AR15 Barrel Nut Removal

[JollyMon]

Anyone have any advice on getting a barrel nut loose on an ar15. I am in the middle of my latest build and have the barrel nut that wont budge on my bcm upper. . I cant seem to do anything to get it loose. I have tried heating it up in case of loctite. Just getting a bit frustrated. I wish I had a long pipe to slide over the armorers tool to get a bit more leverage, but I don't.

Any Tips will be much appreciative.

~JollyMon

 

[mvician]

go buy a piece of pipe for leverage

BCM doesn't use loctite on a barrel nut

 

[phylodog]

Do you have the receiver locked in a vice?

 

[wsenefeld]

Yeah, receiver in a vice works great and I hope you aren't trying to get it off by hand.

I have an AR wrench, vice blocks, a vice, and a breaker bar if you need any additional help

 

[ctbreitwieser]

Do you have the receiver locked in a vice?

This! ^^^

Please use a vise block for your own good will.

Or you'll end up with this...

That was my brand new spikes SBR upper when I tried replacing the barrel nut without a vise block.

 

[JollyMon]

Yeah, I do have it in a vice. The only issue is I dont have a work bench so cant really secure the vice to anything. I actually was strolling through the garage and found a piece of thick 2" copper piping that is big enough to go around the armorers tool, yet still no luck.

Just verifying that I am going the right way... If I am looking down the barrel from the dangerous end down towards the block, the nut should loosen up counter clockwise? I sure hope I havent been going the wrong direction.

 

[wsenefeld]

Yeah, I do have it in a vice. The only issue is I dont have a work bench so cant really secure the vice to anything. I actually was strolling through the garage and found a piece of thick 2" copper piping that is big enough to go around the armorers tool, yet still no luck.

Just verifying that I am going the right way... If I am looking down the barrel from the dangerous end down towards the block, the nut should loosen up counter clockwise? I sure hope I havent been going the wrong direction.

Correct, standard threads. You will want your vice secured, especially when you go to re-attach your barrel and need to get your 30-80 ft lbs. Might not be able to break it loose or tighten it otherwise.

Also, if using vice blocks, be sure to use the plug so you don't crush/bend your upper in the vice. At the very least use wood blocks inside and out of the receiver. You could easily destroy the aluminum upper in a vice.

 

[j706]

Yeah, I do have it in a vice. The only issue is I dont have a work bench so cant really secure the vice to anything. I actually was strolling through the garage and found a piece of thick 2" copper piping that is big enough to go around the armorers tool, yet still no luck.

Just verifying that I am going the right way... If I am looking down the barrel from the dangerous end down towards the block, the nut should loosen up counter clockwise? I sure hope I havent been going the wrong direction.

Righty tighty,lefty loosey. Facing the open receiver (barrel) it goes left. Sometimes they are just plain tight. I have run across some that were 80' pounds!

 

[JollyMon]

Thanks guys for the advice. Ill work on trying to get this dang vice secured and if I cant I might be trying to hit you guys up to bum a workbench ... I need more space.

 

[churchmouse]

Thanks guys for the advice. Ill work on trying to get this dang vice secured and if I cant I might be trying to hit you guys up to bum a workbench ... I need more space.

PM me. I will let you use my bench if it continues to give you grief. I would hate to see something happen for lack of proper tooling.

 

[cosermann]

Once you get it off, do yourself a favor and apply the spec grease to the threads before torquing on the new nut.

Aeroshell 33MS grease from skygeek.com meets spec. and the 14 oz tube (like a caulking tube) will last most casual users decades.

Aeroshell 33MS An Extreme pressure (EP) Grease - MIL-G-21164D

Do NOT use any grease containing graphite. And whatever you do, DON'T locktite it.

 

[JollyMon]

Success

Success

Thanks guys for the advice. I decided to risk scratches on the dinning room table (wife would have killed me) and clamped the vice down. That and a 30 inch breaker bar helped muscle that stubborn bolt loose.

A few more parts and it will be complete, and then , and then finally it will be on the show and tell.

 

[cosermann]

When you put it back on torque it to 30 ft lbs, then just enough more to get the gas tube through (if you build has a tube). 35-50 seems pretty average.

Do NOT torque over 80 ft lbs.

 

[IndianaResident]

I had one in a vice and broke 6 pins off 2 armorer's wrenches and couldn't budge it. Had a breaker bar, used a propane torch, PB blaster, a freezer.....

Finally had a friend make me a wrench with 5 hardened pins that reached in much deeper than the factory ones do.

If anyone needs it, and finds this post, shoot me a PM

FYI, the nut didn't even have a smudge on it after all that. LaRue....love 'em and hate 'em.

 

[MadAngler1]

Anyone have any advice on getting a barrel nut loose on an ar15. I am in the middle of my latest build and have the barrel nut that wont budge on my bcm upper. . I cant seem to do anything to get it loose. I have tried heating it up in case of loctite. Just getting a bit frustrated. I wish I had a long pipe to slide over the armorers tool to get a bit more leverage, but I don't.

Any Tips will be much appreciative.

~JollyMon

I'm going to assume your upper receiver is mated to an appropriate upper receiver block stuck in a vise. Next, I would use whatever barrel nut wrench you have attached to an appropriate Sears Craftsman Torque wrench. The addition lever arm is negligible in terms of adjusting for the torque.

It sounds like whomever put the first barrel nut may have done it to tight. Regardless, use a torque wrench attached to the barrel wrench. Most barrel wrenches have a separate 3/8" or 1/2" socket for that very purpose.

 

[churchmouse]

I had one in a vice and broke 6 pins off 2 armorer's wrenches and couldn't budge it. Had a breaker bar, used a propane torch, PB blaster, a freezer.....

Finally had a friend make me a wrench with 5 hardened pins that reached in much deeper than the factory ones do.

If anyone needs it, and finds this post, shoot me a PM

FYI, the nut didn't even have a smudge on it after all that. LaRue....love 'em and hate 'em.

I have the good one from Brownells. It is full circle and registers on the barrel through the center hole. It is very stable and has the same pin count. I can really lean on it if needed.