Any risks to an over-oiled AR?

[ryno31]

I went shooting with a good buddy of mine who just bought a new AR from a local sporting goods store. I showed how to remove the lower and upper as well as the bcg and charging handle, told him to take it home and use a little solvent to remove the factory oil and clean it and re-oil it himself before we went shooting. He did exactly this but he bathed the thing in oil. There was oil dripping from the bcg and coming out of every opening on the lower (pretty sure he drenched every part in oil except for the frame of the gun itself!). Besides being an unbelievable pain to clean are there any risks to the gun except for crucial parts getting clogged with dirt and gunk? What are some of the best ways to get down into the hard to reach areas of the lower to remove the excess? My ways are clearly not working on this unholy mess.

 

[Inebriated]

Oil attracts dirt. Other than that, it's just a mess. And if he stores it with one in the chamber, that oil can affect the primer.

 

[ryno31]

I decided to completley disassemble the lower to clean it. This would be funny if I wasn't the one who had to clean it.

 

[OilyPablo]

AR's run fine fairly "wet". But dripping is crazy oily. Just clean it and wipe it down. Ain't no big thing. AR's are so simple.

I actually use light spray grease on the bolt and oil the small moving parts (firing pin, extractor, etc). The lower does not need much, just the trigger and hammer pins and such. Again, just a little spritz on the inside with Amsoil spray grease where the pins make contact with the lower housing. The grease slowly lets go of the oil, so it won't drip.

 

[Inebriated]

I decided to completley disassemble the lower to clean it. This would be funny if I wasn't the one who had to clean it.

Eh, it's funny to the rest of us...

I just use CLP on AR's. Works great.

 

[mljdeckard]

I like the BCG sloppy wet, but no, it shouldn't be dripping out of every opening.

 

[Gtimothy]

I keep my AR bolts fairly "wet" but everything else oiled normally. Both of mine are gas piston guns so they don't get dirty the way DI guns do so cleaning is usually a 10 minute job even after 300-400 rounds. The lowers hardly ever need cleaning!

 

[USMC8541]

I remember watching recruits fire their over oiled rifles. You could see the oil spray out the side for a few shots. No harm to rifle or shooter though

 

[beatledog7]

An AR will run wet, but as has noted, excess oil attracts dirt. Shoot it wet if that's how it runs best (be prepared to find oil on your clothes), but break it down and clean it afterwards, and oil it lightly for storage.

 

[mortablunt]

Excessive oil is a dirt magnet. Other than that, the only risk is that you'll have to buy another can sooner.

 

[kyletx1911]

Funny (splash) im thinking of that hair cream commercial a little dab will do ya!!

 

[briansmithwins]

The excess will blow or burn off after the first few shots. After a few outings where he gets to wear the excess on his face he will probably back off on the oil thing.

BSW

 

[VA27]

A 'wet' dirty gun will run longer than a 'dry' dirty gun.

By 'wet' I mean you should be able to see it on the parts.

Too much won't hurt it, it'll just get flung off while shooting.

ATF for lube on the upper.

Oil for sliding parts, grease for rotating parts.

 

[Coltdriver]

I have never heard of dieseling being a problem in an AR but it can be a problem in a rifle with an oil wetted chamber.

I tend to slightly overoil my bcg, just sounds like your friend got a little over enthusiastic!

 

[Slamfire]

While the dirt issues are real, I am not rolling around in the dirt or dropping my rifle in sand or dirt. I lube the heck out of my AR's. The first three shots standing offhand, I can see a mist of oil, looks like steam, coming out of the bolt gas ports!

I prefer oil as it wipes out easy and takes a lot of fouling in it.

I wipe off the exterior if there is seepage.

Occasionally I remove the recoil buffer and wipe out oil that has dripped in the recoil buffer tube. It can get messy.

At a rifle match last weekend of August, I had a blown primer during the standing stage. It fell into the trigger mechanism. I did not know what was causing the trigger not to reset till later when I separated the halves and knocked the primer out on my shooting stool. But that did not fix the trigger reset issue and I was out of the match during the rest of sitting rapid fire and through the prone rapid fire segment. I removed the rifle over to the safe area , knocked out the trigger components, wiped all the oils and gunk that were on the trigger and in trigger well. The trigger functioned through prone slow fire, so I guess that the oils down there trapped a primer particle and kept it in place. Maybe it would have knocked out with a dry lower. I really don’t know if this is an oil issue, I have seen an AMU shooter beating his lower on the ground trying to dislodge a primer, and I doubt his lower was as oily as mine. Perhaps dirt getting down there will jam up things regardless just because there is no place for it to go.

 

[Zerodefect]

Remove BCG, shake once, shake again. Look down barrel, no huge goo ball fowling barrel, all is good.

Fire away. Not a proble at all.

 

[wally]

Unless the oil obstructs the bore or plugs the gas tube, I can't really see any possible issues beyond a very messing first few shots.

 

[Walkalong]

I had a blown primer during the standing stage. It fell into the trigger mechanism. I did not know what was causing the trigger not to reset till later when I separated the halves and knocked the primer out on my shooting stool. But that did not fix the trigger reset issue

You may have knocked out the cup, with the anvil still in the gun. The anvil may have dropped out unnoticed later. I had the same problem recently working up a load in the heat. (100+) When I finally stopped and broke the gun down, and figured out the primer was the cause of the trigger not resetting, the primer came out in two pieces. I keep my ARs fairly wet, but certainly not dripping wet. Other than the oily mess, I don't see where it would hurt unless he had excess oil in the chamber. A little (very little) won't hurt much, but a lot is not good.

 

[gbeecher]

Proper maintenence

Here's a copy of the comic book manual for the M16...

www.ep.tc/problems/25/02.html

 

[MrCleanOK]

Oil attracts dirt.

Oil does not attract dirt. This is absolute rubbish. There is no magnetic force field that draws dirt to an oiled part. If external contaminants get into your rifle, then that is where they will stay until you clean them out. It doesn't matter if your rifle is wet or dry. What gets inside stays inside. What oil does do is HOLD particles that come in contact with it. Where you might have been able to blow external contaminants out of a dry lower receiver, you will have to wipe them out of a wet lower receiver. All of the lubricating necessary in the lower receiver can be accomplished with a tiny drop of CLP here, a tiny dab of grease there. The lower receiver itself can and probably should stay dry.

The upper receiver is another matter, and should be wet. In the upper receiver, you are going to experience not only external particulate contamination, but also firing residue. Firing residue is deposited inside the upper receiver by Physical Vapor Deposition. If those particles adhere to a dry upper receiver, they are gluing themselves to the part at the molecular level and are hard to remove. If they condense on a wet part, they are trapped in the oil film, and wipe off easily.

To answer the original question - as long as you aren't pulling your rifle out a bucket of CLP and pulling the trigger before it all runs out, there is pretty much no such thing as "too much" from a functional standpoint. When your friend gets tired of oil blowing into his face the first few times he pulls the trigger, he will learn to be a little more judicious with the lubricant. If the lower is full of oil, I would blow it out with compressed air and call it a day.

 

[Inebriated]

Oil does not attract dirt. This is absolute rubbish. There is no magnetic force field that draws dirt to an oiled part. If external contaminants get into your rifle, then that is where they will stay until you clean them out. It doesn't matter if your rifle is wet or dry. What gets inside stays inside. What oil does do is HOLD particles that come in contact with it.

No need to split hairs and just be asinine about it.

 

[taliv]

i use a squirt bottle to lube mine. so it starts out dripping. excess shakes off pretty fast and then it's just "wet"

i take care not to get a bunch in the chamber. that's the only risk i can see. you don't want to create a pressure situation

 

[MrCleanOK]

I take the "oil attracts dirt" thing personally because it's misinformation that leads soldiers who don't know any better to leave their weapon bone dry, thinking they are doing the right thing. When their M4/16 chokes on a range, it's a learning opportunity. When they choke down range, it's potentially life threatening.

 

[sansone]

I keep the BCG wet with 30w synth motor oil and the locking lugs thinly greased

 

[Walkalong]

When your friend gets tired of oil blowing into his face the first few times he pulls the trigger, he will learn to be a little more judicious with the lubricant.

Yep, experience will tell him.