m14 complete disassembly

8/12/2019 M14 Complete Disassembly

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Warning!

The material expressed in this document is the personal view of the author. This

information is to be used for informational and entertainment purposes only! The author of

this document assumes no responsibility or liability for damage to firearms, bodily harm or

death to the reader or bystanders of the reader should the reader decide to attempt toduplicate procedures documented here. If the reader of this document is unsure of his or

her own capability to safely perform personal maintenance on any firearm the reader

should seek the help and council of a credible gunsmith.

This material may be redistributed freely but may not be copyrighted or redistributed for a

fee or charge of any kind unless authorized by “TonyBen”, the author of this document,

who can be reached at [email protected] .

This document is intended to illustrate the tools and techniques necessary to field

strip and disassemble M14 rifle clones. Disassembly will cover everything exceptthe trigger group disassembly, and small parts disassembly lie the spindle valvein the gas cylinder and the cartridge clip guide on the receiver as well as theoperating rod guide and the bolt stop. These items rarely, if ever, need to beremoved once they are installed by the factory or by a gunsmith.

!elow are some common tools necessary to properly disassemble, clean andmaintain your M14"type rifle. #ot all tools shown are necessary for disassembly.

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They consist of$1. %rease of choice. & prefer 'ubriplate 1()"* which can be purchased from

!rownell+s. ther popular greases are -lastilube, Tetra gun grease, T"/0b and even wheel bearing grease

/. * small artist+s paint brush for application of grease optional2(. * 3hamber maid flexible bore brush handle optional2. This item is not an

absolute necessity but will mae cleaning the chamber much easier thanusing a %& chamber brush and a patch. %%% also maes their ownversion.

4. * %& multi"tool0. * (567 boxed end wrench optional28. * multi"bit handle optional29. * cleaning rod bore"guide. & consider this a necessity to properly protect

the barrel crown from damage during cleaning.6. * chamber cleaning port optional2

:. Multiple bits consisting of standard allen si;es and screwdriver tips for use with item number 8. optional2

1).* cleaning rod section with a 40cal bore brush used to clean the flashsuppressor optional2

11. * gas cylinder5gas loc wrench. can be substituted with &tems /4 and /02The one shown is a !*D"T4 tool that can be used with %& gas locs and<mith =nterprise gas locs which include dovetails for front sights or gaslocs with permanently integrated front sights. <mith =nterprise and



<adla also sell versions and there are also %& gas loc wrenchesavailable.

1/.* !*D"T1 tool optional2. This tool can be used to disassemble the M14rifle and includes integrated gauges to measure mu;;le wear, throaterosion and flash suppressor alignment. &t also includes a storage pot for

grease and can also be used with multi"bits allen and screwdriver bits2. &talso has an adapter to measure throat erosion on M1 %arands. The toolis very expensive but is well worth the money if you are in the habit ofmeasuring and monitoring throat erosion and mu;;le wear as well asfrequent self"gunsmithing.

1(.* >10 long drill bit with handle. This is needed to clean inside the gaspiston tail.

14.* letter ?7 drill bit. This will be used to clean the inside of the gas plug.10.* letter ?-7 drill bit. This will be used to clean the large opening in the gas

piston.18.* %& chamber brush. ptional with suitable substitute2

19.* .() caliber bore brush with brass shan.16.* 40 caliber bore brush used to clean the chamber in place of a %&chamber brush optional2.

1:.* 40 caliber bore mop optional2. This will mae thorough removal ofsolvents much easier and quicer.

/).&f using an eyelet attachment to clean the bore, use an eyelet with a ()caliber cotton cleaning patch.

/1.&f using a cleaning @ag, use a @ag with a // caliber cotton cleaning patch ora () caliber cotton cleaning patch cut in half.

//.* nylon cleaning brush./(.* set of castle nut pliers. The ones shown are home made but others can

be purchased on gunbroer or !rownell+s./4.* large crescent wrench as a substitute for a gas loc wrench item

number 112./0.* strip of leather for use with item /4./8.<olvent of choice./9.il of choice./6.* one piece cleaning rod. &t doesn+t have to be an expensive cleaning rod.

The expensive ones are nice but & used a A1/ coated cleaning rod and it wored fine. hen using a @ag to clean the barrel instead of an eyelet, it will tae more effort to push it through the barrel and you may bend it. Theexpensive ones won+t bend but as long as you are careful, a cheap one

will do fine.

Disassembly



First, remove the magazine from the rifle

Pull the operating rod back and verify that the rifle is unloaded and there isno round in the chamber. Ease the operating rod forward when clear.



Invert the rifle and protect your rear sight group. ou can install a rear sightprotector or lay the rifle on a piece of wood to keep the weight of the riflefrom damaging the rear sight. !sing a "#D$%& tool section or a suitable

substitute, insert the tool into the hole at the rear of the trigger guard andpull up to open the trigger guard.

!se of 'I multi$tool shown



!nlock the trigger group

(nce opened, pull the trigger group straight out.

Important note: if your rifle is equipped with a rear lugged receiver or

double lugged receiver and torque screw(s), remove the torque screw(s)now. The rear screw is accessible after you remove the trigger group! Theforward torque screw can be accessed at any time.



If the trigger guard will not fully open and you cant remove the trigger group from the rifle, there is a possibility that the roll pin that holds the

magaine latch in has bac"ed out creating a mechanical bloc" that will notallow the trigger guard to open. If this happens, insert a screwdriver and

push the roll pin bac" in place.

(nce the trigger guard is removed, turn the rifle right side up and grab thereceiver by the rear sight knobs. )ith your free hand, slap down on the grip

area of the stock to separate the barreled action from the stock.



For glass bedded stocks with a tight fit, you may not be able to get theaction out this way. For stubborn stocks I recommend finding a hard worksurface and laying a folded towel down on it for protection. Invert the rifleand with one hand grab the barrel*gas cylinder. )ith the other hand,support the receiver and bump the buttstock down on the padded worksurface.

%his should separate the stock and action as shown in the two imagesabove and below. "e sure not to drop the stock on the floor when thishappens as it may fly off when it separates under force so be prepared tocatch it. %his may also be a good method to remove the stock from anaction that has a scope mounted which you might not want to remove fordisassembly and at the same time don+t want to use the scope as a handleduring disassembly.



%he rifle is now broken down into three groups the barreled action, thestock and the trigger group.

-(ptional "olt disassembly using a spent /0$01 or .230 shell casing4%his is probably, by far, the easiest way to remove the e5tractor from thebolt that I have seen done short of buying a bolt disassembly tool. %hismethod will remove very stubborn e5tractors that can+t be removed using a'I multi$tool. 6ome commercial e5tractors have a dimple for the e5tractorplunger that is too deep and makes removal of the e5tractor more difficult.

%his procedure should be performed either before you remove the actionfrom the stock or before you remove the operating rod and operating rodspring from the action.



%ools necessary are for bolt disassembly using an empty /0$01 casing are4# small gunsmith+s hammer, a 7*/28 punch and an empty /0$01 or .230

9ase.

Insert the empty case into the chamber.



Ease the bolt forward and bump the operating rod handle until the e5tractorclamps over the rim of the empty case. %his will compress the e:ector andallow for the e5tractor to be punched out from the bottom. %his also allowsthe operating rod spring to do all the work compressing the e:ector spring

while you focus on removing the e5tractor.

Place the 7*/28 punch directly over the leg of the e5tractor.



'ive the punch a good firm tap and the e5tractor should fall out of the topof the bolt.

%o remove the punch, press the operating rod handle forward to compressthe e:ector a little more and relieve pressure on the punch. ;emove the

punch and ease the operating rod back. %he bolt will literally fall apart fromthis point on and the empty case and bolt guts can be removed.

;emoval of the operating rod, spring guide, spring and bolt4



Invert the barreled action and pull the operating rod spring back, relievingpressure on the operating rod spring guide. Disengage the connector lock

from the spring guide.

ou may now remove the spring guide and spring.

<ocation of the dismount notch :ust below the rear sight windage knob.



Pull back the operating rod so that the tab that rides inside the track is

lined up with the dismount notch.

<ift up and rotate out on the operating rod handle to dismount theoperating rod tab from the tab track in the receiver.



Dismounted

-(ptional If this is your first time removing an operating rod from a new rifle,it may be too difficult to remove the operating rod from the receiver with yourhands. In this case you can wrap a piece of leather around the operating rod

handle and grip it with some channel$locks to gain the e5tra leveragenecessary to remove the operating rod the first few times. 'ently but firmlyrotate the operating rod handle out and up. #fter the operating rod has been

removed a few times it will almost fall out on its own.



=ow pull the bolt forward, up and out of the receiver. (bserve the firing pintail and wiggle or rotate the bolt until the tail clears the groove in the

receiver safety bridge.

!sing a &*&18 #llen wrench or #llen bit, remove the flash suppressor castlenut set screw

Install the gas lock wrench and the castle nut pliers and loosen the castlenut. ou can also substitute the gas lock wrench with a padded crescent

wrench -shown 2 images below.



;emove the flash suppressor and castle nut.

!sing either a "#D$%& tool, 'I multi tool or a /*>8 bo5ed end wrench,loosen and remove the gas plug. It is a good idea to make a witness mark

with white$out or white paint before removal to identify proper tor?ue if youdon+t have a tor?ue wrench to reinstall the gas plug.



'as plug removed

<oosen the gas lock



!nscrew and remove the gas lock

6lide the gas cylinder and front band forward and remove

6lide out the gas piston

6lide the handguard forward and remove.



"efore disassembling the rear sight group, bottom out the rear sight andcenter the windage settings. =ote the elevation settings to ensure theelevation knob is installed in the same orientation as it was removed. If it isnot reinstalled e5actly as it was removed, the elevation settings will notmatch and the elevation knob will need to be ad:usted upon reassembly. Itis also a good idea to count the clicks from bottom that it takes to reachyour 200 yard zero. %his knowledge will enable you to ad:ust the elevationknob to the correct setting instead of having to re zero the sights at therange.

!sing a "#D$%& tool, a multi$tool or a standard screwdriver, loosen the splitnut in the windage knob.



Pull the elevation knob out.

Pull out the rear sight aperture.



!nscrew the elevation knob until it comes out.

Push up on the rear sight base to remove the rear sight cover.

;ear sight base and cover removed.



6eparate the base and cover.

"olt disassembly -if not previously done with the empty /0$01 case4

%his ne5t step illustrates how to disassemble the bolt using the 'I multi$tool. %his can also be performed with an empty /0$01 case, a hammer and apunch. 6ome commercial e5tractors have a cut in the e5tractor that is toodeep for the e5tractor plunger and once it is installed, it is difficult toremove. In one instance, I tried 2 different multi$tools and was not able touse them to remove the e5tractor. I was only able to remove it when using aspent /0$01 case, a gunsmith+s hammer and a punch.

Put the smiley face cutout portion of the multi tool over the e:ector andplace the screwdriver blade portion of the tool directly under the e5tractor.



Push in and compress the e:ector.

9ontinue pressing and rotate the tool clockwise. %his should push thee5tractor up and out of the detent position.

%he e5tractor can now be removed and the e:ector and spring can beremoved.



%he firing pin can now be removed

our rifle is now completely disassembled -minus the trigger group andother small parts.

%o assemble the rifle, reverse the process taking note of these areas4



• )hen installing the gas plug, use anti$seize like used to apply tothreads of spark plugs and tor?ue the gas plug from &20 inchpounds -&0 foot pounds up to as much as 2/ foot pounds. %hepopular ranges are from &20 inch pounds to &70 inch pounds.

• )hen installing the rear sight, fully tighten the split nut in the windage knob and back it off one @9lunk8 or detent. %urn the windage and elevation knobs and test for function. If the elevationknob will not move, back off the split nut one more @9lunk8 and thatshould allow the elevation knob to turn with the proper tension.

• )hen reassembling the bolt using the /0$01 case, install the strippedbolt into the action and install the operating rod, spring and guide.

=ow install the firing pin, e:ector spring, e:ector, e5tractor spring ande5tractor plunger into the bolt. Place the /0$01 case in the chamberand ease the bolt forward. #ssist the operating rod by pressingforward on the operating rod handle until the e:ector is compressedand you can see clearly through the e5tractor hole as seen below.



=ow place the e5tractor into the bolt and press down until you can hearit click into place -%he click is the e5tractor plunger engaging the dimpleat the back of the e5tractor claw.



• )hen installing the flash suppressor castle nut, tighten the nut backto the original setting. It may be necessary to tighten as much aspossible and back off the castle nut until the ne5t slot is lined up forthe castle nut set screw to engage. If this causes the flashsuppressor to flap loosely, then you must tighten the castle nut to

the ne5t slot to engage the set screw. D( =(% <E#AE # F<#6B6!PP;E66(; <((6EC %his can cause bullet strikes upon firing andyour rifle may be damaged. It is important to have good castle nutpliers for proper flash suppressor installation. 9heap one breakbefore proper tor?ue is achieved.

• )hen installing a receiver with a rear lugged or double luggedreceiver with tor?ue screw-s, tor?ue the screws from 70 to 77 inchpounds.

#lthough the instructions may seem a bit lengthy, disassembling the &family of rifles is not that hard and does not take that long to do once youhave done it a few times. I hope you all find this information useful. If youhave any ?uestions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to e$mailme at tonyben/gmail.com .

Bappy shootingC

%ony.



m14 complete disassembly

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