Rem sportsman 58 "locking block"

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Wenty

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Hello...been a lurker for a while, great site with knowledgable folks!!

Looking for a little help. A bud had his sportsman 58 lock up SOLID. Asked if I could take a look...took a while but finally did it get it broke down. What a pita that was. I found the ears on the locking block had sheared off which didn't allow the block to drop and allow free operation of the action.

I've searched the net over for parts schematics/breakdowns...had a tough time, did find one but it didn't have any PN's. I did find that many of the parts are interchangable between the 85/870/1100/11-87. Is the locking block interchangable with any of the above models? Or, does anyone have a line on a 58 locking block? Not much out there I could find on 58 parts. Any help is much appreciated. I'd like to get it going for them.

Wenty
 
Now, how in the heck did I miss that??? I was at Numrich!:banghead: Thank you...part is ordered!
 
I'd be curious why the ears broke off. Make sure the friction piston rings are good and there is no oil on the tube.


NCsmitty
 
Here's a pic...interested in thoughts. I'm pretty thorough, but don't want to overlook something.

My initial thought when I started the disassembly...holy #### is this thing dirty...although dirty isn't the right term. It was so far beyond gummed up...it had turned to a hard layer, to the point the solvent wasn't cutting it, it needed the pik to even make a dent...brass brush wouldn't cut it!!! The gas ports on the piston...one of them was completely sealed up. The low base port on the mag cap was competely sealed shut and the high base ports were sealed up about 1/4 of their normal size. Took a entire bottle of hopps to get it "cleaned"...and it still needs a once over. It was that bad!! I've torn down many guns, some pretty dirty...this was different, never seen anything like it! Disapointing really!

My thought after seeing how bad it was...the plugged up, rock hard carbon build up on the mag cap ports and piston ports caused a blowback that was jarring enough to cause the problem. That, and, or, the dial on the cap was between the high and low causing enough blowback to cause the damage. If those ports were that plugged up over time and lots of rounds, I think it would cause some pretty jarring recoil/ blowback...more than the already fatigued metal could take.

I did a thorough mechanical inspection....beyond the locking block, everything else looks to be on "OK" shape. Besides the rails in the reciever being worn. The piston ring looks/feels to be making a decent seal...worn, yes...but I don't believe worn to the point it's not doing it's job, still has plenty of spring to it.

Thoughts?
 

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It does appear that you are being thorough with the repair and rebuild. I believe this was Remington's first attempt at a gas operated shotgun, and it actually works pretty good, but is prone to powder and debris build up, like you described. Plugged or restricted ports can stress the action to the point of breakage if it's shot enough in that condition.

I have replaced a firing pin and spring on one not too long ago, and that one was also built up with debris in the receiver.
Parts for these old guns are getting harder and more expensive to find, so good luck.



NCsmitty
 
The 58 was basically a self loading 870. Try the block from one. Barrels, bolts (early models), and trigger plates will interchange. Obviously, the 870 barrel does not have gas ports, but ports can be drilled and the barrel will work.
 
If you haven't gotten all of the crud/crap cleaned off of that smoke stick, just get some cheap brake cleaner and hose the parts down. I had an older Rem. #31 .22 that was like that, sprayed it into the bolt, and the crud just ran out of it! I know you'll oil parts before assembly, but this cleaner definitely does the trick! Good luck!
 
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