God damn WE's...

[BoB]

Iv had my WE PDW sitting for the last few months. Havent touched it once during that time.
Anyways as I am dissasembling it today out of boredom, as soon as I remove the rear pin for the upper receiver, the spring pops off the guide. After finding all the pieces I realize that the threads for the guide are actually stripped! In no way can I screw the hex back on to reassemble it. How they were stripped is beyond me as I dont use this damn thing.

Im thinking I might be able to re-thread it, but I would just like to buy a whole new rod. I cannot find one though. Maybe I am not looking hard enough .

Anyone have any suggestions?

[BoB]

Also, if I purchase the open bolt kit will I get a new spring and guide rod for the bolt carrier?

[m102404]

It probably came loose during firing...and the impact/shock of subsequent cycles mangled the threads.

You could:
- retap for larger threads
- cross pin the screw into position

It won't help this situation now...but it's certainly been said before. These things shake like crazy and everything that you want to stay put, not loosen, not unscrew should be loctite'd and checked regularly.

I've seen so many guys loose optics, levers, buffer retaining pins, etc....that it's no joke. I've shaken loose a push button sling swivel insert that was glued/screwed into the RIS.

A great one for PDW guys to "forget" about are the two little grub screws that hold the barrel to front gas block. The rear section of barrel won't come off since it's also pinned....but the front one will...and then the front outer barrel section will just slide off and drop to the floor.

[Greydingoe]

you will get a new bolt carrier and spring with the open bolt kit. No guide rod as it doesnt need one.

[onemenace]

new guide rod and or possibly new nozzle, ive stripped a guide rod playing around with different configurations and didnt use lock tight (was just testing something) but i had several backups available now mind you this is on there m4 not pdw but im sure there are similarity's veloicty arms might have the piece or look into ehobbyasia or airsoftbuddy

[onemenace]

yea open bolt is an excellent idea and when he says tape he means teflon tape the type you use in plumbing for leaky pipes that may solve your issue temporarily but like suggested i would check it often that piece breaking can cause catastrophic issues and break other parts when it goes

[Andy n]

Just get the open bolt kit and it will solve all your problems. They have them in stock a airsoftparts.ca. I put one in my pdw and never looked back.

[BoB]

Thanks guys..im going open bolt!

[m102404]

I'd highly doubt that teflon tape...which great for sealing gaps in threads...will lend any of the structural strength to what the setup needs.

Another option would be to steel epoxy (i.e. plumbers epoxy that's impregnated with steel filings) a bolt into the rod...and use a nut to bolt the end of the rod assembly on.

Or...if you have a lathe...it'd be pretty straightforward just to machine another one. Disregarding the $$$$$$ of the lathe/tooling ...the rod would only cost you a couple of bucks.

[onemenace]

Originally Posted by BoB

Thanks guys..im going open bolt!

ive shot andys gun with the open bolt and its mint! you made the right choice!

[Amos]

Open bolt is the only way for a truly reliable WE.

[Crunchmeister]

Open bolt WE is excellent.

But remember the general rule with any WE GBBr. If it's meant to move, lube it well. If it's not supposed to move, locktite it. Just about every screw on my PDW has come loose just from putting a few mags through it in my basement.

[m102404]

Originally Posted by Amos

Open bolt is the only way for a truly reliable WE.

Initially, and if taken litterally, I'd tend to disagree with that statement.

I've just seen way too many brass tube setups go long and strong to poo-poo it as a system. I've seen open bolt setups fail...and work...not enough to say yeah or nay on them. Like the open bolt concept though...not convinced of it's usage yet...but looks good so far.

Not considering part #66 (m4 part number...not sure what it is in the PDW)...I exceeded 6000rnds before a part failed off an otherwise stock WE M4 (gen 2-3ish). We don't have an open bolt WE (M14/PDW/G39) hammered that much yet to see what's going to go or not. We've been collectively pouring thousands of rounds down a dozen plus WE rifles over the last couple of sessions. (enough propane to gag a horse...).

I would say that once a WE is proven/made reliable (and that's not just dropping in a part and saying "all done")...it tends to stay reliable for a good long time. And since the most common upgrade around here seems to be the RATech NPAS for the brass tube nozzle system I would read a bit into your statement to say "yeah, there's some merit in that". There's been distinct dimensional issues in the batches of RAtech stuff that's thrown several rifles off. Slightly larger o-rings, shallower o-ring grooves, oversized nozzle tip dimensions....they're only off a hair here or there but it hangs up the operation.

Is that to say that the WE brass tube system is faulted? Not really. It'd be more fair to say that the upgrades/mods guys are tossing into their rifles are not no-brainer drop ins....and they tend to be dropping them into brass tube rifles.

I'm very anxious to see how the nozzle system of the open bolt rifles hold up in hot summer heat. I'm sure we'll do some acid tests on them one way or another.

[onemenace]

Originally Posted by Amos

Open bolt is the only way for a truly reliable WE.

not necessarily true i have my closed bolt functioning very well currently!

Originally Posted by Crunchmeister

Open bolt WE is excellent.

But remember the general rule with any WE GBBr. If it's meant to move, lube it well. If it's not supposed to move, locktite it. Just about every screw on my PDW has come loose just from putting a few mags through it in my basement.

partially true, the reference to lube it well is a common mistake these guns do not function well if there over lubed its more like a very thing coat at the right places over lubing was a big issue for me when i first got mine, also depends what lube you use, i would recommend anything that has teflon in it which turned my gun from a pos to a peace of heaven that stinks like farts!

but for your issue going open bolt sounds like the easiest/cost effective thing to do and will also provide better hopup options

[ACCL]

I need a new Rod+spring in my WE Scar as well. The WE website doesnt seem to work for me and RA-TECH doesnt have rod+spring for sale......