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Do you know for a fact his spring was weak, or is it your recommendation to change springs because it may have been old. There may be nothing wrong with his spring.
 
I recommended that he replace his clip latch spring and while he was at it may as well replace the Op Rod Spring.

You are absolutly right there "may" not be anything wrong with his spring.
Its only cheap insurance, the Op Rod Spring helps cushion the receiver when fired as well as function.
He said his spring measured 19 1/4 inches.
Specs are , spring is to be free of bends or kinks and measure 20 1/4 to 19 inches in length. I would say his was nearly ready to be replaced
If he replaces the new spring with the old one and the rifle functions fine, I'm still betting there are other underlying issues

First thing I do is replace the Op Rod Spring in every Garand I buy, over 20 some now. Never had a Orion 7 spring give me any problems yet
JMO
 
To go back to the old spring does not mean it has to be permanant. It will just give him an idea what it was. Once he went to the new spring, problems arose. To be honest, I bought 4 Garands from CMP and never replaced the op-rod springs. They function fine, and I won't replace them till I see a sign. Your advice is good and right on, but it won't hurt him or his rifle to see what the culpret is.
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
Ammo

As I said before, I've been using M2 ammo. I think new ammo is too "hot" for old rifle technology.
I don't have a micrometer to check piston and cylinder, but I get little to no blow by on the sides of the piston.
Regardless, it's not like I'm in a combat situation or anything.
Mostly I target shoot with the 2 round clip and I didn't have a short cycle with that. So I think between the old ammo and a new spring, getting more cycles on the spring will gradually make it less prone to short cycling. After all it was only twice in 3 - 8 round clips. If it persists I'll take the cylinder and op rod and get them mic'd. as that seems to be the next step.
You all helped solve the original problem. I appreciate all the info. and advise. Thanx.
 
Discussion starter · #25 ·
PS
If you had seen how worn the barrel was, you'd know how worn the spring is. You could rattle a round in the chamber. So I have a new barrel and bolt, now with 2 new springs.
 
All M2 ball ammo is not made the same, what headstamp?
The new spring will not break in.
If you want help with your rifle pm or e-mail me and I will walk you through it


M14man- the reason for changing Op Rod springs before you have a failure is simple.
When the Garand is fired the recoil pushes the baolt back at a fast rate hitting the receiver heel. I inspec spring cushions the blow protecting the receiver.
 
Discussion starter · #27 ·
"the recoil pushes the bolt back at a fast rate hitting the receiver heel. I in spec spring cushions the blow protecting the receiver"

That is the reason for the cut out in the heel for the firing pin, so it doesn't get jammed forward into the bolt. Makes me curious as to whether John designed that into the receiver or found it out and had to modify the receiver.
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
It's back

I went to the range this morning to shoot new ammo through and see if it would short stroke with it. I ran 3 clips of 150 grain Federal soft points through.

  1. First clip I got an early partial eject after the 6th round.
  2. Put the remaining 2 rounds in the 2 round clip, No problem.
  3. On the 2nd 8-round clip I got an early partial after the 4th round and next 2 subsequent rounds after pushing the clip back down. Then loaded the last 2 into the 2 round clip with no problem.
  4. On the 3rd clip I got an early partial eject at the 4th round. Got the same partial eject for #5, 6 and 7.
Seems to me I answered the short stroke problem but am back to the original. This time there were no "short strokes" as there was with the old M-2 ammo. But that didn't early eject either.

Remember, this is with the new Orion 20 1/8 inch op rod spring as well as the new clip ejection spring. Like I said in my very 1st post, I was wondering what "parts" might be needed. It seems as if the spring replacement isn't all?? So am I at the point where I need to get the piston and cylinder measured? Or could it be another worn part in the follower assy.?

 
Undersized Op Rod Piston or worn gas cylinder will have nothing to do with early ejection.
Now that you have new springs the nest thing to check is the bullet guide.
Do you have a new commercial stock or USGI wood?
You should not be using Federal commercial ammo unless using a adjustable gas screw
What enblocs are you using?
Let me know about the stock, a new stock sometimes needs wood relieved and can cause early ejection
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
stock and clips

Not exactly sure about the stock. It has remnants of an ink stamp on the left side and a round car touche/stamp on the right.
The enblocs for the M-2 ammo were unmarked out of bandoleers, and AEC 3 for the Federal.
Both of these don't appear to be the problem. When I replaced the springs and it solved the early eject problem with M-2 ammo and then caused short stroking. Then early eject returned with new ammo and no short stroking. Seems to indicate my earlier concerns about using new ammo vs. old M-2.
 
Try the clip latch next. The clip appears to be slipping. The clip latch holds the clip to a certain point and then withdraws allowing the clip to fly out. Since this is occurring with multiple clips, I would replace the actual latch next.
 
Possible cauese:
worn enblocs
worn clip latch
worn bullet guide lobe
If you want I can send you a bullet guide and enblocs, try it, if it fixes the problem you can pay me. If not send it back.
There is a cutout in the stock for the clip latch, it is sometimes to proud and can also cause your problem
Again ,do not use Federal commercial ammo without adjustable gas screw or you may be causing harm to the rifle
If interested in my offer PM me.
 
Hi Guys...I've just fired the Winchester M1 I got from the CMP last month for the third time. I am experiencing this same issue. The clip is coming out after three or four rounds. Not every time, but today it was twice out of three attempts.

I remembered this thread and I was just reading to see where to start.

Okay, so I'll order a complete spring kit from Orion and replace all the springs. I just put a spring set into my Springfield a few months ago. I don't think I replaced the clip latch spring.

Anyone have a link to instructions for replacing the clip latch spring?
 
Thanks GunnerDave!

This might be a no brainer. I took the clip latch off and compared the old clip latch spring to the new spring in my new spring kit. As you can see, the old spring is a quarter inch shorter than the new spring.

Image


I'll put 'er back together and see if that does the trick! Thanks guys!
 
You're welcome!

I suspect that will solve the problem. The old spring looks a bit tired. Have fun!
 
Thanks GunnerDave!

This might be a no brainer. I took the clip latch off and compared the old clip latch spring to the new spring in my new spring kit. As you can see, the old spring is a quarter inch shorter than the new spring.

I'll put 'er back together and see if that does the trick! Thanks guys!
Don't overlook a worn clip latch. Often a stronger spring just masks the fact the legs are worn on the latch. You can read about inspecting the M1 parts here if you like.. I've included the relevant image with the dimensions you want to check below.

Image


Try using a different clip when testing.

Eric
 
Thanks Ericc. Both catches on the clip latch seem to be the same dimension and shape as the example you posted. The surfaces are more shiny.

I'll definitely look at replacing the clip latch if the new spring doesn't fix the problem. Seeing the difference in the old and new spring, I'm betting the new spring will fix the problem. As GunnerDave said: "The old spring looks a bit tired."

Thanks again for the up close of the clip latch; it was very helpful!
 
I fired 24 rounds through the rifle today. The clip ejected after number 8 all three times.

Yay!
 
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