How do I clean SA M1A?

t2 · May 29, 2000, 10:32 AM

I rently purchased an M1A and all I did before I shot it was run a patch down the bore. I shot about 300rds, some good, some junk. Anyway, now how do I clean it? Do I need to remove the gas cylinder plug?, if so, do I need a wrench? I tried it with my hands and I could'nt get it off, but I didn't want to do anything that would damage it, so I didn't take it off yet. Also, I have dissasembled it into it's 3 main sub-assemblies and the Birchwood casey's gun scrubber started dissolving my handguard, so I scrubbed what I could with hoppe's semi auto cleaner and a toothbrush. I also had to clean the bbl from the muzzle, is this the only way? And finally, what do I oil and what do I grease? (trigger assembly as well) ANY AND ALL HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!! BTW, It is the standard/synthetic with chrome lined bore and no matter how much I scrubbed, I could not get a clean patch. Thank you, Terry [email protected]. Any websites, books or video refrences you know of too please.

Robb · May 29, 2000, 12:35 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by t2:
I rently purchased an M1A and all I did before I shot it was run a patch down the bore. I shot about 300rds, some good, some junk. Anyway, now how do I clean it? Do I need to remove the gas cylinder plug?, if so, do I need a wrench? I tried it with my hands and I could'nt get it off, but I didn't want to do anything that would damage it, so I didn't take it off yet. Also, I have dissasembled it into it's 3 main sub-assemblies and the Birchwood casey's gun scrubber started dissolving my handguard, so I scrubbed what I could with hoppe's semi auto cleaner and a toothbrush. I also had to clean the bbl from the muzzle, is this the only way? And finally, what do I oil and what do I grease? (trigger assembly as well) ANY AND ALL HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!! BTW, It is the standard/synthetic with chrome lined bore and no matter how much I scrubbed, I could not get a clean patch. Thank you, Terry [email protected]. Any websites, books or video refrences you know of too please.[/quote]

You do not need to disassemble the gas system at all. You need to remove the bolt and charging handle, and operating rod and spring assy. then you can clean from the breach. You will still have to push your rod from the muzzle and then attach the patch or brush at the chamber and then pull it toward the muzzle. A chrome lined barrel doesn't have to be surgically clean just run your brush down it with CLP and then pull a dry patch followed but a CLP soaked patch until its comes clean it may take a while. Then pull a lightly oiled patch down it once for storage. I wouldn't use a solvent unless its a MATCH rifle. If its just for plinking or hunting Break-Free CLP will work fine for cleaning and lube, if you want a little better lube use Militec-1. For more info go to http://www.fulton-armory.com/
Robb

Noban · May 30, 2000, 06:02 PM

t2 - It's not recommended or necessary to field strip your rifle for every cleaning. It will loosen the tolerances between the components over time, especially the trigger group/stock interface (if the stock is wood).

The only way to clean the M1A barrel is from the muzzle. True, you can push the cleaning rod through from the muzzle end and attach a brush or jag at the breach and pull through. However, if you use a rod guide you can safely clean from the muzzle and avoid damaging the barrel crown.

With a chrome lined barrel, all you need is a bronze brush, a good one-piece coated or polished stainless steel cleaning rod, a bore guide, lots of patches, powder/lead solvent and copper remover. Sound familiar? They clean up just like a carbon steel barrel. No special care is needed.

I would recommend cleaning the gas system only after every 500 rounds. For this you will have to remove the gas plug. Never do this without using a gas system wrench while turning the plug out with either your combo tool or a 3/8" wrench. Otherwise you may torque the gas system out of line and make your rifle inoperable.

Once you have the plug off, dump out the gas piston. You will need to scrape the carbon out of the gas plug and the hole on the gas piston on the slimmer, "D" shaped end. There are special tools for this purpose that look like drill bits. You can actually use drill bits of the correct diameter.

Clean out the gas system with Hoppe's #9 or CLP and dry thoroughly. DO NOT lubricate the gas system, as it will quickly gum up and cause malfunctions.

I don't use any oil on my M1A, only Tetra grease. You want to apply grease to any friction surface, like the bolt rollers, op rod raceway, trigger group, bolt channels, etc. Your manual should guide you on this.

Hope this helps.

Noban

El Rojo · May 30, 2000, 07:32 PM

What is the deal with grease instead of oil for the M1A? I would appreciate some knowledge on this subject. Thanks.

Cliff · May 30, 2000, 10:04 PM

El Rojo - Not just the M1A - the M14 and M1 Garand as well. The receivers on these rifles have grooves and contact surfaces that would rapidly dissipate even freshly applied oil.

Grease is recommended because it maintains its viscosity under conditions of normal or even harsh usage.

The original M1 grease is Lubriplate 130-A, later supplanted by Plastilube. Tetra grease is a perfectly acceptable modern substitute.

Cliff

El Rojo · May 30, 2000, 11:58 PM

Thanks Cliff, I better get some Tetra. Any suggestions as to where to get some at a good price? Thanks again.

Strayhorn · May 31, 2000, 01:26 PM

A good one-stop shopping center for the M1A (and Garands, too!) is Clint McKee of Fulton Armory (www.fultonarmory.com). You can purchase a service manual there which will supply all you need to know to keep that firearm humming for many years.

He also is a dealer for the TetraGun products (grease, oil, cleaning spray, etc) and recommends them to his customers. Plus, he's a strong supporter (time, money and effort) for RKBA in the Socialist Republic of Maryland.

A few years ago I sent him a Garand trigger group for a tune up. He discovered a few small things that were out of wack, called me _on his own dime_ to discuss them, and sent the group back to me in perfect condition at the previously agree-upon price.

Regards,
Ken Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC

rawiron1 · September 20, 2013, 02:02 PM

My SA manual says to clean the gun upside down so that you don't get junk in the gas systems through the barrel.

stubbicatt · September 21, 2013, 06:40 AM

Wow. 13 year old thread...

4EVERM-14 · September 21, 2013, 04:32 PM

You can make a dandy cleaning rod guide from a 12 gauge shot shell with the primer pocket drilled out to 5/16" or 3/8"

September 21, 2013, 04:32 PM	#10
4EVERM-14 Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2006 Location: Pennsy Posts: 720	You can make a dandy cleaning rod guide from a 12 gauge shot shell with the primer pocket drilled out to 5/16" or 3/8" __________________ David NRA Benefactor Member Distinguished Rifleman #731 Presidents 100

May 29, 2000, 10:32 AM	#1
t2 Member Join Date: January 11, 2000 Posts: 61	I rently purchased an M1A and all I did before I shot it was run a patch down the bore. I shot about 300rds, some good, some junk. Anyway, now how do I clean it? Do I need to remove the gas cylinder plug?, if so, do I need a wrench? I tried it with my hands and I could'nt get it off, but I didn't want to do anything that would damage it, so I didn't take it off yet. Also, I have dissasembled it into it's 3 main sub-assemblies and the Birchwood casey's gun scrubber started dissolving my handguard, so I scrubbed what I could with hoppe's semi auto cleaner and a toothbrush. I also had to clean the bbl from the muzzle, is this the only way? And finally, what do I oil and what do I grease? (trigger assembly as well) ANY AND ALL HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!! BTW, It is the standard/synthetic with chrome lined bore and no matter how much I scrubbed, I could not get a clean patch. Thank you, Terry [email protected]. Any websites, books or video refrences you know of too please.

May 29, 2000, 12:35 PM	#2
Robb Member Join Date: August 8, 1999 Posts: 86	<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by t2: I rently purchased an M1A and all I did before I shot it was run a patch down the bore. I shot about 300rds, some good, some junk. Anyway, now how do I clean it? Do I need to remove the gas cylinder plug?, if so, do I need a wrench? I tried it with my hands and I could'nt get it off, but I didn't want to do anything that would damage it, so I didn't take it off yet. Also, I have dissasembled it into it's 3 main sub-assemblies and the Birchwood casey's gun scrubber started dissolving my handguard, so I scrubbed what I could with hoppe's semi auto cleaner and a toothbrush. I also had to clean the bbl from the muzzle, is this the only way? And finally, what do I oil and what do I grease? (trigger assembly as well) ANY AND ALL HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!! BTW, It is the standard/synthetic with chrome lined bore and no matter how much I scrubbed, I could not get a clean patch. Thank you, Terry [email protected]. Any websites, books or video refrences you know of too please.[/quote] You do not need to disassemble the gas system at all. You need to remove the bolt and charging handle, and operating rod and spring assy. then you can clean from the breach. You will still have to push your rod from the muzzle and then attach the patch or brush at the chamber and then pull it toward the muzzle. A chrome lined barrel doesn't have to be surgically clean just run your brush down it with CLP and then pull a dry patch followed but a CLP soaked patch until its comes clean it may take a while. Then pull a lightly oiled patch down it once for storage. I wouldn't use a solvent unless its a MATCH rifle. If its just for plinking or hunting Break-Free CLP will work fine for cleaning and lube, if you want a little better lube use Militec-1. For more info go to http://www.fulton-armory.com/ Robb

May 30, 2000, 06:02 PM	#3
Noban Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 1999 Posts: 662	t2 - It's not recommended or necessary to field strip your rifle for every cleaning. It will loosen the tolerances between the components over time, especially the trigger group/stock interface (if the stock is wood). The only way to clean the M1A barrel is from the muzzle. True, you can push the cleaning rod through from the muzzle end and attach a brush or jag at the breach and pull through. However, if you use a rod guide you can safely clean from the muzzle and avoid damaging the barrel crown. With a chrome lined barrel, all you need is a bronze brush, a good one-piece coated or polished stainless steel cleaning rod, a bore guide, lots of patches, powder/lead solvent and copper remover. Sound familiar? They clean up just like a carbon steel barrel. No special care is needed. I would recommend cleaning the gas system only after every 500 rounds. For this you will have to remove the gas plug. Never do this without using a gas system wrench while turning the plug out with either your combo tool or a 3/8" wrench. Otherwise you may torque the gas system out of line and make your rifle inoperable. Once you have the plug off, dump out the gas piston. You will need to scrape the carbon out of the gas plug and the hole on the gas piston on the slimmer, "D" shaped end. There are special tools for this purpose that look like drill bits. You can actually use drill bits of the correct diameter. Clean out the gas system with Hoppe's #9 or CLP and dry thoroughly. DO NOT lubricate the gas system, as it will quickly gum up and cause malfunctions. I don't use any oil on my M1A, only Tetra grease. You want to apply grease to any friction surface, like the bolt rollers, op rod raceway, trigger group, bolt channels, etc. Your manual should guide you on this. Hope this helps. Noban

May 30, 2000, 07:32 PM	#4
El Rojo Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2000 Location: People's Republik of Kalifornia Posts: 2,057	What is the deal with grease instead of oil for the M1A? I would appreciate some knowledge on this subject. Thanks.

May 30, 2000, 10:04 PM	#5
Cliff Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 1999 Location: Saranap, CA Posts: 473	El Rojo - Not just the M1A - the M14 and M1 Garand as well. The receivers on these rifles have grooves and contact surfaces that would rapidly dissipate even freshly applied oil. Grease is recommended because it maintains its viscosity under conditions of normal or even harsh usage. The original M1 grease is Lubriplate 130-A, later supplanted by Plastilube. Tetra grease is a perfectly acceptable modern substitute. Cliff

May 30, 2000, 11:58 PM	#6
El Rojo Senior Member Join Date: February 4, 2000 Location: People's Republik of Kalifornia Posts: 2,057	Thanks Cliff, I better get some Tetra. Any suggestions as to where to get some at a good price? Thanks again.

May 31, 2000, 01:26 PM	#7
Strayhorn Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2000 Location: Central NC Posts: 339	A good one-stop shopping center for the M1A (and Garands, too!) is Clint McKee of Fulton Armory (www.fultonarmory.com). You can purchase a service manual there which will supply all you need to know to keep that firearm humming for many years. He also is a dealer for the TetraGun products (grease, oil, cleaning spray, etc) and recommends them to his customers. Plus, he's a strong supporter (time, money and effort) for RKBA in the Socialist Republic of Maryland. A few years ago I sent him a Garand trigger group for a tune up. He discovered a few small things that were out of wack, called me _on his own dime_ to discuss them, and sent the group back to me in perfect condition at the previously agree-upon price. Regards, Ken Strayhorn Hillsborough NC

September 20, 2013, 02:02 PM	#8
rawiron1 Junior Member Join Date: March 25, 2009 Posts: 10	My SA manual says to clean the gun upside down so that you don't get junk in the gas systems through the barrel.

September 21, 2013, 06:40 AM	#9
stubbicatt Senior Member Join Date: September 15, 2007 Posts: 1,707	Wow. 13 year old thread...