Has anyone had a troy alpha not fit over the barrel nut? I was having a horrible time getting it installed and thought it was maybe a tad out of spec or maybe there was burr somewhere that I could not see. I even bought a new barrel nut thinking it might be the problem. Long story short with a bit of convincing I got it on. I used all proper tools and torqued it perfectly. Everything lined up perfect but it just kept catching on the barrel nut.
The problem now is that if I ever want to remove it, it hangs up on the barrel nut. I am sure with I can force it off but it may ruin the rail. Any one else have this problem? I emailed me troy and am waiting a response. I have installed this same type of rail 3 different times and have never ran into this issue. Just seeing if anyone has any suggestions on getting it off or if they have run into this problem before.
This is a typical issue with Troy rails. I install a lot of Troy rails and because I have access to several barrel nuts, a barrel nut swap usually fixes the issue. I think it is a combination of the finish on the rail and on the barrel nut. This of course is considering that the barrel nut is in normal shape. Bad teeth on the nut can cause this also.
Did you rotate the rail a little bit clockwise looking from the muzzle end? Rotate it off center until it goes back against the receiver then align the top and tighten the screws. GH
Did it resist as soon as it hit the teeth, or as you tried to rotate? I’ve encountered both problems, one is cause by the barrel nut the other a machining flaw on the tube itself.
I did rotate it properly so it would slide on. I thought maybe the barrel nut was bad on my AR so I purchased a new one and still had the same problem. I think the it was a machining flaw on the rail because I removed my other troy alpha rail and it fit right on the new barrel nut I just purchased. I hope troy takes care of this because it is literally so hung up on the barrel nut it will not come off with out a lot of force.
I’ve had this happen once and traced it to a slightly bent/dinged tooth on the barrel nut from installation. I was able to reshape the tooth and that fixed the problem. I have like 8 Alpha rails and only had the problem you describe that once. The way the Alphas are made out of extruded aluminum I don’t see how once could be out of spec enough that it wouldn’t fit on an in-spec barrel nut.
I just had this issue putting on an Alpha rail. It took a few taps with a rubber mallet to work it on. We pulled it off and tapped it back on a couple more times and it got easier each time. Just for reference, the barrel nut came on a standard BCM carbine 16" upper assembly and other Alpha rails have fit without issue.
That’s exactly what I had to do but I ended up finding metal shavings on the desk. I had to tap it the whole way. I thought the barrel nut was the issue (first one was a DTI and second was a DPMS). Like I said it is on now but it will not come off without a lot of force.
Not saying this is your problem, but make sure your barrel nut was installed properly. The alpha’s mounting system REQUIRES the barrel nut be installed with the teeth in the proper position relative to the opening for the gas tube.
Well if the barrel nut was not properly installed or aligned the gas tube wouldn’t go on. Anything else to check for? Troy emailed me today and wants me to send in my upper so they can take a look at it and figure what happened. Not sure if there will be a cost involved or not yet.
I was able to tap mine back off the barrel nut after installing it because I wanted to see if I could. Your installation sounds normal. I would not send it in to be told that everything is fine. It is the design of the rail and it works.
They sent me a return shipping label and I mailed it off yesterday. It took them a few days because they are doing some training but I have my fingers crossed.
I put a screw driver between the holes and a rag on the end of the barrel. I began to “pry” it a bit to see how tight it was. I can hear a cracking noise which I am assuming is the rail getting torn up. As I said in my previous post there was a lot of metal shavings and a gouge in the rail. I don’t think this was normal. At any rate I will get to see how Troy’s customer service is.
I installed a 13" Troy rail on my 80% build. It was a very tight fit initially and I had difficulty getting it on. After messing with it for a bit I was able to force it on and everything aligned perfectly. I think the paint was a little thick, which was the primary cause of my grief.
This thread is a bit old but I wanted to update on what happened. After a week at Troy they determined the both barrel nuts were out of spec and was not going to fit the rail. They called me and replaced my barrel nut and rail with new parts, FREE of charge. Their customer service was excellent and they were very professional. I will gladly use their products because of the service I received with this issue.