Quote Originally Posted by Bruce McAskill View Post
If you go too tight and crack the gas housing the barrel is gone and will have to be replaced.
Very true Bruce,
It was about this time last year when I threw my back out trying to pull a stubborn barrel off a WRA 1,126,xxx springtube receiver. The last Springtube variation, I believe called variation 3, with NO holes drilled through the right rail.
Not knowing it was damaged, It was purchased (for too much) at a farm estate auction by a over ambitious friend. A 60's NRA sold carbine.
After getting it home upon tear down is when I could see the nut was messed up by probably the use of vice grips. I started to straighten out the nut 'Lugs' so I could use the proper wrench, but 1 nut lug was pretty much broken in half. Then seen the gas cylinder had been badly cracked. Like getting punched in the gut. If you recall.. that was the Winchester barrel this friend bent in to a horse show over his knee and threw it in the back of his truck.... off to the dump.
He told me to sell what I could to try to recoup some of his lost funds. Mention of a replacement barrel didn't interest him, he'd had it with it.
Later I asked if he'd thrown it away, he gruffly replied it was junk !
My thought was as long as I let a potential buyer of the receiver know this, that (I wasn't sure) could possibly just hand screw it back on so I could ship to a C&R holder. Of course I would have had to pry it some what straighter so I could box it up. Oh well.... Nice Receiver with IIRC has no sign of ever having a rear adj sight on it or ever refinished.
I still have the receiver and parts to sell off for him, just haven't got around to it.
Sorry I'll stop this reads more like a sale add than advice on gas piston nuts.

I laughed about it later thinking if you had that bent barrel threaded back on it would have looked like one of those Shoot Around The Corner Rifles.....


Myself I just check them so there are snug. A good case IMO of less is best.
You crack it or cross thread = not a happy camper

YMMV,
Charlie-Painter777