Marlin 39D feeding issues

[uscra112]

I also note that, on mine, a shim of just .030" of folded paper between the lever and the tang will hold the lever open far enough to duplicate what you are seeing at the lifter.

[Trapperscott]

Yes, with the lever closed all the way, it leaves the lifter approximately .100 from reaching the bottom of the receiver. And yes, I can use a finger to easily push the lifter down until it bottoms out on the bottom of the receiver. With the lever closed and the lifter manually pushed all the way down the lever loses contact with the lifter.

Emailed you a picture that shows what I’m seeing better than I can describe it.

[uscra112]

OK, now we're getting somewhere. That's a huge gap, where it ought to be zero. First guess is that you got the wrong lever in that box of bits. Maybe. No idea how many lever styles there may be. Even less how to obtain on that's right.



What to do? There's enough of a gap that I'm thinking you could fabricate a ring to be pressed onto the "button" on the lifter arm.

Can you measure the diameter of the "button" precisely? Digital caliper or a micrometer?

[Trapperscott]

Uscra112, Sent you a few more pictures that I think will shed more light on where the problem is. I don’t think the ring pressed on the button is the fix.

I don’t think there’s been a lever swap. I got the rifle from the original owner who took it apart. He wasn’t very much of a gun mechanic. He put it all in the box and taped it up. It sat for years.

[uscra112]

OK, I see that lip on the lever that you pointed to.

Had to take the thing all apart to see it in mine, and of course I nearly lost that little wire spring that holds the pawl out.

If you watch the action from full open to closed, the button does the work until it's past the cutout for the pawl. Only then can the lip take over. In mine the lip might have made contact at one time, but now it doesn't. Wear?

Building up that lip would indeed solve the problem. It would take a very steady hand with a micro-welder, and the lever would have to be clamped in copper or aluminum jaws to keep the heat away from the rest of the part. Followed by some equally fussy work with a die grinder.

There are a couple of guys who do that kind of welding for the gun community, but can I lay hands on their contact info at the moment - of course not.

Stay tuned.

[ulav8r]

If you can't weld it, try epoxy and a piece of hard steel such as banding strap or spring steel to build up the lever.

[2152hq]

Check the loop end of the lever, right where the oval shape of the trigger guard becomes the lever loop.

See if the lever isn't bent a little right there pointing the loop portion upwards a little.
If that portion of the lever contacts the frame/rear tang too early, it will hold the lever open a small amt.
Any premature contact there will show as what you have at the tip of the arm. The amt is magnified by the distance the end of the arm is from the lever pivot point.

Early levers are case hardened,,the they just blued them. The loop and guard portion on the blued levers is soft un-heat treated so they can be bent slightly w/o any problem.

Tthe end that contacts the carrier looks well 'worked over' at some point in it's life.
Vise jaw imprints(?) file & polishing marks, etc.
These rifles assembled easily and didn't require much fitting. Most of any was the very end of the arm w/ contact w/ the bolt in fitting for headspace.

Unless that contact point on the lever has been taken down, ground or filed off,,It may just be a bent lever guard.

With the lever arm so far away from the carrier when closed,,does the bolt have back and forth manual movement in it's slot?
That lever arm tip is the locking arm and should if it is truely fully down/forward be holding the bolt closed and locked.
If the lever is being held from full closing by a bent loop or other problem,,the the bolt won't be locked fully either and will move back and forth.

The bolt must be full forward to trip the cart release and allow one to come out of the magazine.
The bolt trips the cartridge release.
Manual operation shows it does just that. You push it full forward
But using the lever, it doesn't,,maybe because the tip of the lever arm can't go down/forward far enough to push the bolt all the way closed.
If it did, the arm would also close that problem gap with the carrier engagement.

[uscra112]

Good analysis. I've hinted at this in my post #21. Hadn't thought to check for bolt not being all the way into battery, though.

[Trapperscott]

2152hq, that gives me something else to consider. I will check it out when I get home. It's got to be some little something that's not letting it feed. I'm determined to fix it.

[uscra112]

Filing just a few thou off the contact point on the lever may be enough.