How often to replace lower parts?

[scooter22]

Iraqgunz, can you give a schedule for replacement?

[Iraqgunz]

I'd love to create an imaginary list with made up numbers like some companies have done, but alas that isn't me. There is no established round count that I am aware of, that is legit. The TM also does not provide this. Part of the reason is because it is almost impossible for most people and agencies to track round counts.

Iraqgunz, can you give a schedule for replacement?

[MistWolf]

Learn to recognize early symptoms and how to diagnose them before problems become a major issue. For example, a failure to feed due to an unejected empty in the action is a sign of a failing extractor spring. A light hit is a symptom of a failing hammer spring. Doubling can be caused by a worn sear or bad disconnector spring. In teh beginning, these symptoms happen only occasionally and not easy to duplicate. Learning to recognize them early and taking action to correct them as soon as possible will save a lot of headaches later.

[panzerr]

Okay, sure, but what would I know about ARs besides spending most of my career as a Special Forces operator, 18B, Weapons Specialist, the last 15 years as a gunsmith fixing things that break or fail for other reasons....

Besides that I don’t know anything at all about ARs. 🙄

Point of fact: being SF doesn't mean you know it all.

[Stickman]

The main springs you should be concerned about are the hammer and trigger springs and the action spring (buffer spring). In my opinion it's cheap insurance and I would consider replacing them.

Not that it wears out all that frequently, but as long as you are pulling the FCG, the disco spring is part of that cheap insurance. However, I’ll happily point out that the disconnector spring isn’t something we see fail often. More often than not, it’s installed incorrectly if there is a problem.

[Stickman]

Okay, sure, but what would I know about ARs besides spending most of my career as a Special Forces operator, 18B, Weapons Specialist, the last 15 years as a gunsmith fixing things that break or fail for other reasons....

Besides that I don’t know anything at all about ARs. 🙄

Dial it back my friend. Assuming what you are stating is true, you will find like minded people here. You wouldn’t walk into a new ODA and start pissing in the coffee pot.

On a side note welcome to the forum.

[EzGoingKev]

I bought a pre-ban lower a few years back. I swapped the trigger out for a Geiselle and replaced all the other parts with Colt parts.

Regarding the hammer springs wearing out, is there any type of test/inspection procedure to determine when it needs replacing?

[markm]

I used to hear it was a good idea to do a complete lower parts change out whenever you replace a worn out barrel, course that was when we figured a 6,000 round barrel life.

6000 rounds??!?!? Last time I replaced an AR barrel I roughly guessed that I had over 25,000 rounds through it.

[markm]

Iraqgunz, can you give a schedule for replacement?

In addition to what Gunz posted... It depends on the gun and ammo too. Picture and over-gassed aftermarket gun that's fed a steady diet of hot XM193 or similar. Those hammer/trigger groups are taking a pounding. As opposed to my shooting with milder target ammo at a less punishing firing schedule.

[Core781]

When you pull the lower, you can cock the hammer with your hand. The spring should be stiff, if it feels limp or weak it may need to be replaced. You can also check your spent primers and you should see a healthy pin mark, if it's really light it could be hard primers or a weak spring. Because springs are so cheap, you can swap out for a new one and compare. Everything can be inspected visually for wear and function checked. I tend to replace parts in sets if applicable. I've only had one factory installed hammer wear unevenly, and replaced it along with an unevenly worn carrier. Seen a bunch of parts wear out, and damage other parts because no one inspected and replaced them. Seen tons of sub military grade parts self destruct, and some military parts destruct.. Use lots of lube. I inspect everytime I field strip for damage or wear, and try to fix any issues but seldom have any. Seen guys run ARs dry and ruin uppers, charging handles, carriers, FCGs... I used CLP in the military, and for about ten years I used synthetic CLP. Past so many years been using FrogLube. Otis sent their new bio CLP to test, and I'm doing an assessment this spring/summer to compare to FrogLube. Froglube requires an initial degreasing and proper application, but it saves me a great deal of time scrubbing off carbon and other fouling. It also doesn't cook off easily. I get a lot of crap on the forums for using Froglube, but it's just better.