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Gunsmithing Colt AR-15 Castle nut?

jeffm

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 17, 2001
238
2
West Virginia
Can't get the nut off, does it have thread locker on it? Is it staked? Any tricks to get it loose? I have a wrench, but it will not move.
 
Re: Colt AR-15 Castle nut?

Colt stakes their castle nuts in place...sometimes more aggressively than necessary to get the job done.
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You can CAREFULLY use a hammer and a punch of the proper size to hammer/tap the displaced metal (the "stake") back into place and then the castle nut should thread off. The amount of elbow grease necessary to get it off varies, but it shouldn't be all that bad as long as you have the proper tools for the job.

Out of curiosity...are you sure that it is Colt OEM and that someone hasn't loc-tited the nut on? I only ask because with enough force, I've never had that much trouble bypassing the stakes. They are really there to keep things from "working loose" but weren't designed to stop a dedicated wrench monkey from getting by them.
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Re: Colt AR-15 Castle nut?

Colt puts crazy stakes on their castle nuts. This is how I get them off. I uses this wrench with a mag tube from a mossberg 500 pounded on to the end so you have something to hang on too. Always replace the castle nut on colts as the slots always get streched out. Also a drop of kroil helps too.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-...px#.ULQ57YeXAxc