Quote Originally Posted by AaronGee View Post
Just an update: Did my cleaning/op rod replacement Friday (04/13). Tearing it down was quite easy, I had a little trouble figuring out how to separate the follower rod from the spring but it was just pulling it apart. You seem to be right about the operating rod, it was slightly less than 19" and the coils were quite compressed towards the follower rod. I'll attach some photo's of the cleaning, you can see the difference between the old/new.

Also there is a photo of a 'FULTON ARMORY - ARMORY M1icon GARAND GAS CYLINDER WRENCH' (blue thing). I though that was for unscrewing the gas port screw at the end when I purchased it. When it arrived it was quite large and I realized it fits around the end of the gun. I don't really know what it is for, do you? I used a regular Flathead to screw/unscrew the gas cylinder lock screw. I'll probably end up stripping it if I keep doing that, so I'll look for the proper tool at a gun show or purchase one online before my text tear down.

Assembly went fairly easy. Getting the op rod spring in and reattached was a but difficult but I did it. Hopefully I used enough lubricant.
There was no pic of you installing the spring. Did you grease the spring when you installed it? If not, take it out and use a small brush to apply grease as you feed it into the op rod. The proper amount is enough to coat the coils without bridging the coils.

The gas cylinder wrench is to properly hold and support the gas cylinder when removing or tightening the gas cylinder plug. It prevents you from putting excessive torsional stress on the rifle if you try to hold it by other means.
At your next gun show, buy a USGI M10 combo tool. In addition to properly fitting the gas plug, it also allows you to disassemble the bolt easily whether it is installed in the rifle or not.