Marlin FTE repair

[big shrek]

I spend a bit of time rescuscitating Marlin 60's/795's that have issues.
They can be as snarky as AR-15's about being clean.

Pretty straightforward...here's how to fix 95% of 'em.

First, avoid Remington Golden Bullet & Thunderbolts ammo.
Also known as Golden Bullsquish & Thunderduds.
Ammo does not earn bad nicknames unless it truly sucks for a vast majority of patrons.
And it is some truly dirty-carbon leftover nasty mess ammo anyway.

Clean the living daylights out of 'em...make sure there is no grease left in the bolt/extractors/or extractor cut-outs in the barrel.

LIGHT oil. One drop applied with a fingertip all over the action is all you need.
Make sure No oil is left in chamber after oiling the barrel & swabbing it with dry patches.

Make sure the ejector wire is in this position!!!
That's the wire hanging over the silver feed throat just above where the screwdriver is at, between his Thumb & Forefinger.

Ignore the commentary, it's for the process of a total action breakdown & reassembly.




You can click on the pics to make 'em Bigger.

Finaly, check the Feed Throat and make sure it's not all scarred up from some Donk poking at it with a screwdriver or other implement of destruction It should be smooth & gouge-free.


I bring rimfire Marlins back from the dead. It's enjoyable.

If you think of it as being a similar pain in the rump as an M-16A1, they suddenly become easier to deal with...
Regular action cleaning required, if you fire it, at the end of the range visit/hunting trip, Clean it.
The barrel...not very often...only if exposed to wetness or once a year/
whenever the precision drops off.

When properly set up, I can go thru a bulk box of Federal 550's without an FTE.

Hopefully this will help a few 60/795's that have been regulated to the Back of the Safe to be brought back to life

[quietman]

Hey,

I ask this question on Marlin owners and you send me here

Figured iId repeat the question for the gun and game members.

Found a early 90's Marlin 60 with a 22 inch barrel at a pawn shop for $90. Bluing and bore in excellent shape. Just a few small dings on the stock.

Action very smooth when cycled by hand, but a bit gummed up from too much lube. Stuck my finger in the chamber and it came out coated in jet black gunk- combo of oil and carbon. (Maybe why they sold it, too many FTE's?)

Just picked up an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning cases, so I bet I can degummify (technical term, took years of edumacation to learn it ) all the removable parts that way. Rest can be cleaned with simple green and a scrub brush.

Anyway, I was thinking about going with a dry lube on the action after cleaning. Is silicone good enough, or should I go with a moly lube?

[rimfirenut]

Sound like they never cleaned the action, see this a lot with used .22's, just cleaned the barrel. I would stick to regular gun oil (hopes or rem oil) and use it sparingly, just a drop and should be good, silicone is not a good lube for firearms... With regular cleaning (barrel and action) it should last for a long time, usually good shooters to...

[Sam Ruger]

So what does it mean when the bullet is fed into the chamber a little low? The nose of my bullets have small scratch/gouge marks if ejected unfired.

[quietman]

Originally Posted by rimfirenut

Sound like they never cleaned the action, see this a lot with used .22's, just cleaned the barrel. I would stick to regular gun oil (hopes or rem oil) and use it sparingly, just a drop and should be good, silicone is not a good lube for firearms... With regular cleaning (barrel and action) it should last for a long time, usually good shooters to...

I'm giving purple royals Maxfilm a try on my model 60 first. Looks to be the same as their gun "oil" they make, just a different name for the general public. American Gunsmith mag did some testing on this stuff in 2007 and liked it.

Although they call this an oil, it dries into a film that is supposed to imbed itself into the metal with use. It's what's called a thixotropic material. Basically this means it's a gel that dries so thick it has the properties of a solid making it similar to a dry film lube when not in use. What makes it different from a dry film lube like moly is that it liquifies under shearing or sideways pressure and then will re-dry when not in use. It's also a moisture barrier / corrosion inhibitor because of the microscopic film it leaves behind.

Temperature ratings are 1100 deg F intermittent and 600 Deg F continuous. Pressure ratings are pretty high too.

This type of lube seems ideal for firearms, and I stumbled across it quite by accident.

Will post a review after a few months of use.

[big shrek]

Originally Posted by quietman

I'm giving purple royals Maxfilm a try on my model 60 first. Looks to be the same as their gun "oil" they make, just a different name for the general public. American Gunsmith mag did some testing on this stuff in 2007 and liked it.

Although they call this an oil, it dries into a film that is supposed to imbed itself into the metal with use. It's what's called a thixotropic material. Basically this means it's a gel that dries so thick it has the properties of a solid making it similar to a dry film lube when not in use. What makes it different from a dry film lube like moly is that it liquifies under shearing or sideways pressure and then will re-dry when not in use. It's also a moisture barrier / corrosion inhibitor because of the microscopic film it leaves behind.

Temperature ratings are 1100 deg F intermittent and 600 Deg F continuous. Pressure ratings are pretty high too.

This type of lube seems ideal for firearms, and I stumbled across it quite by accident.

Will post a review after a few months of use.

Looks good on paper

I've never used anything but Outers & Hoppes & CLP Break-Free gun oils...so I have No Idea about how well silicon & other dry lubes work. I live in HUMID Florida where a regular cleaning & oil coating is dang well a requirement.

But I'd love to find out how other things work Let us know what you find out...feel free to torture test it and give us the results

[big shrek]

Originally Posted by Sam Ruger

So what does it mean when the bullet is fed into the chamber a little low? The nose of my bullets have small scratch/gouge marks if ejected unfired.

Usually it's that first bullet, sometimes I forget to pull the bolt handle all the way back & let it SNAP forwards...or hit the LSHO lever and let it close the action for ya.

Also, check your feed ramp & make sure it's polished to a high shine...makes ammo slip in easyer.

[ArkansasHunter]

I bought a 981T and a 983T Marlin boltaction 22 rifles. the 983T is a 22 magnum.
In your picture above it shows a "wire" in the action.

I'd have to go look but one of the two rifles does not have a wire in the action.

Why does Marlin use a wire for one and not the other ? When I saw the wire after buying the rifle I took a pair of wire cutters and started to cut that stupid wire.

Just when I was about to cut it I thought I better ask someone. I found out it was suppose to be there.

I can't help wonder why one model has that wire and the other does not.

[.22hustler]

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

I bought a 981T and a 983T Marlin boltaction 22 rifles. the 983T is a 22 magnum.
In your picture above it shows a "wire" in the action.

I'd have to go look but one of the two rifles does not have a wire in the action.

Why does Marlin use a wire for one and not the other ? When I saw the wire after buying the rifle I took a pair of wire cutters and started to cut that stupid wire.

Just when I was about to cut it I thought I better ask someone. I found out it was suppose to be there.

I can't help wonder why one model has that wire and the other does not.

Different methods of ejecting the spent shell??

[samuel]

Quietman:If you can stick your finger in the chamber of a .22lr you are very young and should only be shooting with adult supervision.Be sure to lubricate your finger to prevent getting it stuck. ,,,sam.

[kaaa]

yep, i got a weakness for the 60/70 group i ben lubing the bolts with paste wax when it dries it will not pick up glunk. you do not want to run them dry or thay will gaul the receiver.

gall to injure or make sore by rubbing. my bad on the miss spelling. sorry

[big shrek]

Originally Posted by kaaa

you do not want to run them dry or thay will gaul the rec.

HUH???

Maybe I need an Wisconsonese interpreter?

[quietman]

Originally Posted by samuel

Quietman:If you can stick your finger in the chamber of a .22lr you are very young and should only be shooting with adult supervision.Be sure to lubricate your finger to prevent getting it stuck. ,,,sam.

That's the little finger not the index finger. And I was born in 1959 The bolt was locked in the half open position, and it was sooo filthy I just had to barely stickk the end of my pinky in to get black grime on it.

[quietman]

Ok, everything cleaned and reassembled. The carbon and old grease came off in chunks in the ultrasonic cleaner (it was nasty dirty).

Cleaned the entire trigger assembly and bolt. Dug out the fouling in the extractor notches on the barrel. And yes, dug out is the right word.

Put the maxfilm on per the instructions.
i.e. sprayed the parts down and let it sit for about 15 minutes to allow surface pentration, then wiped off all excess lube.

Took her out and did a quick test after the rifle had been in my truck all day with the temperature in the low 30's. Fired and cycled perfectly.

Note this is an experiment, so no lectures on too much lube please

I wanted to overlube it, wipe it down and see if this lube attracts dirt and powder like grease or oil. Since this is supposed to create a dry film, I figured this is a good way to see just how dry the film really gets. Besides, it's so easy to take apart and drop the assembly in the ultrasonic cleaner, re cleaning it is not an issue.

[big shrek]

Originally Posted by quietman

Ok, everything cleaned and reassembled. The carbon and old grease came off in chunks in the ultrasonic cleaner (it was nasty dirty).

Cleaned the entire trigger assembly and bolt. Dug out the fouling in the extractor notches on the barrel. And yes, dug out is the right word.

Put the maxfilm on per the instructions.
i.e. sprayed the parts down and let it sit for about 15 minutes to allow surface pentration, then wiped off all excess lube.

Took her out and did a quick test after the rifle had been in my truck all day with the temperature in the low 30's. Fired and cycled perfectly.

Note this is an experiment, so no lectures on too much lube please

I wanted to overlube it, wipe it down and see if this lube attracts dirt and powder like grease or oil. Since this is supposed to create a dry film, I figured this is a good way to see just how dry the film really gets. Besides, it's so easy to take apart and drop the assembly in the ultrasonic cleaner, re cleaning it is not an issue.

I'd bet that all that crud in the extractor area & all over was a good part of the problem
A clean rifle is a happy rifle

As you wiped off the excess after allowing it to penetrate the metal, I don't see an issue.
Let us know the results of the experiment

[big shrek]

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

I bought a 981T and a 983T Marlin boltaction 22 rifles. the 983T is a 22 magnum.
In your picture above it shows a "wire" in the action.

I'd have to go look but one of the two rifles does not have a wire in the action.

Why does Marlin use a wire for one and not the other ? When I saw the wire after buying the rifle I took a pair of wire cutters and started to cut that stupid wire.

Just when I was about to cut it I thought I better ask someone. I found out it was suppose to be there.

I can't help wonder why one model has that wire and the other does not.

Because one is a Magnum and the other is not

[big shrek]

I must also mention that the same thing goes for 989M2's as well...

Beautiful on the outside, chock-full of GUNK on the Inside...bleah

I'd like to find the original owner and...

Oh well, gave me something to do while the Tropical Storm made it an Inside-kinda-day.

[jerry]

Clean gun, good concept.