New Golani, perfect function but dust cover problems

[hartzpad]

Just shot my new Golani GLN7XXX and it ran perfectly with strong ejection, great fit and finish. Only problem is that I cannot get the dust cover back on it straight. I'm very used to tight AK dust covers (have a Kreb's KTR03S and several others) but I had to break out a rubber mallet to get this Golani's dust cover back on with many hard strikes. I cannot for the life of me get it on straight, I finally got it on but it leans to the right thus really throwing off my windage. Even test fitting the cover with the recoil spring out I cannot get it into the rear cover grooves in the receiver without major mallet help. Do the dust covers require fitting? It looks slightly bent on the backside like Century forced it to fit the receiver and bent it in.

Any help or suggestions? Thing shoots way off because of the dust cover.

[ttman]

pics would help. odd though because the galil's cover has the extra support on the edges it should return to center pretty well.

[DARTH GOLANI]

The cover will get easier to put on after you fire it a bit. mine was a bitch at first and got better after some use. I heard to correct a crooked top cover you could: you could put the front of the top cover into the gas top on the rifle and use a big flat screw driver . put the screw driver in the hole for the spring button on the rear of the cover and twist and tweak it like that.



Laters

[rodinal220]

I had to open the dust cover slot in the rear of the receiver with a #2 smooth file with a safe edge.The cover fits very snug now but i can get it on and off with hand pressure.

[Lashlarue]

Me a ak gunsmith and a friend, spent eight hours and ended up denting the cover. It also wouldn't eject and though I'm not sure, I think Century replaced the bolt and possibly the barrel and the top cover.I am sure about the top cover.The bolt or the barrel timing was off. I say that because when rifle was returned there was machinest dye and the chamber looked freshly honed. Anyway checked function, headspace and put twenty rounds down range.Havent tried the top cover yet. when I do will have my friend standing by, in case I lose it ..BTW it's a Gln ser.#

[Jim C]

Me a ak gunsmith and a friend, spent eight hours and ended up denting the cover. It also wouldn't eject and though I'm not sure, I think Century replaced the bolt and possibly the barrel and the top cover.I am sure about the top cover.The bolt or the barrel timing was off. I say that because when rifle was returned there was machinest dye and the chamber looked freshly honed. Anyway checked function, headspace and put twenty rounds down range.Havent tried the top cover yet. when I do will have my friend standing by, in case I lose it ..BTW it's a Gln ser.#

When you say barrel timing, you mean the front sight was canted? That seems to be getting common on builds. Not just the Golani's. Ak's too.

[Lashlarue]

No, my sights were straight,but I don't know how they assemble these rifles, the front sight and gas tube maybe done after the barrel is threaded into the front trunion of the recever..Same would or could be true of when they locate the gas hole.I think the barrel has to align with bolt so that the lugs make full contact when the rifle is in battery. Not sure many of the Century assemblers have any idea of what they are doing.I guess that is because Century holds their job fairs at the Zoo!

[hartzpad]

As you can see in these pics, the cover is tilted to the right. I can move it back to center but it doesn't stay, it moves back to the right side. It looks like the right side of the dust cover is on the outside of the top of the receiver and the left side is flush with the top of the receiver. You can see the gap in the left side on the back of the receiver. Any suggestions?

[ttman]

u sure its in all the way?

[loner42]

Set the cover on a perfectly flat surface and you'll be able to see if it's got a twist in it.

[Jim C]

Yep, looks twisted/sprung. Should be able to straighten it out.

[anothertoothpick]

I've got the same problem. Had thought it was an issue with the century receiver, but now I see that the top cover is indeed warped in some way... Only I can't figure out exactly how, where, or how to go about righting it once again. Any ideas?

[The Real George W]

I'm also a big fan of the Rubber Mallet. I'm wicked OCD and I take apart and and clean mine every time I shoot. Mine looks straight, but I find about 2/3 of time I remove the dust cover I've got to re-zero the sights.

[cuate]

I filed the slot a bit in bottom of back of Golani cover thinking it would go on easier and it did but crooked like in your pic. I fanally took a tiny piece of thin steel, bent it in a tiny "V" and JB welded it into the slot I filed.

The cover now goes on with the sights correctly aligned as it was before I butchered it. In summation the cover with time is easier to put on, I no longer use a rubber hammer, just a light karate chop with the heel of the hand. Hope yours works out....Love my Golani !

[anothertoothpick]

The cover will get easier to put on after you fire it a bit. mine was a bitch at first and got better after some use. I heard to correct a crooked top cover you could: you could put the front of the top cover into the gas top on the rifle and use a big flat screw driver . put the screw driver in the hole for the spring button on the rear of the cover and twist and tweak it like that.



Laters

This worked perfectly. My cover is now actually even harder to get on now, but it goes on evenly now, with the sights properly aligned.

[DARTH GOLANI]

Tenngalil told me that when he was building mine galil. glad it worked for you

[ttman]

I just picked up another golani so had a chance to revisit this issue. of course a rubber mallet & 2x4 works for me but 1 thing that may contribute to this "condition" is the top cover hitting against the side of the raised part of the reciever by the gas tube (the trunion area on stamped AKs).

I think perhaps a slight filing of the edge (that hits the reciever) of the top cover may help this. or I could just be full of it ;-)

[fingaz]

I just picked up my new (used) GAL prefix Golani, and my top cover fits the same slightly crooked way. I will be fussing with it to correct the issue (hopefully) as time allows.

Further maddening, the front sight is loose enough in the dovetail that when the opposed windage screws are firmly tightened, the whole front sight is slightly crooked when viewed from the top. It manifests itself when using the sights by not presenting a ring to look through but rather some odd looking oval with thick sides. Between the 2 sights it makes me a little nuts. It could be that the sight may straighten out when I find a front sight spring as it is missing the little S-shaped thing. Will the similar part from the rear sight of an FAL work? I think I have one of those around here somewhere...

But it feels great in the hands and I am looking forward to taking it out for a few rounds soon!

[D.Brown]

I bought a surplus top cover which was refinished by ORF. The finish and price were beautiful. But, it was Israeli surplus. THE ISRAELIS SELDOM SURPLUS USEFUL WEAPONS. It was warped, but, I have an anvil with a flat and polished work surface. This and a leather faced mallet would fix your problem.

DB