Quick question

[STELLA1]

First off I would like to say hi as a new member, long time reader first time post. Lots of great info here that has helped to hopefully diagnose the serious issue I'm having with my WL M53. Purchased in April of this year and finally got to fire it last week. Before taking it to the range gave a field strip to check it all out, function check, and give it a good lube. At the range test fired 1 belt of romy 8mm to check it all out. Only had 1 small issue of it not firing about half thru, pulled charging handle to reset and all was well. Then about 30 minutes later reloaded gun with 50 more rnds and commenced firing, made it about 4rnds into it before the first serious hicup. Shell was pulled for belt and wedged at 12 o'clock postion between the bolt and cam piece?.
Cleared that and got to fire a few more rnds till it happened 3 more times. Field stripped and relubed everything, put back together and reloaded. Fired off 1 rnd then nothing. Opened top cover to find that the next rnd was jammed crossways at the 9o'clock position between the bolt face and rear area of barrel. Cleared, reloaded fired another rnd and click. Opened top cover again and samething, jammed sideways. After clearing, reloading 5 times with same issue I had had enough and packed it away till I got home to check it all out. After reading thru some posts and comparing my top cover with the pics in the top cover and feedtray sticky I believe I have narrowed it down to misshaped preesure plate and possibly a broken pressure plate pin. All belts are in good condition and loaded into rifle with starter tab according to the manual. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[CRUSADER]

There is a member here - 'blanksguy' - who makes a tool to check the curvature of the pressure plate gadget.

I bought one of his tools & it solved a similar problem for me.

[Bil]

I think John Baum has them also. ---bil

[JBaum]

Sounds to me like you may have closed the cover on a loaded belt with the bolt forward, and now have a bent pressure plate. It's the most likely cause of your problem.

Yes, I do have the pressure plate gauge. http://www.germanmanuals.com/militaria.html

[oakrodent]

I would have to agree with them sounds like a pressure plate

[CRUSADER]

<--------I'm with stupid...

I think John Baum has them also. ---bil

oooops - that is who I meant, Bil. I got the two guys mixed-up.

Member 'jbaum' is who I was thinking of

[12thWaffenSS]

You live in North Dakota? I'm sorry to hear that.

I've had the displeasure of living there myself. You know what was my favorite thing to do in North Dakota? Pack up and get the (Try a different word.) out.

[noonxnoon]

Ouch 12th...don't hold back now!!!

[CavTrooper]

I thought N. Dakota was pretty nice. I lived there for ten years in about 2 years time period. Things move slow up there and seem to never end. Worked for Clark Melroe Bobcat in Gwinner.

CT

[STELLA1]

Overdue update,
Finally pulled the pressure plate from the cover and found that the pin that holds it to the cover is bent in 2 areas. The pin holes on the plate do not line up as intended, the larger of the pin sleeves is angled up. The curve of the cartridge groove likes right but kind of bent flat. So it looks like I just need to get a new pin and pressure plate to rock and roll again.

[Shift1]

Do you have the gauge? Could it be bent back into shape. Seems to me that it could be done that way, something like that may have happened in the field at one point and I would guess be fixed in the field as well. Bent pins on the other hand are a different story

[STELLA1]

Wow, talk about resurrecting the dead. Hard to believe it's been almost 3 years. Anyways I just received a top cover from Numrich and have found out it after examining it along side my original top cover that the newer cover is for 7.62. The cover only came with the rear latch mechanism and the pressure plate installed. Closer exam of my original pressure plate shows small cracks on the front and rear portion which allows to flex and bend snagging belt links causing all sorts of grief. Very flimsy to begin with compared to the plate in the newer cover. Since all I'm really after is the pressure plate itself, will the newer plate work if I remove it and install it in the 8mm top cover? Definitely can't use the newer top cover without changing feed tray, barrel, and booster to 7.62, not quite ready to do that. Thanks

[Blanksguy]

STELLA1,
First....wecome back (3-years)......

Next....why don't you just buy an 8x57mm pressure-plate (?)....and then replace it for the bent one on your top-cover (?)......but first:

With all of that said.....I believe your first course of action would have been to contact WiseLiteArms and ask about the warrantee and have then correct the issues with the SA42 that "they" manufactured.........a cracked pressure-plate they could have replaced and then insured that the gun fired correctly.........right (?). What did WiseLiteArms rep. tell you about the warrantee, etc. (?).

Reading back over you earlier posts (and yes, I am "Blanksguy")......to me, because you stated that you could fire one-cartridge...and then the jamming, it sounded more like the "issue" was that the bolt/carrier-assembly was not recoiling far enough to operate the "system". I say this because you were able to load a live round into the chamber through the system each time..........correct (?).
The questions that were not asked were:
Was there a spent/fired shell-case still on the bolt-head....or was the spent case just knocked off the bolt and fell to the ground under the ejection-port (?).....the SA42/MG42 should be able to eject the empty-case with some force after firing.

Another "challange" may be that the recouperator-assembly is "slow" or caked with old grease...and if not funtioning correctly may still allow the barrel-assembly to be coming slowly forward when the 2nd cartridge is trying to load at an incorrect angle..........."BUT", because it did fire the first belt (mostly), I still go back to either the need for the next smaller hole-size in your Booster-Cup/"Nozzle".......or something binding in the operating-system. These you can check with the "recouperator-test", and then remove the recoil-spring and manually operate (move) the bolt to check for binding of parts.

Is the "shuttle-assembly 8x57mm or the 7.62x51mm assembly (?)......what type ammo-belts.....8x57mm or the 7.62x51mm (?).

What type lubrication are you using (?)....what Booster-Cup/"Nozzle" hole-size is in the gun now......and how did the recouperator-test come out for you (?)......and binding of parts (?).

Regards, RichardS in MI.
US Army, Retired
Blanksguy2001@charter.net

[usmc8488]

I had a similar problem.

Here is the $18.99 solution

http://mg34.com/MG42-Pressure-Plate-Gauge-p90/

Don

[STELLA1]

Might have made some progress today. Pulled out the original pressure plate and replaced it with the newer one. There are some small differences between the 2 such as the areas where the retaining pin goes through. Also the newer one is alot thicker and more robust. So as not to have an accidental discharge while testing I pulled out the firing pin and reassembled everything. Loaded up a belt of 20 rounds with starter tab being held to belt with a dummy round. Locked bolt back and laid belt in place with dummy round over slot in feed tray, closed top cover and bumped bolt handle to close. Dummy round loaded and bolt closed as it should. Pulled back on bolt handle till it stopped, dummy round ejected, let go of handle again new round loaded and bolt closed as it should. Repeated this process for all 20 rounds in the belt, no hiccups so far. Will do more dry testing with my other belts to see if I have any issues with those.

To answer some of your questions Blanksguy,

1. the top cover I received was suppose to be for 8mm but doesn't appear that way. Had been looking around for new pressure plate but hadn't found anything unless one bought a whole top cover.

2. as for warranty at this point I'm sure I am out of the coverage period and back then hadn't even thought of it. I'm sure if I called them now I might be able have them work on at my cost and since they have people there now that know what their doing I'm sure it would come back running like it should.

3. As far as the jamming issue, after loading and firing the first round the shell would eject as it should, the bolt would strip out the new round from the belt and push it towards the chamber. This is the time where the issue takes place. It would appear that as the new round is being pushed forward by the bolt, the pressure plate was allowing the round to become angled up while heading to the chamber thus getting jammed in the 9-12 o'clock position in front of the chamber. If I'm not mistaken the job of the pressure plate is to ensure that the round is presented in front of the chamber properly to ensure proper loading, but evidently my original pressure plate is quite thin and flexible and not up to the task, hence the cracking. one could actually bend the thing with your fingers that is how awful it is.

4. Booster cup/nozzle size is 12mm.

5. Lube is slick 50 marine grade

6. All parts are 8mm as well as original 8mm belts

7. Haven't noticed any binding of parts, of course it's not super smooth as it is still basically new with only about 100 rounds through it. I may sit down and strip it completely and doing some sanding and polishing where I can and go from there.

Would like to get to the range soon to test the newer pressure plate to see how well that works under fire but the weather here is really being a pain in the butt right now.

[Der Alder]

Once you get the pressure plate replaced/checked if you still have issues, I would trying getting a couple of spare used recoil springs from RTG (they are pretty cheap).

Compare them to your semi modified springs. Cut one with one coil shorter than your existing one, one with one coil more. See which if any makes a differance. I'm a guessing a shorter recoil spring may help. Make sure that the recoil spring is seated properly and not binding when you put it back in. I like to put the uncut end forward and turn/spin it to seat it in the BC when I install mine.

Another thing I'd get is a booster with a smaller hole, maybe try an 11mm till it breaks in.

Maybe try some old German WWII belts (looser is better in a semi).

[Blanksguy]

STELLA1,
Thank you for the reply......the rest of my post is to assist you (and not to make it appear that I am picking on you).....

Think about what you just posted......
"...after loading and firing the first round......". This alone tells me that it loads from the belt, past the pressure-plate, and into the chamber.......am I correct so far (?).

Now, not to imply that the new/different pressure-plate won't help......but did you ever try the dummy-rounds and belt with the old pressure-plate (?).

What were the results of the "Recouperator-Test" that you did (?).......this is the test where you remove the Flash-Hider and Booster-Cup/"Nozzle", lock the bolt-assembly to the rear for MG42 (someone correct me if I am wrong, ......but for SA42s, to get around the added spring-pressures of bolt without the ability to lockthe bolt-assembly to the rear, I believe that you would remove the bolt-assembly for an SA42-?? )........and then place the barrel-bearing (muzzle) against a block of wood (with muzzle facing down) and the spring-pressure of the recouperator-assembly (as you push the weapon downward and release the weapon's downward pressure) should be able to push the weapon back up smartly.......not a slow return from recouperator-assembly-spring-pressure.

One other thing that you could check on an SA42 is if the "buffer-head" (at the rear of the gun just in front of the Butt-Stock). If this starts to back out/forward during firing, it will stop the rearward motion of the bolt/bolt-carrier. Some models/manufacturers also require that the buffer-head be more end-shaped like a "cone" to be able to pass partially into the bolt-carrier. Either way, from what you are telling me, there has never been a fired/empty shell-case inside the gun with a live shell jammed at the same time so the fired cases are being ejected........correct (?).

Next, does your cocking-handle-assembly stay in the forward position during firing (?).

You are correct in your thoughts about the "pressure-plate".....its job it to apply pressure to full-length ammunition of the propper size (8x57mm) when they are present, and to maintain this pressure while the bolt-head strips them from the belt....it then helps to guide them into the chamber area..........AS LONG AS THE RECOUPERATOR-ASSEMBLY IS DOING ITS JOB.
The recouperator returns the barrel-assembly to the forward position after firing so that it is in the correct position to accept the next cartridge....and helps to absorb some of the rearward motion of the barrel-assembly during firing so that the barrel-extention does not ruin the "Cam-Piece"?Trunnion.

Regards, RichardS in MI.
US Army, Retired
Blanksguy2001@chartermi.net

[STELLA1]

Well finally made it to the range to test out the newer/different pressure plate fix. it appears that the 308 version pressure plate fixed the jamming issue. Went though about 250 rounds in belts and assault drums during testing a bunch of slow fire and rapid fire stages and not a single issue. its music to the ears to hear 50 rounds singing downrange in 3 seconds.

[www.Prussia.us]

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This thread still has a great amount of useful troubleshooting for others who may not be as "lucky" as a bent pressure plate.