Remington 1100 gas system

[fatdaddycoe]

I am trying to change the gas system on my older Remington 1100 (1980s era) and am a little nervous about doing it. In referring to the blow-up diagram in the manual it appears as if you simply slide the piston seal assembly and then the barrel seal over the magazine tube, but no real specifics are given in terms of measurements for placement. Is it as easy as it looks? I hate to sound like a rube, but this gun is new to me and I have not yet shot it. My previous experience is really primarily with pistols and what little experience I do have regarding shotguns is with pump-actions. I don't want to mess anything up and I don't want it to blow up in my hands.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Pete409]

Yep. It's as simple as it looks.

With the barrel off and the bolt assembly locked to the rear, simply slide on the one piece or two piece piston seal assembly as far as it will go. Then slide the barrel seal (O-ring) on the magazine tube until it stops in the depressed "ring" on the mag tube.

Then just assemble the barrel and forend as usual.

The piston seal will slide back and forth on the mag tube when the gun is fired. BTW, it's best to lube the outside of the mag tube with a light film of gun oil such as Rem Oil or Breakfree CLP. A few drops of gun oil in the receiver on the rails where the action bars slide is also good.

 

[fatdaddycoe]

Thanks a lot Pete409. I sure appreciate it.

 

[oneounceload]

be careful with lube on that tube so you don't get it on the o-ring - most lubes are oil-based, and they will eat that ring quickly

 

[rbernie]

BTW, it's best to lube the outside of the mag tube with a light film of gun oil such as Rem Oil or Breakfree CLP. A few drops of gun oil in the receiver on the rails where the action bars slide is also good.

Mine seem to work best dry, rather than when lubed either heavily or very lightly with CLP. Any oil whatsoever seems to attract carbon faster, and by the end of a long range session the shotgun will start short-stroking on me and the pistol starts dragging on the magazine tube.

 

[Milkmaster]

O-ring sizes for 12 gauge 1100 : #21 viton

Save yourself a little money and get the O-rings at your local hardware or plumbing shop for about $.20 each instead of paying a few dollars each from Remington. Viton lasts a little better and is more oil resistant than buna or plain rubber.

 

[Milkmaster]

Here is a couple of pictures of my 12ga 1100 with the bolt retracted and the barrel pulled out slightly. It shows the oring in the indention and the seal assembly behind it. Maybe this will help you see how it fits together.

 

[Virginian]

Have to agree with rbernie. I squirt everything with RemOil and then wipe it off. Accumulates less soot I think. I don't think the 'O' rings are cheap stuff, since I have only replaced one on 5 different 1100s since 1963. That one got pinched, didn't really deteriorate. WD-40 or RemOil or G-66 sure hasn't hurt them any that I can see. I have plenty of spares though. Neoprene from a local source should work fine. The one of those I have in service is about 22 years old.
P.S. The original '63 came with a metal 'V' shaped cross-section seal ring. Doesn't seal quite as good with real light stuff, but will surely outlive me.

 

[fatdaddycoe]

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it. The pictures are a big help. It never ceases to amaze me what a great learning tool this forum is.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The whole thing with 1100s eating up O rings is a thing of the past. If you think you need to replace it go ahead and never expect to need to again.

 

[Pete409]

By keeping the mag tube wet with Breakfree CLP, it keeps the carbon residue in a liquid suspension. It's easy to wipe it off with a paper towel when cleaning the gun. Then replace with fresh CLP.

When I'm out shooting clays and find someone who is having trouble with their autoloader when it was working fine earlier in the round, about 90% of the time the problem is lack of lubrication.

I always carry a small bottle of gun oil in my shooting bag to lube up the sticky/balky autoloaders. That will usually get them through the round until they get home and take the gun apart and clean off the baked on carbon which was due to shooting the gun dry.

I've found that shooting 1100's dry works OK as long as (A) the gun is well broken in and, (B) the gun is disassembled and cleaned/scrubbed thoroughly after about every 75 shots.

By shooting the 1100 "wet", I've often gone over 400 shots without a cleaning and with no problems whatsoever in functioning. Sometimes it's necessary to add a little more CLP to the mag tube and receiver rails in between cleanings.

Of course, my favorite autoloader is the Beretta 390 and I keep it "wet" too.