Model 94 lifter

[oneokie]

The cartridge lifter in my 94 does not drop down all the way when closing the action. What wear points do I need to check?

[Ragnarok]

Probably take it apart..inspect and clean all the action giblets..stick it back together. Probably dirty

[hunter64]

Sounds like the same problem I had a few years ago. Here is my original post on another forum.

I recently picked up a 1894 30-30 Rifle that was manufactured in 1905 and is in really good shape. I got it cheap because it will not load thru the side gate.

If I open one of my newer Win 94's and have the lever all the way open (bolt all the way back), if I push down on the carrier it will go to the down position and stay there. As soon as I move the lever to close the bolt it will pop up like it is supposed to.

On my 1894 rifle, the carrier will not do this. If I push it down it will pop right up. If I close the bolt the carrier will not go all the way to the bottom as it is supposed to. Looking with a flashlight thru the small opening in the load gate you can see the carrier is not all the way down to the bottom and sitting up about 1/2".

If I put a small stick thru the load gate and push the carrier down I can then open the load gate as usual but if I put a round into the magazine it gets stuck there and will not come out.

So I detail stripped the rifle figuring maybe it is just really dirty which it was. I found nothing broken but the carrier spring looks like it has considerable wear on it and I am not sure that it is curved correctly looking at a replacement spring from Numrich http://www.e-gunparts.com/DisplayAd....rSuperSKU=&MC=

The end of the spring that is kind of pie shaped ( triangle) has the top part warn down so it kind of only has 1/2 the pie so to speak.

Stopped by a gun parts supplier that I have in my city on the way home and picked up a new carrier spring.

Dropped in the new carrier spring and the difference was obvious, the warn one had the tip of the triangle so to speak warn down to a flat so the carrier would go up but not all the way down. Put everything back together and it works wonderfully, loads perfectly. Looking at the carrier itself, it was just fine.

[hunter64]

Oneokie: Have you had a chance to look at the rifle yet?

[oneokie]

No, life has gotten hectic. Will post my findings when I get time.

[oneokie]

Found the problem. The left leg of the lifter was bent upwards. Had to use pliers to pull the pivot screw from the action after loosening it. After removing the lifter, placing the pivot screw through the hole in the left leg, the leading end of the screw was half a hole off when up against the right leg of the lifter. The lifter was binding on the pivot screw as well as the sides of the receiver.

[cuslog]

I know this is an old thread but I just went through this myself (loading gate blocked by the lifter not going all the way down) - well it was going all the way down but then climbing back up and blocking the gate closed. After taking it apart numerous times and trying numerous other possible solutions, it seemed that the crotch of the lifter where the finger lever pushes it down was worn - actually both lifter and finger lever worn enough that the lifter wasn't staying down. My solution was to lay a small bead of Tig weld into the crotch of the lifter and then trial fit and file until it worked properly. This seemed to be a relatively "high wear area", so I made sure it got a dab of moly grease on the final assembly. I know most won't have a Tig welder but may have a friend with one or just replace the whole lifter and it will probably be fine.
Hope this helps someone.