gas piston AR-15 upgrade- worth the $ ?

I'm back from the range, which was actually the back lot of a guy's business in Humble, Texas. I fired a few rounds and then removed the BCG for inspection. I noted something for the 1st time: the area where the gas tube emerges from above the chamber is an oil and grime magnet, and firing the rifle causes that oil and grime to spray back upon the front/top of the bolt. I did a quick field clean of the BCG with my shirt and got much improved performance. I was not aware of this trait before. Another grime magnet is the bottom of the rear iron sight; it is open and exposed to the gases, and mine even had lint in it. Anyway, you asked:

"...What do you do with the BCG after cleaning and drying? Do you reassemble the BCG and reinsert it back into the upper receiver without lubrication?

I was asvised to keep the BCG as clean and dry as possible. The times I allowed a thin sheen of lube to remain, grime built up quickly and fouled the rifle.

"...If you have you swapped the upper/lowers between your AR's, does the problem follow the upper or lower receiver of your problem rifle?..."

To be honest, I have mixed the BCG parts up over the years to the point I don't know what goes where. The problem actually follows the BCG itself when I trade them out, rather than the upper.

I know to keep it good and clean, and dry of all oil.

http://www.ar15.com/content/swat/keepitrunning.pdf

I suspected that this was your problem from you intial post of FTE (fail to eject) after firing a relatively small number of rounds. I wanted to get more information before assuming that was the case of the BCG being "dry". I'd say lack of lubrication is the source of your AR issues. It seems there was a time that "dry" was in vogue. It's similar to an engine in that metal to metal movement without lubircation is not good. I would field strip the AR and lubricate the parts as the previous poster recommended and the whole BCG when it is reassembled.

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