Hey all,

I've had my Marlin 444S for about 20 years now and I've been meaning to try to do something about polishing some of the edges off on the action parts. It always has really skived up the brass when fed through the action.

I've gone as far as removing the lever and bolt to clean the barrel from the breach end in the past. Was just wondering how much of a project it is for doing further disassembly to smooth some rough edges down on say the shell carrier and such? Is this a 450 springs all over the place job?

I'm game for it but, am seeking a little perspective from somebody who has done this before.

Thanks!



:cool:

Hi,Contender:
* It's been a while, but I'll try. I'll start with the bolt for the benefit of anyone who hasn't got that far.

* Open the bolt half way. *Remove the lever pivot screw and pull out the lever. Pull the bolt out. The ejector is now lying loose in it's slot on the left side of the receiver. Take it out. Tweezers help if you've got big fingers.

* You'll probably want to take everything off the front end before you start on the action. Pull the magazine tube before you remove the forestock. The magazine spring could go boing on you if you don't hold the magazine tube plug(end cap)in when you take out the screw. The screw through the front barrel band holds the tube in. It goes though a notch in the tube, so take it right out before you pull the tube.

* Push up the lever safety, which is the little button behind the trigger, and lower the hammer. Remove the tang screw and pull off the buttstock. You'll see a curved piece that the hammer strut goes through and it tensions the hammer spring (pardon my grammar). Marlin calls it the hammer spring adjusting plate. Push it ahead at the top and slip it out of the notch in the bottom tang. Pull it and the hammer spring off.

* *Remove the lower back screw on the right side of the receiver. The hammer pivots on it and I forget if you can wiggle the trigger out the top at this point. Remove the screw on the left side of the receiver and the screw on the bottom front of the receiver. They aren't the same length and I think the long one goes in the bottom. Be sure to check.

* *Pull the trigger plate down by the tang, then back. It's the whole bottom of the gun. Mine's pretty tight, and takes a real tug. All the trigger parts and the spring are pinned to the trigger plate and shouldn't fly loose. Take out the hammer, if you haven't already. Take out the locking bolt, if it hasn't fallen out. Take out the larger screw on the right side of the receiver. It's the carrier screw. Take out the carrier. I didn't take the carrier rocker out of the side of the carrier. Done, unless I've missed something. Oh yeah, the little screw on the right side holds the loading spring (gate).

* Re-assemble in reverse order. I had to give the back of the tang a rap with a plastic hammer to get the trigger plate back in place. Don't force the screws back in, because the trigger plate isn't in right if they don't drop in the holes. Put the magazine follower in before you put the front barrel band screw in. The ejector has a small stud that goes through a hole in the left side of the receiver. This hole will be covered if you've got a side mounted peep sight. Hold the ejector in place with a finger tip when you slide the bolt in.

Bye
Jack


(Edited by Jack Monteith at 9:51 am on Mar. 26, 2001)


(Edited by Jack Monteith at 9:40 pm on Mar. 27, 2001)


(Edited by Jack Monteith at 9:43 pm on Mar. 27, 2001)

Thanks very much Jack for taking the time to type this out!

I'm going to print it out and study it a bit before tackling this one.

Glad I have a Gunsmith Screwdriver set!


Regards


:cool:

Hi, Contender:
  I've got a couple of dummy shells for my .35 Remington that have been run though at least a hundred times and they're not scratched, just faint marks on them. The shell just sits on the carrier, it's not clamped. So I think it would take a really bad burr there to scratch them. I'd check the inside front corner of the loading port. It might be an idea to paint a dummy shell with a marker and run it through before you disassemble the gun.

  My gun was filthy when I bought it. It looked like it was left out in a couple of prairie dust storms. (If you've never been caught in one, you're lucky.) It's easier for the dirt to get into a Marlin than get out, and I can't see how you could clean out the bottom of the action without disassembling it. Besides, a drop of oil where it's needed is better than hosing it with Outers Tri-lube and letting it drip-dry. I'm not knocking Tri-Lube, it's great stuff if you use it right.  

Bye
Jack

From the picture of the loading gate, I believe;
1. The round coming out of the mag jammed on the loose loading gate.
2. As you continued to work the lever, the lifter tried to lift the jammed cartridge, which really jammed it.
3. I don't believe this had anything to do with the type of ammo, but the loose gate.
4. As soon as the lever comes out, the lifter is free to drop all the way, and let the round through, in either direction, as you described. Go back and look at the cross section picture, and you can see the lifter in the fully down position, letting in a new round. Then look at the closeup of the loading gate, and you can see it is clearly what jammed the round, on the way in.
Maybe a loose screw, or weak spring (part of the gate). When closed, the gate should come up into the port enough to be out of the way of the entering cartridge. There should be no discernable side play.
Humpty

__________________
Humpty
dandunphy@pcisys.net
SASS 43560