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K43 AC45 Bolt Recoil Springs Issues and Replacement

WreckTangle

Mad Dog 20/20 Connoisseur (RIP Brother 06-05-203)
I have an all matching K43 that I picked not too long ago. Vet bring back with a duffle cut.

I shot it last week and after about 7 rounds the bolt tension became loose and was then "stovepiping" the ejected rounds. The only way to get it to fire was to bring the bolt all the way back and release the bolt manually to try and get it to load the round (which worked). I suppose this was because the piston didn't have enough power to bring the bolt all the way back.

I took the bolt apart and the front bolt recoil spring was partially "stuck compressed" on the part that connects the two bolt recoil springs (front and rear recoil springs). I took the bolt apart and removed the springs and noticed that one side verse the other of the front recoil spring was tighter than the other. The tighter side of the front sprint was the side that was "stuck compressed." Which I believe is the issue. I ordered new springs from Wolf Precision Gun Springs (per Dan Weaver's recommendation). As with the original front bolt recoil spring, the new front bolt recoil spring has the same issue (one side is tighter than the other). Is there a certain direction that the front spring goes? I also read somewhere that it could be the dust cover (which also recommended to get a repo dust cover and install it).

I'm in love :facepalm: and gotta get this thing fixed so I can shoot it. :happy0180: Any help is appreciated.
 
It's a fairly common problem with aftermarket springs. I usually grab the last winding at the tight end with needle nose pliers and unwind it a little bit. It doesn't take a lot to make it go smooth over the recoil spring tubes. Same is true for the spring around the op-rod.
 
It's a fairly common problem with aftermarket springs. I usually grab the last winding at the tight end with needle nose pliers and unwind it a little bit. It doesn't take a lot to make it go smooth over the recoil spring tubes. Same is true for the spring around the op-rod.

Thanks for the input.

I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right since this is my first G/K43.


I've attached a few images comparing the original rear recoil springs vs the new Wolff springs. As you can see in the images the Wolff springs are consideribly longer than the orginials. Also, the Wolff springs are a lot stiffer and take more considerable pressure to compress--making it harder to install into the receiver (an AC45 without a bolt catch is hard enough). After reading some general information on Wolff's website, this is "normal" (with all their springs) and should compress to the correct length once used. However, this being said, with the new "stiffer" rear recoil springs I'm having a hard time re-installing the bolt carrier.

I'm having difficulty holding the bolt group together and reinserting it into the reciver. I noticed that the front rear recoil spring is "bending" when compressing it into the bolt housing. Is this normal?

A side note: The rear recoil spring rod is slightly bent right below where the recoil rod retainer is inserted, making it a little more difficult to remove from the recoil spring guide.


All help is appreciated.
 

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Finally figured it out. It was the Action cover. It was a little wider at the front and just needed to be squeezed as I put the bolt back in. Thanks for the help.
 

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