Removing early bend gas tube ??

All, I have an early bend gas tube on an old upper. The gas tube retaining pin came out easily enough. I have never had any trouble removing the gas tube with some light pressure; however, this one will not budging. There is some light rust around the slip ring assembly and the gas tube itself. I am soaking it in gun oil right now. What is the safest way to apply some "force" to get this thing freed up? Many thanks

Get an M16 gas tube wrench.

I've had to remove a front sight base before in order to get enough grip on one to get it out.

Use a rag folded over several times with some vise grips. Make sure you don't set the vise grips too tight, and make sure there's enough rag between the grips and the tube. I've had to do this on a couple old uppers, and it works well. Just be careful! Wouldn't want to crush or mar up the early tube.

Sounds kinda bubba, but it works.

Would PB blaster help break the carbon (or whatever else is holding it in) up?

I second the use of PB Blaster. There is nothing else like it. Keep it saturated or soak it for a couple of days, it will probably then pull out by hand. If it still gives you trouble after soaking it in PB Blaster, hold the front sight base, and give the gas tube a bunch of light taps with the plastic handle of a screwdriver... enough to give it some vibration, then try to remove it. It should come out.

Also, Megaro, your cut handguards and end plates are shipping out on Saturday.

Good luck with the gas tube,
John Thomas

I'm a firm believer in PB as well,but I had to use Kroil once to remove a carbon steel early bend. DO NOT FORCE the tube,,let the oil do it's job. I use one of those rubber pad jar lid removers. I DO NOT EVER use pliers or vise grips. Let the oil do it's job.

After soaking in oil I've had good luck grabbing the gas tube with a vice, the bigger the better so it spreads the force out. With the gas tube held in place knock the back of the receiver with a hammer & block of wood and the rest of the upper will slide free of the tube. Sometimes it is easier to remove the tube by pushing it all the way through the receiver as opposed to in a little bit and then back out past the triangle HG cap. (reverse for installation)

^^^^ THIS ^^^^ And let it soak a few days...

In addition to PB and Kroil, temperature extreme cycles and help with stubborn parts. Freeze overnight and then introduce to rapid warming- boiling water, a good heat gun or mapp torch have worked at breaking bonds on parts in the past.

Thanks for all the responses and ideas. I do not want to invoke any bad retro karma by harming an early bend gas tube. I have been letting it soak in plain old gun oil. The gas tube is free now around the upper / slip ring. It is frozen somewhere in the front sight base / gas block area. I cannot find any of the Kroil here locally, so I ordered some off the internets. I think I will let it soak in nice before attempting to re-wiggle it free. Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive report here in a week or so. I have learned the hard way that retro requires me to be patient. This has not been an easy lesson for me

Try my method,,,get one of those rubber pads used for removing tough glass jar lids,,DO NOT USE TOOLS,,just the rubber,wrap the tube and try to twist by hand.If still a no go,,then be patient and wait for the Kroil.Works magic on the old carbon buildup that forms inside the FSB and gas tube.

m1sniper, thanks for the tip. I did try one of those little lid jar thingees. Wrapped it up nice and tight, still would not budge. I don't want to apply any more pressure at this point. I am guessing it is just some nasty carbon build up. I am going to take your suggestion for a good long soak in the Kroil, and try again after it sits for a few days. Thanks again.

don't mean to jump into your post but I am doing the same type of work –– I bought a new tube and key for my bolt - I removed the tube and there is carbon caked on both ends and my question is - is this normal to have a build up of carbon or do I have a sever gas leak would this be causing my bolt to not go all the way back to eject the spent cartridge

Common,,no need to be concerned. Did you ever run a .22 cal conversion kit in this upper?? Those are known to leave a lot of carbon.

no only thing I have used is US GI 5.56 - thinking that the key and tube might not have been in line with each other correctly causing the short stroke not sure so I have a new set to install - is there a way to replace the key with out the alignment tool

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