Castle nut staking, why the big deal?

[Iraqgunz]

Per the TM the torque limits are 40 in./lbs +/-2.

I tighten it snug, give it another little push or pull and then stake it. Thus far none have come loose. YMMV.

[rob_s]

Per the TM the torque limits are 40 in./lbs +/-2.

I was going to guess that, but didn't want to give out wrong info.

[Robb Jensen]

I believe a while ago we discussed that the inch lbs was likely wrong even though it was in the TM that way. I've never measured what I torque CAR castle nuts to because my wrench doesn't have a 1/2" or 3/8" drive hole on it. But I would venture to guess that I torque to somewhere about 35-40ft lbs and then stake. On some commercial tubes if you get them too tight they will start to turn within the lower receiver.

[sl4mdaddy]

Me too! Let's get another AR Lube thread going!

No, no, no....M4 feed ramp thread.

[C4IGrant]

What's the correct torque spec for the castle nut before staking it? And does it matter if the 'notches' do not end up at the 2 and 10 o'clock positions?

And is this the type of punch you use?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...Itemnumber=621

40-50lbs on the torque. Do not worry about the position of the castle nut.

That punch is fine.


C4

[Spooky130]

I think it must have been an anomaly. The one I had was staked.

Don't confuse "my single sample didn't have XYZ" (or does have it, for that matter, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while) with an entire product line, or manufacturing line, that simply just refuses to do something.

Very true but I just wanted to point out you were painting with a very broad brush. I would say there are more important things than the castle nut being staked and as you mentioned in your Hyundai example everything adds up - and having a few detail points like castle nut staking missing isn't a big deal and is very easy to fix. But when all the little details are skipped that is significant.

Spooky

[rob_s]

I still stand by my broad brush.

There are no examples, that I'm aware of, of companies putting out an otherwise quality product but that don't bother to stake the receiver extension endplate to the castle nut.

[SHIVAN]

...and having a few detail points like castle nut staking missing isn't a big deal and is very easy to fix. But when all the little details are skipped that is significant.

Missing a stake job on some rifles that leave means they are at least doing the stake job to begin with.

Some vendors do not attempt to do it. Invoking the Hyundai example above....

[dcmdon]

Staking is no different than the safety wiring we do on aircraft.

Will red loctite secure the nut just as well?? ABSOLUTELY yes. Is it possible to easily visually confirm that the fastener is properly secured when using red loctite? No.

Because of this same type of situation the military wants things staked. A quick visual confirmation tells an armorer that the stock has been secured and will not come loose.

In contrast, if red loctite were used, it would be very difficult to visually confirm everything was secured properly.

For an owner installed stock, loctite is as good as staking. You know what you did, you know the quality of your work.

Don
p.s. this doesnt go for bolt carrier groups. the heat in that part of the rifle will break down loctite.

[Kaos]

Missing a stake job on some rifles that leave means they are at least doing the stake job to begin with.

Some vendors do not attempt to do it. Invoking the Hyundai example above....

My hyundai went over 250,000 miles in 3-4 years and never was in the shop for anything except for damage from a wreck and basic maintenance...

that means I should have raced with it...right?