AR Sponsor
Posted: 5/13/2014 5:48:15 PM EDT
I tried to assemble my first upper and I think I over tighten the barrel nut and putting too much thread lock on it and now I can't take it off. I did tried but broke three of the teeth on the barrel nut. I can't line up the gas tube  . What to do guys???
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I tried to assemble my first upper and I think I over tighten the barrel nut and putting too much thread lock on it and now I can't take it off. I did tried but broke three of the teeth on the barrel nut. I can't line up the gas tube . What to do guys???Buy a new upper. |
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Yer prolly gonna need some gloves ( like leather ) too. You need to heat up the barrel nut nice and hot in order to back off that nut, like about 300 degrees. Once off, order a new nut. Use acetone and a nice stuff brush to clean the threads of the upper. Next time, use a Moly additive grease but avoid anything with graphite ( this is controversial...but just avoid graphite to keep your head clear later ) in it. Look up instructions and a few videos on properly installing a nut. |
. I'll try the heat gun method and thanks for the help
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Stop doing it yourself first! Second....better find a gunsmith that can save your upper. This is the exact reason why I tell inexperienced gun owners to utilize a reputable gunsmith, instead of just taking the advice of the "experts" in here who say just buy a vice and do the assembly yourself! |
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This is the exact reason why I tell inexperienced gun owners to utilize a reputable gunsmith, instead of just taking the advice of the "experts" in here who say just buy a vice and do the assembly yourself! Quoted:
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Stop doing it yourself first! Second....better find a gunsmith that can save your upper. This is the exact reason why I tell inexperienced gun owners to utilize a reputable gunsmith, instead of just taking the advice of the "experts" in here who say just buy a vice and do the assembly yourself! That is true of a lot of things. But if you posses the most basic of mechanical skills, most AR tinkering is a piece of cake. The only thing I wouldn't try doing on my own is installing a virgin A2 style frint sight base with pins. |
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That is true of a lot of things. But if you posses the most basic of mechanical skills, most AR tinkering is a piece of cake. The only thing I wouldn't try doing on my own is installing a virgin A2 style frint sight base with pins. Quoted:
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Stop doing it yourself first! Second....better find a gunsmith that can save your upper. This is the exact reason why I tell inexperienced gun owners to utilize a reputable gunsmith, instead of just taking the advice of the "experts" in here who say just buy a vice and do the assembly yourself! That is true of a lot of things. But if you posses the most basic of mechanical skills, most AR tinkering is a piece of cake. The only thing I wouldn't try doing on my own is installing a virgin A2 style frint sight base with pins. I'd have to agree with this. |
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Dispite what people say here a barrel nut isn't some magically torque screw. Torquing at 30 lbs is as easy as a really strong person doing it by hand. As such a wrench would be great with a vise since it's really hard to do it otherwise. My ar build I got scared due to all the "internet advice" but it turned out to be complete bull. Just follow mil spec of torque of 30-80lbs which is basically a good wrench turn once it's tighten. The 80lbs is there just for eager folks but overall don't over tighten.
Basically if you have to break a sweat or use loctight it means you're doing it very wrong. |
| Once you get that barrel off OP... If you have a standard Front Sight Block then your going to need to learn how to properly remove that too in order to get a new barrel nut on that barrel and take the old one off. My first build that was way more challenging that properly torquing a barrel nut. You need to watch some Youtube videos and get a big hammer (3pound sledge), some steel punches of appropriate size, a good sturdy workbench, and maybe the FSB template to remove/install a FSB too... |
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Please tell me you didn't use RED loctite. Always keep in mind that they are made out of aluminum. My bet would be that you break something taking it off. More likely than not it is going to crack the upper somewhere or sheer off the barrel index pin.
How many ft/lbs did you crank the barrel nut down to? Lug nut status? |
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Maybe we can move away from the post count or newness to the forum banter and criticism. I've seen guys here a long time with many post do more stupid things. Superiority attitude does not solve problems. I'm a 13er too. Newness to the site does not translate into lack of knowledge or skill, nor does joining a long time ago and being a post whore make one either smart or skilled.
The solution, as suggested in earlier responses, is judicious application of heat directly to the nut, avoiding high heat that could alter the temper of the barrel or damage the anodizing of the upper receiver. Try to heat up only the nut. Then get a new barrel nut and a good barrel nut tool with the square hole in it to connect to a torque wrench. It's best not to use ANY kind of adhesive on the threads that the barrel nut runs over. Rely on the proper torque, per the instructions for the particular barrel you are installing, and obviously reserve final torqueing until you have the gas tube alignment right. Then bring the torque up to final value. Problem solved, and hopefully lesson learned. Breaking off teeth is an indication of not having the tool properly aligned or a poorly designed barrel nut tool. Do not let this deter you from the fun of modifying your AR. But don't be ham fisted. Take your time. Get good tools and learn to use them properly. There are a lot of on-line "how to" videos that can be very helpful, especially if you see a lot of guys doing things the same way successfully. Some of them are not very good, frankly, so be careful. The videos of manufacturers and major vendors are better. I like to see what Brownells has on a particular task, if I'm not already familiar with it. They have a pretty extensive library of how to videos. |
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Not sure if this will help due to the Loctite, however I had a stubborn barrel nut a few weeks back. Heat didn't help at all. I ended up putting the entire upper in the freezer for about an hour or so, and then the nut came off no problem. Good luck! I have used this method and it worked. has to be left in freezer for a couple of hours for best results. gd |
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Quoted: I have used this method and it worked. has to be left in freezer for a couple of hours for best results. gd Quoted: Quoted: Not sure if this will help due to the Loctite, however I had a stubborn barrel nut a few weeks back. Heat didn't help at all. I ended up putting the entire upper in the freezer for about an hour or so, and then the nut came off no problem. Good luck! I have used this method and it worked. has to be left in freezer for a couple of hours for best results. gd I threw mine in the deep freezer for an hour or so. It's at -4F, so it didn't take long. A normal freezer might take a few hours like you mentioned.
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Quoted:
That is true of a lot of things. But if you posses the most basic of mechanical skills, most AR tinkering is a piece of cake. The only thing I wouldn't try doing on my own is installing a virgin A2 style frint sight base with pins. Quoted:
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Stop doing it yourself first! Second....better find a gunsmith that can save your upper. This is the exact reason why I tell inexperienced gun owners to utilize a reputable gunsmith, instead of just taking the advice of the "experts" in here who say just buy a vice and do the assembly yourself! That is true of a lot of things. But if you posses the most basic of mechanical skills, most AR tinkering is a piece of cake. The only thing I wouldn't try doing on my own is installing a virgin A2 style frint sight base with pins. Agreed. I did my homework and put my first rifle together in <2 hrs. The bulk of that time was spent securing the gen 1 DD light rail… 6 f***ing screws!!! |
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Someone said red loctite further up.
Before using red, consider than my LGSmith believe you should (almost) need a license to even buy that stuff. AFter dealing with a RRA buffer tube on a factory rifle, I agree. People are probbably using anti-sieze more than loctite on the barrel nut these days. |
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glad you got it off -
dont' listen to the guys that say let a gun smith do it - uppers are cheap(ish), barrel nuts are cheap - you got to learn sometime. Loctite is a brand. Loctite threadlocker is what you used. Loctite also makes an anti-seize for threads. typically that's what's used on the barrel nut. |
| Never Ever Ever use ANTI-SIEZE on a AR15-M4-M16 Barrel nut. Someone posted a while back that it will eat into the Aluminum. Call Brownells.com will tell what is safe to use on the barrel nut. I have a grease that they sell that I use on my barrel nut & Aluminum Receiver. |
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Quoted: Why the hell did you use a thread locker? It's 2014. Did it dawn on you to look up "AR barrel installation" on Google before you did the opposite of the correct install method? |
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