.

[coldblue]

Is that document that contains that helpful instruction set available on the Internet? I'd love to have a copy. Good stuff. Never seen it before.

Download a copy of the M16A2 "-10" Operators Manual. That and several more of my illustrations are contained therein.

https://www.ar15.com/content/webPDF/TM9-1005-319-10.pdf

[hk_shootr]

The military and aviation community are very well versed on roll pins.
They are a one use item.

[hk_shootr]

A few good manuals here as well

http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm

http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/

[Joe Mamma]

I remove the ejector and its spring (and clean that channel) about every 2,500 rounds. It's probably not necessary, but I am surprised at how much debris accumulates down there.

I use a new roll pin each time. They are cheap and I stocked up on them a while ago. You should just know that there are at least 2 different length roll pins commonly sold. Also, on some bolts, the roll pin only goes in (and comes out) from one side.

Joe Mamma