New M53 is giving me so many problems

[MIKEMC]

Ok guys,Yes I am new here.I just got the Yugo M53 semiauto and can not get it to shoot more than three to five rounds without a ejecting failure along with a crushed round?Yes i went right to the range and the gun was dry.Would shoot one round and not eject crushing the next round.
Brought home greased the hell out of the gun and was told to open up the belts a little.
I had my friend machine me a tool to resize the belts a little bigger wich makes the rounds go into it easier.
This helped greatly.She shoots up to about ten rounds then jams up.
I was told to work it in????
Also I can not get Barrel back in with out using a rubber malet??Wiselite said this also will get better???
Any input or same stories???

[Der Alder]

First off Glad you joined us.

Sizing the belts and lubing them, along with lubing a new gun is a must. As with many surplus re-built semi’s a “break-in” can help it run more reliably as the new parts mate with the old…all good advice. But - you should not have to use a mallet to get you barrel back in…period. I find that unacceptable. A sharp slap with the heel of your hand to the door should be all it should take.

My guess is something is out of whack with your recouperator, which I wouldn’t mess with while it’s under warranty. I bought an early made WLA M53 and its run great for me and the barrel pops in and out easily just as it should.

From the sounds of similar posts like yours I fear that WLA isn’t putting the same care and testing in these M53’s as they once were.

I’m sure the skilled builders here will be more than happy to help you out, but the point is this should not be happening to a “new” gun IMO…and if it’s under warranty I’d have WLA fix it.

Don't get me wrong here, WLA has been good to deal with and has excellent customer support, however telling customers that beating their barrels in and out with a rubber mallet when new is not acceptable to me.

Send it back on their dime and have them fix it right this time. Please keep us posted on how you make out.

[railsplitter]

If you can't get a fix from the manufacturer make sure the recoupe is in correctly and moves freely. When the barrel moves in and out it pushes against the recoup spring set. The second step would be to adjust the bevel and thickness of the end section, if the spliced together parts are off the parts will bind and not force the recoup backwards. The end section is an inexpensive part to try adjustments on.

[rocco1911]

Sounds like the muzzle bearing may have been welded in to deep as has been seen before causing a tight fit to the recoup... a little shaping on the recoup is what may correct this good luck but I would contact the manufactuer again & request there attention to your concerns before making any adjustments its under waranty I assume get it fixed you payed good money for something your not happy with & does not work right ...

[MIKEMC]

Do you guys have to resize belts?I have bought 3 differant sets and they seem all tight for the 8mm.My bud machined a beatifull tool out of brass.It goes from 11mm to 12mm with handle.I will post some pics later.

[MIKEMC]

Tool for resizing

[MIKEMC]

My New baby.If only she would perform.Paid 3,300 for all you see.

[MIKEMC]

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[bmwr12]

What kind of ammo are you using? I would also recommend you get some orignal WW2 belts. I have tried Yugo belts with 8mm in 3 wiselite m53s and not one of them would feed a complete 50 round belt without jamming at least once. Now the results are much better with WW2 belts.

I would check your recoil spring and make sure the bolt head is clearing the feedtray completely when charging.The springs are cut down originals and mine had streched out about 1/4" within 2000 blanks/live rounds.

Lastly I would pull your bolt out and place a fired casing in it. I would then put the stock buffer in the back of the bolt and lightly tap the stock and buffer into the back of the bolt and the round should pop off. This is to check to make sure that your buffer spring is not to long or short.

The barrels can also be tricky but they should go right in. Just make sure the bolt is all the way back.
I am sure Wiselite will help you they have been very helpful to me.

[rocco1911]

Well guy's from the looks of that last picture it seems good old wiselite has welded another barrel bearing piece thats set to far into the shroud this would cause the barrel problem as well as function issues I would strongly suggest you return it for repair or replacement... I have a bunch of guns & have never had to streach a belt before actually I never heard of it till now...

[12thWaffenSS]

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Looks nice, HOWEVER, you need to get some proper ammo cans. The can in your picture looks like a post war NATO .308 can.

MG34.com has the proper WW2 style 8mm ammo cans for like 15 bucks.

[Franz 1796]

Can you check to see if the barrel bushing is moving freely in the barrel shroud? When fully forward, the barrel bushing on mine sticks out about 0.7" from the end of the threads.

My M-53 had feeding issues at first that turned out to be related to the barrel bushing not moving freely (needed a rubber hammmer to remove it after firing). I resolved the problem, but I'm guessing this is likely to happen on other M-53's because the part that caused the issue was the bushing guide that is a newly made part that is welded to the barrel shroud. The grooves in the bushing guide were deforming (mushrooming) the barrel guide at the point where the barrel bushing travel is fully forward. This raised metal would then hinder the proper movement of the barrel bushing (and thus proper movement of the barrel when the gun was fired). After grinding down the deformed area in the inside of the barrel guide, the bushing moved freely again. The same problem repeated on the second trip to the range, but so I repeated the grinding process. After that second time it was fine (no more deformation). Makes me think the bushing guides were not heat treated properly and need a bit of work hardening before they can do the job.

I'd be willing to bet I'm not the only one who has this problem.

[MIKEMC]

Ok Guys, back from the range.Complete dissapointment.Could not get more than 4 rounds to fire before it would not fire.I am getting a light strike on the next round.I take it out reinstall bullet without belt and it fires that round.
Seems to fire better if i quickly keep pulling the trigger.If I do slow shots it stops from a light hit on the primmer.But as i say I eject that round,reinstall it into barrel and it fires that round.
Also,The button that allows the barrel back in seems slightly bent?Is this suposed to be ?
Time to send it back,I hope they know how to get it working perfect?I expect nothing less.I dont want to have to use a mallet to install barrell.I want it to shoot all rounds on belts.

[bmwr12]

Do you have the wiselite troubleshooting guide? Its a pdf or doc file. I dont think thye include a hard copy with the gun.

[MIKEMC]

No I do not have the PDF file.

[bmwr12]

PM your email and I will send it to you.

[noonxnoon]

I didn't get the troubleshooting guide either...glad I got the d/l here...

Valuable in helping for a more detail breakdown for disassembly/assembly.

Don't know why they don't send it or offer it right from the get go.

Seems to be a flood of WLA53 problems as of late.

I still haven't fired mine. I haven't had any problems taking the barrel out and back in...or anything so far reported...

...but the problem with feeding and the next round thing has me concerned...I had hoped just cycling dummy rounds manually was the problem...but after hearing several feed problems...I wonder if I have the same illness.

When I do get to shoot...I'll have to run a couple hundred rounds at least...well...if the 53 will let me!

[DDayDog]

PM your email and I will send it to you.

could i get that pdf from you also? thanks !

D Day

[buster]

The Wiselite troubleshooting guide shows a lot of the problems and how to solve them everyone is having with their WLA M53. I have had some of the same problems. I found that if I take pressure off the belt, holding it up with your left hand or use a drum, eliminates most of the feeding troubles. I also use Mobil 1 grease, which is real slick and won't break down. After about 400 rds.of break in, she runs like a champ.
Buster

[MIKEMC]

Thank you.BMWR12.The PDF guide is a must for all.awesome info with pics of everything.