Dust cover won't stay closed

Cwm9

Private
Minuteman
Feb 7, 2022
13
1
USA
On my ddm4v7, that damn plastic cover won't stay closed. It opens with the slightest touch or tap on the rifle. Is it the spring's problem(looks bent) or that crap need to be metal?

20220501_192330.jpg
 
There is a malformed area under the detent ball. What’s causing this? The receiver relief looks fine so this may be protruding and putting pressure on the cover that it shouldn’t have.
 
File down the part of the cover next to the detention that’s damaged. You can see it’s got a big burr. It’s pressing against the bolt carrier and not letting it fully lock. Thirty second fix. There’s no need for a metal dust cover.
 
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The cover's detent ball appears to be slightly offset from the upper's relief cut. Possibly it's just the plastic holding it closed and not the ball.
...an astute observation (y)

...In viewing the attached image from left to right it appears there is a misalignment issue with the door and it's latch in relation to the receiver port dimensions. The red box shows the deformation of the plastic area holding the detent ball contacting the left edge of the ports chamfer cut, the white box shows the referenced "offset" of the detent balls center to the chamfer cuts center. The blue boxes (based on image) appears to indicate the door may have some free space at front where the rod enters the retention nub of the receiver. IF there is a sufficent amount of free space travel there, bending the spring to the right might be enough to keep the door forward to align it correctly with the ports chamfer. The purpose of the chamfer is to allow the detent ball to properly "center" itself with minimal force. The image quality does not allow me to determine if there is a washer or c-clip between the door and the receiver retention nub, but if there is, moving it to the rear nub could be sufficient to push the door forward to better align the detent with the port chamfer.

...despite all of the above cited, if it's a new rifle purchased online or off the shelf, I recommend you exercise the DD warranty first to resolve your issue before attempting any of the above....
 

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...an astute observation (y)

...In viewing the attached image from left to right it appears there is a misalignment issue with the door and it's latch in relation to the receiver port dimensions. The red box shows the deformation of the plastic area holding the detent ball contacting the left edge of the ports chamfer cut, the white box shows the referenced "offset" of the detent balls center to the chamfer cuts center. The blue boxes (based on image) appears to indicate the door may have some free space at front where the rod enters the retention nub of the receiver. IF there is a sufficent amount of free space travel there, bending the spring to the right might be enough to keep the door forward to align it correctly with the ports chamfer. The purpose of the chamfer is to allow the detent ball to properly "center" itself with minimal force. The image quality does not allow me to determine if there is a washer or c-clip between the door and the receiver retention nub, but if there is, moving it to the rear nub could be sufficient to push the door forward to better align the detent with the port chamfer.

...despite all of the above cited, if it's a new rifle purchased online or off the shelf, I recommend you exercise the DD warranty first to resolve your issue before attempting any of the above....
The detent is clearly going where it's supposed to go, look at the contact mark on the receiver. Misalignment is not the issue.

Deburr the area on the dust cover around the detent ball so there isn't a big chunk of material pressing against the bolt carrier. That's it. This talk about spending $20 and a week for shipping, or whatever time and effort in a warranty - it's a dust cover, just fix it and be done.
 
DD going down hill fast. I'd say regardless of it working, I'd replace it. They are cheap. Or...

Story be told "real sniper rifle" fdic bank assassin part time gumbroker seller has one of a kind special dust covers you can FO right now for $287.50
 
DD going down hill fast. I'd say regardless of it working, I'd replace it. They are cheap. Or...

Story be told "real sniper rifle" fdic bank assassin part time gumbroker seller has one of a kind special dust covers you can FO right now for $287.50
Fast? They've been using plastic dust covers for quite a while. The guns we use at work all have them, and they've been just fine since 2015.