Marlin Model 60

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Phaetos

Phaetos

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I got one a few weeks ago and took it out last week. Started having soft hits, FTFire, FTE, FTFeed, etc. Figured it was due to it having never been cleaned from the looks of it. I took it down yesterday according to the instructions given http://www.castbullet.com/misc/m60.htm. After putting it back together, the bolt seems to stick just a tad when pulling the charging handle back. It seems stiffer now after cleaning than before when it was all gunky. Also, the safety under the trigger is really tight now. I loosened the screw behind the trigger and it helped some, but it of course made the trigger gropu loose. Also, the trigger pull is stiff now. Not as smooth as it was before. It only goes back together one way, what did I do wrong? Cleaned it?:banghead: :eek:
 
Sorry for the delay .. i lost the thread in here somewhere :uhoh: Yeh I did, used liberal amounts of Hoppes Oil rubbed over all surfaces, then allowed to sit on the metal for about 30 minutes, then excess was wiped off.
 
the outoside of the bolt assy, and the inside of the receiver needs to be dry. the recoil spring and rod needs to be dry, they should all also be nice and smooth and polished. also the forward face of the bolt assy., where it meets the chamber face, that chamber face needs to be really clean and smooth as well, especially where the ejector clip sits into the recess of the chamber face.
 
I've over-oiled my marlin before. It still ran fine. The only problem was that I shot a bunch of cheap remington ammo, and it looked like it was full of crude oil and felt like it was full of sand. Since then I've learned what a light coat of oil is.
 
i would take it apart again and check what you did. its not hard to do. i have a model 60 and 70. both are very similar. have had problems like what you said. most of the time i would take it apart then carefully put it back again. then it would be ok.
 
I had the same problems. Sold it in a couple weeks. The guy at the store insisted the Ruger was a better gun, I just didn't want to listen!
 
I am doing this from memory and my memory isn’t what it used to be so here goes. :(

The Marlin model 60 both old model and new model have an “ejector lifter spring” that has to ride in a notch. If I remember correctly the notch is on the left feed ramp lip. If you open the bolt all the way to the rear you will see the wire tail of the pancake spring poke out from under the bolt on the side opposite the ejection port. If the spring is not in the notch it will cause the bolt to bind. This is a common problem and easily put back in incorrectly. May not be what is going on but worth a shot to disassemble and try again.

If anyone can decipher what I am trying to say and explain it better please help.
 
Thanks guys. I will pull it down again and check that spring too, Lambo. I understand what you mean. If that doens't work, I have a Marlin authorized smith close by to look at it for me.
 
I was ready to toss one in the trash. I called Marlin a week ago and the lady walked me thru the ejector spring as previously suggested. Perfect. They will gladly fix it for you if you want to send it in.
 
I've had 3 Marlin 60s, none of them have ever been reliable. One had the old style ejector. One had the old style which was then replaced with the new style. The other had the new style. I still have those last two - they just sit in the safe due to being utterly unreliable and me not wanting to curse someone else with them.

I bought a CZ 452 and it's been perfect :)
 
It's been my experience in a bit over forty years of using several examples that a Marlin M60 is every bit as functionally reliable as one can reasonably ask a .22 RF semiauto to be IF it is given the proper care.

Correct reassembly, as Lambo119 mentioned, is part of it. The action group on an M60 is also much more complex than those of many other rimfires, mostly due to the feed mechanism required by the tube magazine, and requires some special care to get it thoroughly clean. Flush it out thoroughly and make sure that it is dry and everything moves freely before you lube anything.

On any blow-back rimfire there's going to be a good deal of debris generated. The more moving parts there are involved in the firing cycle, the more it's likely to be adversely affected if the wrong type of lubricant, or too much of any type, grabs the crud and keeps it where it can build-up and turn to goo. IMO, this is the single most common mistake one runs into with M60s and about any other RF semiauto. On all of my several RF semiautos, especially the M60s, I use 'dry' lubes wherever possible and a 'needle' pen to keep any liquid products precisely placed and at the absolute minimum necessary. I've had very good service from Remington Rem DriLube, Hoppe's #9 Dri-Lube with teflon, Kano Dryphite, and Dri-Slide.

Pay particular attention to the extractor. It should move relatively easily and have no 'gritty' feel in it. The recess in the breech face where it rests with the bolt in-battery should also be completely clean and oil-free. I always inspect the nose of the extractor carefully for wear or damage with every cleaning.

Kept reasonably clean, properly lubed and fed with decent ammo your M60 is capable of giving you at least as high a level of functional reliability as any other RF semiauto. With its favorite load many M60s are capable of delivering a level of accuracy far above their modest price.
 
Haha, my experience is completely the opposite of mainmech's. The last time any of my 60s worked at all reliably was when it was very dirty. I took it apart and cleaned it very well, put it back together, and it was back to jamming every other round. And yes, I do know how to assemble them correctly.
 
You could send one back to Marlin. If it is indeed clean, properly lubricated and assembled then you must have some sort of mechanical issue which they should take care of for you. If you purchased it new, it might well be handled under the warranty. Heck, you might not even have to ship it to the factory, as there's a large list of factory authorized service shops in every owner's manual.

If that's not worth your time or trouble, you could take Lambo up on his offer without having to compromise your altruistic principles in the least. :rolleyes:
 
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