[squiros]

the pin has walked out. i can't pry it back in with a screwdriver, should i attempt to disassemble the rifle and put it back myself or just send it in to kel tec?

 

[Lefty2Guns]

Personally I'd be afraid to disassemble that far. I'd get in touch with kel-tec.

What's your serial number (you can "X" out the last digit or two) and round count?

Think you're the 3rd person to have/report this issue here. While there are fixes for some of the other known issues (e.g. walking extractor axis pin) this is one we know less about (cause/fix/etc).

If you get any details from kel-tec please share!

 

[Liberty4Ever]

There is another advantage in returning the rifle to Kel-Tec for repair. If they're repairing the rifle, they'll have a better understanding of the field failure rate and will be more inclined to fix any design or manufacturing issues sooner rather than later. It helps their continuous quality improvement. That's good for Kel-Tec and good for their customers.

And like Lefty said, please share any info you may learn about this problem so we can all understand it and add to our group knowledge base. That's one of the best features of a forum such as KTOG.

 

[thehun]

What pin is that?

 

[Lefty2Guns]

What pin is that?

It's part of part # 235 in the manual (which is really comprised of multiple parts that are not individually named from what I can tell), called the "riveted sear bar". Essentially it's the cylindrical pin/tube/bar that appears right next to the number "235" in the RDB manual schematic and connects the "sear bar" and two "hammer linkages" (both names I'm just making up here) to eachother.

The similar failures (at least 2 that I know of) that have been reported here before were a disconnect between one of the "hammer linkages" and the hammer itself (part # 234), while this appears to be a disconnect within part # 235 where the "hammer linkages" connect to the "sear bar".

 

[IamScotticus]

Aw snap. This is not good Thanks KT!
I guess the only prevention for this is a couple of shims on the sides.

 

[squiros]

thanks for the responses. sorry for the late reply.
my gun is z0j67 or some such.
i have 550 + rounds or so.

i filed a ticket. 4 days later, ericka says she can't help and to call a number. the number says to send it in, and gave me a packing slip. a day later, the email for packing slip arrives.

i asked if i only had to send the lower in. they said send in everything for a complete examination. i didn't argue, sent the whole thing in. i asked if they would send it directly back to me instead of an ffl, they said they'd send it to my home address.

there was green residue on my ammo. the RO said that was corrosive ammo. if i didn't clean my gun it would rust and fall apart. (same 1000 rnd box as last time). when i opened it up to clean it, i had no rust or unusual wear. the rifling and throat looked pristine, no pitting or rust. i wonder if the RO was mistaken.
i wonder if corrosive ammo could be cause for pins to wear down. for example, a hardened pin may react to corrosive ammo and consequently be prone to misalign or fall out. i still have 500 more rounds of this stuff too.

 

[Lefty2Guns]

there was green residue on my ammo. the RO said that was corrosive ammo. if i didn't clean my gun it would rust and fall apart. (same 1000 rnd box as last time). when i opened it up to clean it, i had no rust or unusual wear. the rifling and throat looked pristine, no pitting or rust. i wonder if the RO was mistaken.
i wonder if corrosive ammo could be cause for pins to wear down. for example, a hardened pin may react to corrosive ammo and consequently be prone to misalign or fall out. i still have 500 more rounds of this stuff too.

What brand ammo was it? Approx age?

Even if it were corrosive, which is pretty uncommon to find in .223/5.56 these days, it's unlikely to be related to the failure anyway.

 

[Sindri556]

Yeah, more info on the ammo would be appreciated. It was my understanding that the US militaru switched to Non-corrosive primers with the adoption of 7.62x51mm NATO and that industry quickly followed suit. Since the .223/5.56mm didn't show up until 20 years later I find it highly, highly unlikely you got corrosive ammo (though I won't say impossible).

 

[IamScotticus]

Even if it were corrosive, it's unlikely to be related to the failure anyway.

Yes, I agree

 

[texcl2]

There's no such thing as corrosive 5.56 just urban legends.

 

[squiros]

ammo was purchased earlier this year. i mean. . . the ammo is literally sealed in a plastic bag.

i'm inclined to agree - chemicals go from very reactive to non reactive after they react. i have an advanced degree in chemistry. so the idea that gunpowder still has energy left after a very energetic reaction to corrode is somewhat counterintuitive. it may be more plausible if it's catalytic.

anyway thanks again for everyone's help.

the reason i purchased this ammo was because its reviews said it was good ammo, and not too cheap to cause reliability problems.

 

[Lefty2Guns]

Corrosive ammo is a thing. It's actually the primers that leave a corrosive salt behind that can lead to rust/pitting. It's just not very common (if at all?) in .223/5.56 though.

Usually it's surplus/combloc 7.62x39, 7.62x51r, 5.45, etc. where you have to watch out for corrosive primers.

 

[atp]

there was green residue on my ammo. the RO said that was corrosive ammo.

Either you misunderstood what he said, or this "range officer" had no idea what he was talking about.

Green residue on bullets or brass cases can indeed be called "corrosion", and in extreme cases can damage the cases enough to make them unsafe to fire. Some German surplus .308 was packed in the wrong kind of boxes a while back, and got ruined that way.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not the ammo was loaded with corrosive primers - which is what "corrosive ammo" means. After a corrosive primer is fired, the salts from the priming compound will rust your barrel, and any other steel they come in contact with, sometimes quite quickly. But the salts are water soluble, so to get rid of them you must clean your gun with water, or a solution containing plenty of water. A 50/50 mix of Ballistol and water is used successfully by many.

Two totally different kinds of corrosion, nothing to do with each other.

There's no such thing as corrosive 5.56 just urban legends.

I believe that is true. I've never heard of corrosively primed .223 anywhere, and certainly not for sale in the USA.

 

[atp]

the reason i purchased this ammo was because its reviews said it was good ammo, and not too cheap to cause reliability problems.

What you have appears to be South African M193 ball, made by PMP, in the military style packaging. It should work fine, and is non-corrosive.