Cracked Spikes Tactical Upper Receiver.

So about a month ago I sale a Spikes Tactical Receiver to a guy on another forum. When I shipped the upper it was in good working order. So Thursday I get an email saying he wants his money back because he says I sold him a broken upper. Besides some obvious scratches on the upper that werent there when I sold it and the crack everything else looks fine.

The receiver came from a complete upper that I broke down. After breaking it down I checked it out and it was GTG.

To me a month is kind of a long time to notice this after receiving the package. Basically my question is How does a crack like this happem. The barrel nut wasnt that hard to remove.

not sure how it happaned. but I would tell the buyer to contact spikes tactical and have him send it in for warrenty. afterall they do have a lifetime warrenty on all their parts. a month is two long for the seller to take any type of action. I usually only give my buyers a week to report problems after they have reveieved the package.

thats an obvious crack. I dont think you could have missed that. I would venture to say he used one of those white receiver blocks that hold the receiver in place with pins and during barrel installation he over torqued something. Or simple ape-like abuse. If was a buyer I wouldnt have missed that either so for it to take a month...well I call bullshit on that.

edit: almost looks like another crack beginning on the opposite side as well....

Forgot to mention but I emailed Spikes and they said that I or he broke it and theres nothing they can do.

I would bet your buyer cracked it while trying to torque the barrel nut.

One month is a little too long for him to expect money back from you. He has had ample time to inspect and notify you of any problems. He has also had enough time to break it. He should contact Spikes. From what I understand they stand by their product and will replace it for him. Sorry just read your last post.

That's bullshit on his part.

I would put my money on this.

Yeah, someone put some SERIOUS force into that upper.

Couple things don't add up. First, there is no way you wouldn't have noticed that before sending it.

Second, there is no way he wouldn't have noticed that immediately after opening the package.

If everything occurred as you say, it's obvious he did the damage. You and Spikes owe him nothing in my opinion.

I have used one for years and know of shops that have installed hundreds, maybe thousands of barrels with those blocks, they do not crack the upper. He tried to mount the barrel by putting the upper directly in a vise between blocks of wood or plastic would be my guess.

Tell him to saw it in half and post it in the spikes forum.

Is it bulged under the ejection port door?

Looks like it may have been broken when the nut was removed because of the side that the crack is on.

I agree with this. Didn't have the right tools for the job...

I'm not sure how it broke in the rear of the receiver like that, but my dumbass tried taking the barrel nut off my spikes upperby just wrapping it in leather and clamping it in a vise. Needless to say, it didn't work out well. I got pics of the aftermath. Ill post em in the morning when I'm on my computer.

At least you didn't have a fat friend sit on it while you went at it with an oil filter wrench, heard that one before

You're not taking this receiver back, right?

Oops.
Could be the new owner over torqued the barrel nut, and cracked it when he tried to line it up for the gas tube.

This

I agree with Aimless that it doesn't look like a case of using an upper receiver block to remove a barrel. I think it would have been more likely that, even using the books wrong, he would have caused more problems at the front lug. I have rebarreled an upper with a really tight barrel nut using a Panther Claw block, and I did more damage to the barrel nut and my shoulders than anything else, with the upper not visibly any the worse for wear, though I can't guarantee that I didn't twist the upper some in the process.

On the other hand, using some half-assed, ham-handed, shade tree approach that even Wile E. Coyote would have scoffed at, like 2x4s and a vise, could have easily let idiot boy the buyer apply the kind of force that it would take to tear the metal that way.

That happens from abuse, and I would kindly tell him to pound sand.

A month? I would tell him to pound sand. You notice something like that the day its opened.
I bought a stripped upper from a member here about a year ago. The day I got it it was back in the mail to him. He had went crazy with a drill on the rear takedown through hole. It was egg shaped.
Put it back in the mail and e mailed him telling him why. Had my money back in just a few days.

The big question is why you be sellin' receivers ... you have heard about the Four Horsemen Of The Apocolypse, the Mayan CalendAR, and Obama II - The Sequel ?

The AR is nice but not rugged enough.

This Failure is not commom on a rifle used as a rifle.
The AR is a fine weapon and this does not happen during use.
The U.S. using it the last 50yrs should tell you it holds up.
Please don't troll Technical forums.

Huh? I've seen ham fisted knuckled heads seriously mess up AK builds because they had no idea what the hell they were doing.
Has nothing to do with something being rugged enough.

i'm sure the French are experts on cracked weapon parts, as many that have been thrown down while running away

Aimless is correct about not using the correct tools, a saw the aftermath of a Bushmaster upper that was taken apart in a vise, broken rear lug

OP, the fellows are correct, one month is a long time not to notice that huge crack

That upper was obviously abused. You are a troll.

When this man talks, listen, he knows. OP, as said over and over here you are not in fault, the buyer screwed up and is trying to get it you paying for his mess.

Putting the upper sideways in a vise with a piece of wood on top of the rail and one on the bottom BETWEEN THE LUGS and PROPERLY centered in the vise will not damage an upper. (obviously u can only do this with flattops)

I dont like the claw style blocks because the ribs scruff the finish as u apply torque, because most people dont wrap the upper in a paper towel to prevent the marks, I do though, but think I want to try the blocks that you pin the receivers into. U can't break the lugs with these either because the action block has an extension that goes up into the upper to support it.

HOWEVER, If u are a TOOL and use the block that pins to the upper but does not support it on the inside, because it was designed for holding the upper while CLEANING it, this is what happens, and u deserve it. A little common sense is all it takes.

A Panther Claw fail would show damage in the area of the front lug.
Could someone be dumb enough to only clamp the rear lug while doing barrel work ?

Looks like Bubba owns that one.

My guess as well.

But seriously, I have seen the front areas of the uppers cracked before but the back. That's a first.

ditto.

ask him to show you his receiver block tool.. see what kind he has

Shit happens. You or the other dude broke it. You are out a receiver. Buy a new one. Problem solved.

We could all take guesses until we are blue in the face, but who cares. Maybe his fat girl friend sat on it, haven't heard that mentioned yet. But the fact is it wasn't like that when you sold it to him. It obviously wasn't like this when he received it or he would have contacted you right away. He did some dumb ass move and now he is trying to get you to pay for his mistakes. I would simply reply with a link to this thread. That should take care of things.

It would depend on how you clamped it when you stripped it down. Like mentioned already it looks like there is a crack on the other side of the lug also that has not let go yet.
If you know you did not use the proper tools to disassemble it it may have looked fine but still could have been cracked just not seperated yet.
If I had stripped it using a non standard method I would consider replacing the upper if not then I would not.

Tell the guy to eat shit.

He muscle fucked it.

I have one of those white receiver blocks and it fills the inside of the upper to fully support it when tourquing on a barrel,looks like the right tools were not used.That receiver looks like it was not supported right and really twisted badly for that to happen.To mistermoon the rifle is plant rugged and after 1 month so when he first got the upper he didnt notice that was there..its BS on the buyers part..the crack is missing little bits as well its not like a crack just appeared through use but it looks like it was purposley abused to cause that type of seperation..OP dont refund anything anyone would have caught that 10 seconds after looking the upper over.

Unless you told him there was a warranty and specified the period of time it was for, there is no warranty. When you buy used goods, you take your chances unfortunately.

QFT.

Anyone with the least bit of buying savvy knows to check out anything you buy, especially something used from an individual, as soon as you get it unless the buyer and seller make explicit arrangements otherwise (e.g. buyer out of town for a month, won't be able to check it until they get back).

I know most people don't speak Latin but everyone who chooses to engage in commerce, be it on the 'net or in RL, needs to learn the meaning of the phrase "Caveat Emptor".

Heres the pics of mine. This is what happens when you dont use vise block. I bought one right after I did this though.

It really didnt look that bad when it happened. But after it cracked I just smashed it in the vise to get the nut off.

Perhaps if you had sold it to him, instead of saling it to him, this wouldn't have happened.

Since it's been about a month I'd tell him too bad not my problem.

I'm thinking he put the upper straight in a vice to install a barrel and is trying to screw you with bull shit.

I appreciate the input on this situation. Ive never had a problem before using my set up. Like others stated, if he would have called me immediately once he received it I would be more willing to work with him on this. But being that it took a month to hear from him something just doesnt seem right.

THIS!!!

Did te guy you sold it to leave you pos feedbck when he received it? A month is too long to sit on broken parts. His problem, not yours.

+1

The buyer (PJ) of this item is a very good friend of mine. He does not have the skill set nor does he have the tools to perform work at this level. The only mistake he made was not inspecting the lower once he received it but instead he just put it aside for use at a later time. He has correspondence from you indicating that you took the upper apart....(read above what the CEO of Spike's states). He also has correspondence from you stating that you would refund his money if Spike's does not. You should honor your word (if it was so stated).

Regardless of who broke it, I would not warranty an item I sold a month later. It is the buyer's responsibility to inspect the item when it arrives.

Copyright © 1996 - 2013 :: AR15.Com LLC :: All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.