Replace Ejector?

[Krylancelo]

Just curious if anyone has undergone trying to replace the ejector. I realize it's a bit of a process (requiring barrel removal and what not). What all is involved? Is it difficult? Any place you can even source an ejector tab?

Having sufficiently voided my S&W warranty by taking off the factory barrel nut, filing down the alignment tabs on the upper, and installing an AR15 handguard on my M&P15-22, this may eventually become useful info for me.

 

[CrazyFingers]

I have no idea where to get another ejector other than S&W, nor do I know if they will sell one to you directly.

That being said, replacing the ejector is fairly simple since you already have the tools to remove the barrel.

First, remove the barrel (I assume you already know how to do this properly without tearing up your polymer upper receiver.)

Once the barrel is removed, you'll see a breech block attached to the barrel with two roll-pins. Carefully tap those out to remove them, and the breech block slides off. You'll then see how the ejector is captured by the breech block and one of the roll pins. Really, that's all that holds it in, the groove in the breech block and the edge of one roll pin. You might also notice a divot in your ejector where the roll pin has worn into it. For me, this was the cause of my FTE issues, since the divot prevented the ejector from being held securely and allowed it to slide around a bit in the breech block slot, causing it to miss the rim of the spent cases when they were extracted from the chamber. Tapping the roll pin slightly allowed it to grab the edge of the ejector again and secured it, but I don't know for how long. If this worn divot issue happens again, I'm pretty sure I'll need a new ejector too.

 

[Krylancelo]

You might also notice a divot in your ejector where the roll pin has worn into it. For me, this was the cause of my FTE issues, since the divot prevented the ejector from being held securely and allowed it to slide around a bit in the breech block slot, causing it to miss the rim of the spent cases when they were extracted from the chamber. Tapping the roll pin slightly allowed it to grab the edge of the ejector again and secured it, but I don't know for how long. If this worn divot issue happens again, I'm pretty sure I'll need a new ejector too.

Ah ****. That's what I was semi-afraid of. My ejector does have some "play" in it. I can move it back and forth (in and out of the barrel block) about 1/8" or 1/16" and it moves up and down slightly too.

I called Smith and they said it was normal to have movement in the ejector.

Hand cycling rounds seems to work fine and the last time I was at the range it was working fine (which was a few days ago).

Thanks for the info though! Wish they would sell us these parts. Some of us are obviously tinkerers and if we're willing to pay for the parts I don't see any good reason they wouldn't let us buy them.

 

[CrazyFingers]

They said it was normal, eh?
That's interesting, since the last time I sent my 15-22 in for massive FTE issues that made the rifle practically unusable and specifically told them that the ejector was loose, they sent it back with a properly secured ejector and the FTEs disappeared. I also checked 3 different 15-22s on the shelf at my local gun store, and none of them had any play in the ejector. Must have been a coincidence, eh?
I'm beginning to think they hire customer service reps for their ability to make things up on the spot.

Anyway, yes, I wish you could buy parts directly from S&W like you can for most other firearms.
Or perhaps some of our more enterprising members could fashion and sell ejectors made from harder steel.
I'm looking at you, Jody...

 

[Krylancelo]

Anyway, yes, I wish you could buy parts directly from S&W like you can for most other firearms.
Or perhaps some of our more enterprising members could fashion and sell ejectors made from harder steel.
I'm looking at you, Jody...

I'd buy one in a heart beat.

 

[Krylancelo]

CrazyFingers - When you were having massive FTE problems, would it work properly by hand cycling?

And just spitballing ideas but I suppose if the ejector is supposed to have no movement... As long as it doesn't actually snap or break off I could JB Weld it in to the block right?

I just hate having to remove the handguard, barrel nut, converter nut, pull the barrel out and mess with it and then have to reassemble and re-zero everything (because even if I use roughly the same torque, it always seems to be at least a little off).

 

[CrazyFingers]

I haven't been able to get to the range since I reset my ejector, so I'm not certain I won't need to fiddle with the ejector angle to get things working smoothly again. I'd be a bit hesitant to use a permanent attachment method since sometimes you need to tweak the positioning of the ejector to get good results. Right now it's stable, and appears to be inline with the extraction path to hit the rim of the empty case, but I can't be certain until this weekend when I fire it.
I'm not sure hand-cycling loaded rounds will give you a truly accurate idea of how the rifle will eject empty shells under live-fire conditions.

 

[Krylancelo]

Fair enough. I do have a very good gunsmith friend. I've been chatting with him a bit and he is confident he can make a replacement ejector for me.

Hopefully out of a more resilient material.

 

[Krylancelo]

And interestingly enough, S&W just let me place an order for 2 ejectors and two barrel extension rollpins for the M&P15-22.

 

[tacticool22]

And interestingly enough, S&W just let me place an order for 2 ejectors and two barrel extension rollpins for the M&P15-22.

How much and who did you talk to?
Did they need a specific part number or did they do the work?

 

[Krylancelo]

I forget his name, unfortunately. Tom? I think it was Tom.

He looked up the part numbers for me. I asked him for them before we hung up.

He said:
Ejector, part # 404570000
Barrel Extension Rollpin, part # 404590000

Neither is in stock, so it may be a pretty long wait but he let me order two of each. My order total was $20.18. Not sure if he gave me a discount or the rollpins free or something as he said the ejectors were $10 a piece. He didn't give me a price on the rollpins.

 

[Krylancelo]

Slight update. Put about 150 rounds through the M&P15-22. No failures to eject except for one (which I'm 99% sure was due to me putting a lot of pressure on the mag [using it as a monopod like I do with my ARs]).

Have you guys ever noticed a tendency to get "stovepipes" when using the mag as a monopod with your 15-22s? That's generally how I've always shot "benched" simply because it's the most likely way I'd shoot based on the type of shooting I do either from prone or supported (the other type being supported on the handguard depending on height of the support and my position).

It seems fine with light pressure but if I really lean into the mag it will cause about 2-3 malfunctions (usually stove pipes) per mag. Using the same mag and not putting any pressure on the mag completely solves the problem. Rather interesting.

 

[CrazyFingers]

So I took my 15-22 to the range today to test the ejector fix:
200 rounds, slow and rapid fire, rested, standing and kneeling, no failures of any kind.

It was also noticeably more accurate than before I removed and re-installed the barrel.