Problem with DPMS AR-15 part 2
andeaninc
Starting Member
18 Posts
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 08:40:57 AM Show Profile Email Poster
The crap I'm reading in all this is that much assumption is made that this is the fault of DPMS. You don't know if they assembled the rifle, or not. Because the components are from that maker, you assume they assembled it... but you and most of the commenters don't know that to be true because you haven't asked the seller about its history. There are a lot of components being sold these days and made into complete rifles by amateurs. This may, or may not, be the case with this rifle. Let's put down the pitchforks and burning torches long enough to get the facts before we pass blame.
My experience with DPMS has been wonderful. I'd hate to see any company's reputation harmed from not getting all the facts.
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As a matter of fact I did contact DPMS and gave them the serial number and like I said in an earlier post, all I got from them was a "Song And Dance".. They did tell me I may have to heat the Castle nut to loosen it so that I could screw the buffer tube in further(one complete turn) were his words and he was totally surprised that I had this problem.
Does this mean that someone other than DPMS assembled this rifle, I dunno but the guy I talked to at DPMS never said that DPMS did NOT assemble and ship it. He fed all the info into his computer and I feel sure he would have passed the buck in a heartbeat if he could have after I gave him the serial number and model.
As I said earlier, the rifle was pristine in appearance and had no scratches any where that would led me to believe the rifle was not assembled at DPMS before the factory finish was applied.
I bought the rifle from a seller in Alabama that has tons of auctions going on at any given time and really don't want to ask her to check on a completed auction that the original owner may or may not be straight with her.
So again, it's no big deal. I watched some videos and talked to some guys here and was advised as to what needed to be done, ordered the parts and a wrench needed to adjust the tube.
This is not the first AR I've owned but this is the first time I've had this particular problem.
Starting Member
18 Posts
Posted - 10/03/2013 : 08:40:57 AM Show Profile Email Poster
The crap I'm reading in all this is that much assumption is made that this is the fault of DPMS. You don't know if they assembled the rifle, or not. Because the components are from that maker, you assume they assembled it... but you and most of the commenters don't know that to be true because you haven't asked the seller about its history. There are a lot of components being sold these days and made into complete rifles by amateurs. This may, or may not, be the case with this rifle. Let's put down the pitchforks and burning torches long enough to get the facts before we pass blame.
My experience with DPMS has been wonderful. I'd hate to see any company's reputation harmed from not getting all the facts.
______________________________________________________________________
As a matter of fact I did contact DPMS and gave them the serial number and like I said in an earlier post, all I got from them was a "Song And Dance".. They did tell me I may have to heat the Castle nut to loosen it so that I could screw the buffer tube in further(one complete turn) were his words and he was totally surprised that I had this problem.
Does this mean that someone other than DPMS assembled this rifle, I dunno but the guy I talked to at DPMS never said that DPMS did NOT assemble and ship it. He fed all the info into his computer and I feel sure he would have passed the buck in a heartbeat if he could have after I gave him the serial number and model.
As I said earlier, the rifle was pristine in appearance and had no scratches any where that would led me to believe the rifle was not assembled at DPMS before the factory finish was applied.
I bought the rifle from a seller in Alabama that has tons of auctions going on at any given time and really don't want to ask her to check on a completed auction that the original owner may or may not be straight with her.
So again, it's no big deal. I watched some videos and talked to some guys here and was advised as to what needed to be done, ordered the parts and a wrench needed to adjust the tube.
This is not the first AR I've owned but this is the first time I've had this particular problem.
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I think my question was whether you'd had the rifle open to clean/lube. If so such a glaring defect should have been apparent since "this is not the first AR I've owned". 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Mobuck
I think my question was whether you'd had the rifle open to clean/lube. If so such a glaring defect should have been apparent since "this is not the first AR I've owned".
No, I had not cleaned the rifle prior to this happening. I opened the hard case the rifle came in and pulled the charging handle to the rear and everything looked fine. The retaining pin was holding the baffle in place but when I released the charging handle the bolt snagged the retaining pin and crushed it and bent the spring.
As stated, the slot that holds the pin in place is totally inside the lower with no part of the slot in the bottom of the tube exposed to hold the retaining pin. The baffle spring was putting pressure against the nipple on the retaining pin . That pressure was all that was holding it in place and when I released the charging handle, the bolt drug the retainer and spring into the action ruining them both.
It's pretty easy to miss this"Glaring Defect" when all I did was pull the charging handle back to make sure the action was empty and released it.0 -
Some people swear by DPMS. A couple of years ago, someone had problems with an upper and they swapped it on the spot at the Reno show.
It might help to find out if the rifle was sold by DPMS as a full rifle or as a reciever and if it was a complete rifle send it in under warranty. If just as a receiver, contact the seller and ask them for remedy.0 -
The buffer (baffle?) spring does not directly contact the buffer retainer. It IS possible to assemble the AR stock improperly and the buffer will hold the retainer in place until, as you found out, the bolt is retracted. This would be discovered long before the rifle would reach the end user. There's some other factor in this problem that hasn't surfaced yet. 0 -
Check your Castle nut before you untighten, it might be staked and need more force than you would think to undo. The last Colt M-4 I redid was staked by Bigfoot, and I needed a mallet to break that nut loose. I (naturally) replaced the original nut with a new one, and staked that one into place.
I also recommend a vise block to hold the lower (the 12 dollar plastic ones that fit in the magwells). When loosening up a staked castle nut this will keep you from marring your finish if it is held by the body in a vise or mickey-moused.
Good luck, and let us know what the results are. [8D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by Riomouse911
Check your Castle nut before you untighten, it might be staked and need more force than you would think to undo. The last Colt M-4 I redid was staked by Bigfoot, and I needed a mallet to break that nut loose. I (naturally) replaced the original nut with a new one, and staked that one into place.
I also recommend a vise block to hold the lower (the 12 dollar plastic ones that fit in the magwells). When loosening up a staked castle nut this will keep you from marring your finish if it is held by the body in a vise or mickey-moused.
Good luck, and let us know what the results are. [8D]
Actually, the best method I have found for removing a staked castle nut, is very judicious work, with a dremel tool. Very carefully, cut the stake out the nut itself.
Best0 -
Putting an excessive amount of torque on the castle nut while using a magwell plug in a vice as the only support may result in a broken magwell and ruined lower. 0 -
I sent all the info I had on this rifle to a respected forum member who has built hundreds of AR's with most of them being made by DPMS.
He assured me with what I sent he could find out for sure if the issue I'm having is with a factory built and shipped rifle or one that Bubba
put together.
I'll post his findings as soon as he lets me know.
UPDATE.. Was advised today that the AR in question was shipped with
the buffer tube not installed correctly from the factory.
Castle Nut wrench came in today and made the necessary adjustments and it runs with the damaged parts but will install new parts when they arrive from DPMS.
Thanks for all the advice and help on this issue from you guys.0 -
quote:Originally posted by miles
UPDATE.. Was advised today that the AR in question was shipped with
the buffer tube not installed correctly from the factory.Based upon this description of your rifle's condition...
quote:Originally posted by miles
...the slot that holds the pin in place is totally inside the lower with no part of the slot in the bottom of the tube exposed to hold the retaining pin. The baffle spring was putting pressure against the nipple on the retaining pin . That pressure was all that was holding it in place and when I released the charging handle, the bolt drug the retainer and spring into the action ruining them both.The bottom line is that this rifle was assembled and shipped without a simple function check being performed - or for that matter it's action even being cycled. Wow.
Their QC protocols apparently lie somewhere between very lax and nonexistent these days.
BTW - Unless things have changed, DPMS uses thread locking compound on their castle nuts rather than staking them per milspec. In addition to standard armorer's hand tools a torch is required to remove these.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Txs
quote:Originally posted by miles
UPDATE.. Was advised today that the AR in question was shipped with
the buffer tube not installed correctly from the factory.Based upon this description of your rifle's condition...
quote:Originally posted by miles
...the slot that holds the pin in place is totally inside the lower with no part of the slot in the bottom of the tube exposed to hold the retaining pin. The baffle spring was putting pressure against the nipple on the retaining pin . That pressure was all that was holding it in place and when I released the charging handle, the bolt drug the retainer and spring into the action ruining them both.The bottom line is that this rifle was assembled and shipped without a simple function check being performed - or for that matter it's action even being cycled. Wow.
Their QC protocols apparently lie somewhere between very lax and nonexistent these days.
BTW - Unless things have changed, DPMS uses thread locking compound on their castle nuts rather than staking them per milspec. In addition to standard armorer's hand tools a torch is required to remove these.
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No torch was needed to remove the castle nut and there was no thread locking compound visible. Armorer's tool and a few well chosen cuss words did the trick.
After repairs the castle nut was tightened back to where it was and all is well but, I will install new parts when they get here.0
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