Century R1A1 FAL Gas and feeding issues

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Justinx121

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Hi everyone, new to the site here, but I'd like to get some help with my FAL. Two main issues I'm having are failure to properly feed, and failure to eject and chamber a new round after firing no matter what the gas setting is, usually to do anything the setting has to be at 0. I know this has to be a gas leak issue or something of the like?
Some info on the gun:
As the title states it's a Century build R1A1 Sporter. Gun overall is in pretty good condition. It is an inch cut receiver and I have one mag, that is a metric mag. It has the unibrow feed ramp as well.
What I've done so far is remove the piston and spring and clean and slightly polish it and clean the inside of the gas tube. I have removed the recoil spring and removed all the heavy grease that was on it and lightly greased with white lithium grease and reinserted it. To me it seems kinda hard to cock the handle back but that could just be how these guns are I don't know. (Slingshot cocking). I'm trying to rule out anything mechanically that would give resistance to the bolt being blown back on normal operation. Also I know it's not normal to set regualor at 0 for normal operation. I feel like this may signify a gas leak? Gas plug is on the right way as well, it's set for semi auto fire. One thing also that I'm not sure is normal is how loose to me the gas plug feels. When it's inserted the right way it has some give to the left and right without depressing the indent, and I can slightly push it in less than a 16th of an inch. How tight does that need to be? One more thing, I have ordered an inch cut magazine and it's on the way. Heard some things that it might be the mag. The piece that feeds rounds in the old mag is slightly slanted down, and it's super hard to just push a round out it. Once again, not sure if that's normal. If yall could offer any help as far as what to check in regards to gas leakage, or what else might cause the issues I'm having it would be greatly appreciated!
 
I have the same rifle, and had similar issues. Feeding was definitely a mag issue. If it isn’t an inch mag, mine won’t feed for squat.

for the gas issue; perhaps you have the valve installed backwards? They won’t cycle if it is.
I don’t have pics handy, unfortunately
 
Yeah I'm pretty sure it's the mag too, when I get the new one I'll update. The gas plug is in the right way, made sure of that. Still seems a little loose though, especially if it's meant to keep gas from escaping. Wondering if a rubber o-ring would seal it a little better? Or just buying a new plug, or if that's just normal
 
So I have been diagnosing a possible gas leak on my FAL and one thing I thought was weird was that when reinstalling the gas nut/carry handle nut, I noticed that the tip does not screw all the way into the receiver past the carry handle. There is a tiny gap that I had to get my flashlight to see, but it's there. To me, that seems like it would expel gas from that crack before it fully reaches receiver. One of my problems is my fal won't cycle except sometimes on the lowest gas setting of 0. Gas plug is installed correctly also. Is this normal or is this a major issue?
 

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Gas doesn't get carried to the receiver. It only goes to the piston st the gas block. The piston, which runs through the tube, drives the carrier.
 
Unfortunately to get it to run correctly you are probably going to have to have it rebuilt by a competent gunsmith. I have an L1A1 they built and it has all the same problems. I'm hanging on to it in the hopes that one day I can send it to the fellow in AZ and have him build me a clone of a real Australian L1A1.
 
On your mag, the follower should not point down at all. I would disassemble the mag and give it a good cleaning. A new mag spring would help too.

Your gas tube but is not properly seated or tightened. It should screw in flush to the receiver. It acts as the support for the carry handle and protects the piston.

If your plug is set at 0 the rifle has to function. Well, it should. If the barrel is not timed correctly that could cause the gas port to be off center and not completely under the gas block. I'd replace all the springs as well, just to rule those out.

Century has a long track record of assembling FALs using a mix of inch and metric pattern parts. The only way to really correct the issues could be to replace any suspect item with the proper pattern part.
 
I have some experience with FAL's but I'm no expert. They were in common use by some of the indigenous forces I worked with over the years. Common reliability issues we encountered:
1- gas plug (in the end of the gas tube) set in the grenade mode (it seemed like all of them had some play in them when they were installed BTW)
2- Gas regulator not properly adjusted (this is the "dial" towards the front of the gas tube). It should be opened up such that the rifle functions, and the brass lands about 1 meter away from the shooter when firing prone, then open it up 1 more click. This gizmo may be ammunition sensitive- meaning that a given setting may be perfect for US M80 ball, but may not work right for ammo from a different country/source. I'm sure there are you tube vids to go into more detail on this.
3- bad magazines- damaged, low quality from 3rd party/3rd world manufacturers, wrong pattern (inch VS metric).
4. bad drive spring in the stock
Obviously, a gun being a mechanical device, there are many more possibilities of what could go wrong- these are just the most common ones we encountered.
 
A buddies Century FAL would only run on the one mag that came with it. It didn't match any other inch/metric mags we could find. EVERY other mag jammed >75% of the time if we were lucky. The one mag that kinda worked jammed on the 3rd from last round 100% of the time but worked probably 95% on any other round. Traded it off with full disclosure.

And that's one of the reasons I'm very leary of century.
 
Is gas tube retaining pin present? (At bottom of gas adjusting threads on gas block)
 
Is gas tube retaining pin present? (At bottom of gas adjusting threads on gas block)
Yes it is. I'm eager to shoot it again since I've realigned the gas tube. It had a little turn to it, probably 1/8th of an inch. I put thread tape on either side so that it would seat more solid and I aligned the gas port hole of the gas tube with the hole in the top of the gas block. I also measured my piston and it is the correct size according to some other fal owners suggested. Also the port of the barrel and the gas block line up as well, I was able to stick a tiny allen wrench straight through the holes with no issue.
 
On your mag, the follower should not point down at all. I would disassemble the mag and give it a good cleaning. A new mag spring would help too.

Your gas tube but is not properly seated or tightened. It should screw in flush to the receiver. It acts as the support for the carry handle and protects the piston.

If your plug is set at 0 the rifle has to function. Well, it should. If the barrel is not timed correctly that could cause the gas port to be off center and not completely under the gas block. I'd replace all the springs as well, just to rule those out.

Century has a long track record of assembling FALs using a mix of inch and metric pattern parts. The only way to really correct the issues could be to replace any suspect item with the proper pattern part.

I'm going to take the mag apart as soon as I get a chance. Does sound like it's hung up.
 
Yes it is. I'm eager to shoot it again since I've realigned the gas tube. It had a little turn to it, probably 1/8th of an inch. I put thread tape on either side so that it would seat more solid and I aligned the gas port hole of the gas tube with the hole in the top of the gas block. I also measured my piston and it is the correct size according to some other fal owners suggested. Also the port of the barrel and the gas block line up as well, I was able to stick a tiny allen wrench straight through the holes with no issue.
The gas tube is supposed to have a little turn to it. To tighten the gas tube threads the front of the gas tube is filed back a thread or two.
 
When it was able to turn the two holes, actually three holes, no longer were aligned (gas regulator port, to gas tube, to barrel.) The regulator hole could easily be closed off no matter what the setting was.
 
Also check if the gas piston rod moves freely. FAL has a long gas rod, check if straight. Some receivers had the gas rod hole drilled off center and binds the rod.
 
Also check if the gas piston rod moves freely. FAL has a long gas rod, check if straight. Some receivers had the gas rod hole drilled off center and binds the rod.

I checked it, the piston is straight and seems to go into the receiver okay. I did the test of turning the rifle up to let the piston fall through. Didn't bind on anything.
 
Arizona Response Systems is probably the best place to send it to. There WAS a guy I dealt with once in Dallas - his handle was Sledgehammer.

Hopefully you can find you a good 'smith and get your FAL tuned up right.
 
Took my FAL out to check.
"When it's inserted the right way it has some give to the left and right without depressing the indent"
It is normal. I have/had 5 FALs and L1A1s, they all do that.
"I can slightly push it in less than a 16th of an inch."
It moves a bit when pushed but not 1/16".
3 of mine were Century, they had issues but all shoot and cycle. 1 was unibow and took metric mag just fine. I never needed to use inch mags.
What type of feeding issue you have? bolt riding over round and 3 point jam? would not pick up next round? Pick up round but would not chamber? show us a picture. My current FAL ran well for several years, had 3-point jams last year and I realized it maybe caused by the dust cover not fully seated when I put on a new dust cover, prevented the upper from fully closed to lower. When a round pushed forward and tip rises when met the feed ramp, the base dived low enough that the bolt missed the rim. I fixed the dust cover, went to range, seems like toke care of it, but need to shoot more for sure.
Many gas issues were caused by gas tube leaks at front sight blocks, some folks silver solder it. All mine are fine and I leave gas setting at the middle position. I shoot military surplus ammo in my FAL, such as South Africa. What ammo you shoot? Not steel case I hope!
By the way, some smiths refuse to work on Century!
 
Thanks for the info! I can't get a pic at the moment, but I will post one later of what it does. Ive never had the issue of the bolt riding over the cartridge, but really the issue really happens right after it feeds. It jams into the back of the receiver right above the feed ramp, dents the tip of the bullets and scars the casings. Then if I fire it like that with the gas issue I'm having, it will try to eject the spent casing and feed a new one and basically crushes that spent one. Crazy.
My dust cover will not seat fully as well. Almost like the left rails are not a 90degree angle and the whole body of it isn't rolled enough. It won't slide under the lip of the gas tube hole, so that can't be good. Looks like I too will have to get another dust cover.
Haven't tried to seal gas block but I might try that. Is it okay to put some heat right there? And is the same solder like for plumbing?
Also I emailed Arizona Response Systems and he replied and said he wouldn't even touch Century stamped receivers unless they are Century import Imbels. He said basically I could sell it for more than what an imbel parts kit costs and start over, or buy a new receiver and use the old parts on it. He told me I own a parts kit and a paper weight. That's encouraging lol. Would sure like to get it to work. Still debating on buying a dsa receiver though.
 
The heart of the problem is the Century built receiver. Gunplumber (as he's known over on falfiles.com) gave you good advice. There are horror stories documented on falfiles.com about Century made receivers.
 
I knew that would be Gunplumber's response!
I build 2 Imbel part kits with Century metric dual feed ramp receivers about 12 yrs ago, both good. Majority of Century receiver problems were on their L1A1 unibrow receivers. FAL/L1A1 receiver rails may interfere with feeding, folks open up the rails to let mag feed lips do the job, known as ggiilliiee's mod, there were threads with pictures but seems like all lost when the old FAL Forum went under. I wasn't brave enough to do aggressive grinding on mine while mine work! Gunplumber would have a huge heartburn when he hears anything ggiilliiee!
This threads has a tutorial as an attachment in a posting but you will have to log in there to access it, may not accessible anyway while not many viewed count.
http://www.militaryfirearm.com/Forum/showthread.php?20870-FAL-reciever-mods
 
I knew that would be Gunplumber's response!
I build 2 Imbel part kits with Century metric dual feed ramp receivers about 12 yrs ago, both good. Majority of Century receiver problems were on their L1A1 unibrow receivers. FAL/L1A1 receiver rails may interfere with feeding, folks open up the rails to let mag feed lips do the job, known as ggiilliiee's mod, there were threads with pictures but seems like all lost when the old FAL Forum went under. I wasn't brave enough to do aggressive grinding on mine while mine work! Gunplumber would have a huge heartburn when he hears anything ggiilliiee!
This threads has a tutorial as an attachment in a posting but you will have to log in there to access it, may not accessible anyway while not many viewed count.
http://www.militaryfirearm.com/Forum/showthread.php?20870-FAL-reciever-mods

Disappointing time at the range today but at least I narrowed some things down as to what it could be. Still feeding issues, still a gas problem, not letting it cycle except occasionally on setting of 0. That tells me it must be the gas block or gas plug leaking. Also the barrel I am guessing is off time because shots are FAR to the left with sight adjusted to the max. Still a few more things I can try, and still have an inch mag coming in. Hopefully that will change things. I traded a nice custom Remington 700 tactical with good optics to get this gun, knowing the potential risk, so that's on me, most foolish decision of the year, hopefully the last. So I really want to get this thing to work for me, I believe it's got potential. Buying the receiver is last resort. I'm posting a pic too of how off the dust cover is. It looks flush at the back even with it not seated properly so I don't understand that.
 

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I once had a Fal that only functioned when the gas regulator was completely closed. Turned out I had installed the wrong gas plug, wrong piston or both (I don't remember which).
 
When I discovered dust cover was likely the cause of my 3 point jam feeding issue, I also had action opened by itself when firing. I could not finish a mag without a 3 point jam. Before it was a great shooter. I have/had 5 FALs/L1A1s and this one is the one I keep! When I came home, I remembered I replaced the dust cover with a new nice looking one just before. Checked the cover and it looked flush at the base, I took the cover off and hand cycle the action, every round chambered fine. I figured maybe the top edge caused the interference, ground it off a bit, took it back to the range and went thru 2 or 3 mags just fine. You can check if dust cover caused your problem by removing the cover and hand cycle with dummy rounds. If still jammed, cover likely not it, take a picture of the jam. There are many knowledgeable folks on this board can give you good suggestions.
As to your barrel time issue. Looks like under timed which means likely when they built the rifle they could not time any further. I had one Century like that, I bought it cheap then I knew why! I thought I could just time the barrel while I had the tools, wrong! It was totally stuck, I could not break the barrel with a 4 ft pipe on the barrel wrench and probably applied 200+ ft-lbs but it won't move. I applied heat, soaked with Kroil nothing worked. I gave up and used an end mill to deepen the sight adjustment screw hole to allow more adjustment, sold it a few years later. That was the only issue and I told the buyer, he was happy at the price while the sight off to one side is cosmetic.
Check the piston diameter also, unlikely cause, but check.
 
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