Adjustable gas block - HELP!

[b4uqzme]

Well I thought I'd be smart and intall an Ergo adjustable gas block on my first AR build. The gun shoots great but the bolt will not cycle enough to eject the round or hold the bolt open. Only two rounds out of thirty cycled properly and those two ejected cases were noticeably hot to touch. All the others were just lukewarm. It appears to have a gas leak at the gas block adjustment screw. Was I supposed to put some kind of thread sealer on there? Do you think I'm looking in the right area? Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

[RRP]

It appears to have a gas leak at the gas block adjustment screw. Was I supposed to put some kind of thread sealer on there? Do you think I'm looking in the right area? Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

No thread-locking compound is needed on the gas adjustment screw of the Ergo gas block. Instead, the adjustment screw is locked into place with an opposing set-screw.

If you have insufficient gas to operate the action, it's possible the gas block is not correctly aligned on the barrel. That would be the first thing to verify.

[b4uqzme]

I guess I wasn't thinking about thread "locker" (it's an adjustment screw) but there definitely is a leak there. Is that normal? Would a thread sealer be in order or would that just gum things up?

And thank you. I did check the gas block alignment and noticed that I missed something the first time. There is an indent in the bottom of the barrel. I assume that is for one of the two set screws. Aligning to that indent moves the block forward about 1/32. Would that be enough to make a difference? And why is there an indent anyway? Lots of gas blocks mount differently. How did they know which one I would buy? I guess the real question: what's the process to assure it's aligned correctly?

Thanks again. Everything else is working great.

[CJB]

Leak at the gas screw.

Do you have the slightest idea about how your first build AR functions? What is the distance from the chamber to gas port, then to the muzzle? What is the size of the gas port in the barrel. What is the weight of the recoil spring. Weight and element configuration of the buffer? What is the size of the gas tube vs the bolt carrier key? How about the fit of the carrier and bolt?

There is so much to this, it aint even funny. You cannot just slap some stuff together and expect perfection, unless - you go fully with certified GI spec parts. I'm sounding like a AR snob, but I'm not. The crap has got to all work together. The AR is not like an M14 or FAL with its self metering gas system. The AR's demand on consistent pressure at the carrier is far greater then most designs.

[b4uqzme]

Understood. So teach me CJB-san. And I'm still curious. Why should gas leak from the adjustment screw? Is that a fatal flaw?
What can be done about it?

[CJB]

Will comment after i get back to a keybd.

[b4uqzme]

Thanks. Meanwhile I will take it apart and triple check the stuff that you and RRP mentioned. The intertube seems to think gas block location is the typical issue. So I will quadruple check that. Then check for obstructions, buffer weight, etc. I wouldn't have complained if it had just slapped together and worked perfectly. But how else will I learn?

[Bawanna]

You didn't complain, you merely brought forth an issue to be addressed by those who have slapped them together and experienced defeat before you.
They aren't smarter than you, just not quite as dumb as you at this moment.
Hopefully in the next day or two you won't be dumb at all when it comes to adjustable gas blocks and I'll be the last remaining dumb head when it comes to adjustable gas blocks.

[gb6491]

Well I thought I'd be smart and intall an Ergo adjustable gas block on my first AR build. The gun shoots great but the bolt will not cycle enough to eject the round or hold the bolt open. Only two rounds out of thirty cycled properly and those two ejected cases were noticeably hot to touch. All the others were just lukewarm. It appears to have a gas leak at the gas block adjustment screw. Was I supposed to put some kind of thread sealer on there? Do you think I'm looking in the right area? Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

I'm no AR guru (don't really mess with them that much), but that much difference in temperature between the cases that cycled properly and those that didn't would make me suspect the ammo some.
Regards,
Greg

[Bills1873]

I'll buy one already completely assembled by someone smarter than me!