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Thread: What happens with lack of lube?

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcoodyar15 View Post
    from one who knows

    How To Lube Your AR-15 (Very Important)!

    People speak of running AR-15’s “wet” but this is not the way to go at all. An AR has gas blow back and gas with particulate matter gets back into the inside of the upper receiver, the bolt carrier, etc. Having a wet sloppy mess of oil and grease in there does nothing but provide a trap for a big grungy mess to form and clog things up.

    The right type of lubrication needs only be applied where there is metal to metal contact of moving parts - any more is a potential cause for problems. You don't want gobs of oil and grease shooting and squirting all around inside your rifle as it cycles, sending lube into places where it does not belong (i.e. down in the magazines, on the bullets themselves, up inside the chamber, back into the buffer tube assembly).

    Would you indiscriminantly hose down the inside of your car's engine compartment and the drive train underneath your car with lube and oil? No!

    On lubrication, about 95% of all "gun" lubricants out there are not appropriate for an AR. For the bolt lugs in particular you need a very high viscosity sticky lubricant because the lugs are a "severe duty" application in that they open fast under pressure and get very hard use otherwise. Most greases are no good because they don't stay around. The best lubricant I have found is Phil Wood Tenacious Oil (it's like a sticky 90 wt. gear oil) and you can buy it for $8 or so at your local bicycle shop or on the internet in its own applicator bottle. I have built up a lot of AR's over the years and seen others come back for re-barreling or other work. Some have an enormous amount of bolt wear (and a corresponding dramatic increase in head space) because inadequate lubricant was used. The owners thought they were using a good product, but it was not. A lot of the favorites are no good either (and I am not going to name names).

    Some parts not to lubricate at all: 1. The firing pin (don't need anything to impede the pin making a good strike on the primer); and 2. The buffer or the buffer spring assembly (unless you want your rifle to possibly malfunction and short stroke); 3. If you are going to be shooting in very cold weather, keep the lubricant off the lateral riding surfaces on the outside of your bolt carrier or it can slow the carrier down enough so the rifle will short stroke. Above about 20 degrees F, that's not an issue typically.

    The areas that always need it: 1. The rear of the bolt lugs (severe duty – must do, but only need a little bit on the back of each lug); 2. The cam pin (another severe duty place, put around the pin just below the head of the pin); 3. The very back of the bolt behind the gas rings (the .250” diameter stem) where it rides in and out of the carrier; and 4. The gas rings; and 5. The lateral riding surfaces on the outside of the bolt carrier, except in very cold weather (like below 20 degrees Fahrenheit) where high viscosity lube can slow down the carrier and possibly cause the rifle to short stroke).

  2. #22
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    What happens with lack of lube?

    Quote Originally Posted by rcoodyar15 View Post
    from one who knows

    How To Lube Your AR-15 (Very Important)!

    People speak of running AR-15’s “wet” but this is not the way to go at all. An AR has gas blow back and gas with particulate matter gets back into the inside of the upper receiver, the bolt carrier, etc. Having a wet sloppy mess of oil and grease in there does nothing but provide a trap for a big grungy mess to form and clog things up.

    The right type of lubrication needs only be applied where there is metal to metal contact of moving parts - any more is a potential cause for problems. You don't want gobs of oil and grease shooting and squirting all around inside your rifle as it cycles, sending lube into places where it does not belong (i.e. down in the magazines, on the bullets themselves, up inside the chamber, back into the buffer tube assembly).

    Would you indiscriminantly hose down the inside of your car's engine compartment and the drive train underneath your car with lube and oil? No!

    On lubrication, about 95% of all "gun" lubricants out there are not appropriate for an AR. For the bolt lugs in particular you need a very high viscosity sticky lubricant because the lugs are a "severe duty" application in that they open fast under pressure and get very hard use otherwise. Most greases are no good because they don't stay around. The best lubricant I have found is Phil Wood Tenacious Oil (it's like a sticky 90 wt. gear oil) and you can buy it for $8 or so at your local bicycle shop or on the internet in its own applicator bottle. I have built up a lot of AR's over the years and seen others come back for re-barreling or other work. Some have an enormous amount of bolt wear (and a corresponding dramatic increase in head space) because inadequate lubricant was used. The owners thought they were using a good product, but it was not. A lot of the favorites are no good either (and I am not going to name names).

    Some parts not to lubricate at all: 1. The firing pin (don't need anything to impede the pin making a good strike on the primer); and 2. The buffer or the buffer spring assembly (unless you want your rifle to possibly malfunction and short stroke); 3. If you are going to be shooting in very cold weather, keep the lubricant off the lateral riding surfaces on the outside of your bolt carrier or it can slow the carrier down enough so the rifle will short stroke. Above about 20 degrees F, that's not an issue typically.

    The areas that always need it: 1. The rear of the bolt lugs (severe duty – must do, but only need a little bit on the back of each lug); 2. The cam pin (another severe duty place, put around the pin just below the head of the pin); 3. The very back of the bolt behind the gas rings (the .250” diameter stem) where it rides in and out of the carrier; and 4. The gas rings; and 5. The lateral riding surfaces on the outside of the bolt carrier, except in very cold weather (like below 20 degrees Fahrenheit) where high viscosity lube can slow down the carrier and possibly cause the rifle to short stroke).
    Yeah, you definitely don't want to over lube, and you certainly don't want it getting into places it doesn't belong.

    http://youtu.be/p9bOT_d60LM
    Last edited by Inkslinger; 01-18-16 at 09:47.

  3. #23
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    I've been shooting ARs for long time and many rounds downrange, most of which start out severely 'over-lubed'.

    Never had a single issue due to too much lube. It'll sling off and burn off what it doesn't want before it locks back on the first empty mag.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by samuse View Post
    I've been shooting ARs for long time and many rounds downrange, most of which start out severely 'over-lubed'.

    Never had a single issue due to too much lube. It'll sling off and burn off what it doesn't want before it locks back on the first empty mag.
    I agree on this. Never had a problem with excess lube. I over lube 100 percent if the time. Especially shooting suppressed. What it doesn't need just gets blown out. Never had an issue.. ever.
    Philippians 4:13

  5. #25
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    Well back on topic, you guys who shoot high round counts per outing, at what point do you decide to re-lube your rifles? I'm just curious, mine get cleaned and re-lubed after every outing. But like I said before, I rarely shoot more than 300 per range trip.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by cutter_spc View Post
    Well back on topic, you guys who shoot high round counts per outing, at what point do you decide to re-lube your rifles? I'm just curious, mine get cleaned and re-lubed after every outing. But like I said before, I rarely shoot more than 300 per range trip.
    I typically shoot 500-700 suppressed rounds in back to back days before even touching the rifle. Gets pretty nasty with the can on. Unsuppressed, I will have gone well over 1k before re-lubing.
    Philippians 4:13

  7. #27
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    Wow! I'm way to ocd for that, lol. Nice to know it will go that long though.

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by cutter_spc View Post
    Well back on topic, you guys who shoot high round counts per outing, at what point do you decide to re-lube your rifles? I'm just curious, mine get cleaned and re-lubed after every outing. But like I said before, I rarely shoot more than 300 per range trip.
    Normally, I lube my rifles at the beginning of a shooting session and don't worry about it. I feel extremely confident that quality AR which is properly lubed can run well over 1000 rounds without any problems. That said there is nothing wrong with carrying a small bottle of CLP with you to the range and add some drops on the BCG after a few hundred rounds. Takes only about 15 seconds to do.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Inkslinger View Post
    Yeah, you definitely don't want to over lube, and you certainly don't want it getting into places it doesn't belong.

    http://youtu.be/p9bOT_d60LM
    That's a cool video and all, but it doesn't prove what you think it does.

  10. #30
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    To the OP. This is my old Mk18(lord rest his soul) after a shooting session of 800 rounds of 55gr Wolf steel cased ammunition. I only lubed it before the range session and not again. Also not wolf runs much dirtier than standard quality brass.

    http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_1665.jpg

    http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_1037.jpg

    http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/IMG_7533.jpg

    The only stoppages I had were due to the incredibly overgassed nature of the DD MK18 barrels of the time(.086 when it is supposed to be .071) which were 3 failure to extracts where the case rim was ripped off, which was solely due to the timing being out of line because of the gas port.

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