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MG42/M53 belt issue


usmc25
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Hey all. I recently acquired an yugo M53/MG42. First thing I did was order about a dozen belts from sarco. Not a single one will run. Fires the first round then failure to feed. I have one belt thatll work. Itll rip through the whole belt over and over without a stoppage. But only this one belt works. Im really just lost. Is there a difference in belts? Why does one belt run, but the other 12 dont?

 

Thanks in advance,

Rob

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There are 8mm belts and 7.62 (DM-1) belts for the converted guns. I never tried to run 8mm/7/62 belts in the other, so no idea if that will fail or not but the belts are easily ID'd. I dnon't have any DM-1 belts on hand anymore, but an interweb search should pull them up.

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With such little info about the failure, it is difficult to diagnose.

I assume the gun is a semi and the failure to feed is that the cartridges are not stripping out of the belt.

Having built many semis with this problem, the issue is that the belt loops hold the rounds too tightly.

The design of the long semi bolt creates problems with the standard length recoil springs ability to strip rounds from standard belts. Depending on the type of build of a semi, this may or may not be an issue. There are multiple factors.

You will need to open the loops a bit on the tight belts to loosen the grip on the rounds..

A tool for this purpose can be made from 5/8" round rod. Turn a long taper, 3-4" with the small end to just fit into the loop.

Use this to expand the loops to a point where the the rounds are properly held but will slide out of the loops easily. Compare tightness to the belt that works.

This will work on both 7.92 And .308 belts.

FWIW

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The stamping on the "finger" of both belts shown is different.
The extra groove should make it stiffer and may be the source of the addition drag when stripping out a round.
The mandrel to check the belts is a good idea, WLA used to run a mandrel thru every link of the one belt that was numbered and test fired in the semi-auto M53 that they made for Century.
The other belts that Century placed into the crate were not tested and in most cases were 7.62X51 belts out of Spain.
Even the can Century included was for 7.62 ammo and 8X57 was too long to fit inside.

Richard

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So your failure to feed is stripping a round out of the belt or something else?

 

I usually use Johnson wax on my belts and ammo if it's tight. Learned that from some old timers.. Pain to do, but it worked for mine. Someone told me to try Hornady one shot spray.. which is much easier than using the wax.

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Thanks for all the input guys. So the failure isnt the bolt failing to push the round out of the link, it does that 100% of the time. The issue is the cover isnt grabbing the next round and pulling it over. It wont feed when I manually pull the bolt or when I fire it. I put my fingers up there to verify the cover is working properly and it is. It just isnt pulling over the next round in these belts. As I mentioned before, it runs 100% with that empty belt I posted a picture of. Never an issue feeding. Its just these other belts
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Knowing what you have will really help us to help you sort this out:

 

Is the gun a semi-only gun.....or a full auto (?).

What ammo are you using (?).....and what caliber (8x57mm or 7.62x51mm) (?).

What is the diameter of the hole in that removeable "cup" under the flash-hider (?).

I would ask if you would take a couple of clear/close photos of the parts inside the top-cover so that we can see what parts were assembled in it.

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Thanks for all the responses. Its a semi auto reweld. I attached some pictures. Everything is 8mm. Ive wanted to switch over to .308, as I feel like itll remedy most the issues. But Ive been unable to find a .308 barrel. I have the rest of the .308 conversion parts just sitting in my closet

post-262897-0-57690600-1623189763_thumb.jpeg

post-262897-0-61206100-1623189782_thumb.jpeg

post-262897-0-76237900-1623189801_thumb.jpeg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks for all the responses. Its a semi auto reweld. I attached some pictures. Everything is 8mm. Ive wanted to switch over to .308, as I feel like itll remedy most the issues. But Ive been unable to find a .308 barrel. I have the rest of the .308 conversion parts just sitting in my closet

 

Ever find your barrel? BRP Guns should have them in stock..

 

https://www.brpguns.com/mg34-7-62-nato-conversion-without-tray/

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