Remington 550 reassembly problem

[Gmack]

Remington 550 reassembly problem
Hey folks. I inherited an old Remington 550 (made in 1948) from my Grandpa a few years back and have probably ran about 500 rounds through it since that time. I've neglected tearing it apart and giving it a real good cleaning until yesterday. That puppy was FILTHY!!! So here's the problem, I can't get the bolt to fit back in receiver properly, and here's why...
Well, I got the brilliant idea to remove the sear spring screw (it's the large screw on the bottom of the receiver that just begs to be removed). That screw keeps tension of the sear spring, and the spring fits into a detent in the bottom if the sear.
I found a thread from 2003 posted by "CountryGunsmith" on how to re-install the spring into the sear. I figured that thread would be long dead, so thats why I'm posting a new one. His advise was solid...I removed the bolt, trigger assembly, and the safety. Then I was able to insert the spring into the sear and tighten the screw all the way, keeping the sear in proper spring tension. But that's where my problem begins...
I go ahead and re-install the trigger and safety...but I can't get the the bolt to fit back into the receiver!!!! The sear is blocking the path that the bolt should fit into!
Has anybody had this problem? Can anyone shed a little light on this situation? I have taken everything apart and put it back together 4 times and the problem is the same every time. I can't get the sear out of the way of where the bolt is supposed to fit. I can provide pictures if necessary. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance gang, I'm looking forward to hearin back from ya

 

[powell&hyde]

When re-installing the bolt, make sure you pull the trigger and it should go right in. If it doesn't, make sure the sear and trigger assembly is correctly installed and make sure the little sear spring case engages the sear notch and that the sear spring has pressure against the sear.

 

[Gmack]

Thanks for the responses! Looks like I didn't have the trigger installed correctly (at all) into the little notch it fits into with the sear, which is why the bolt wouldn't fit. The doggone sear was completely blocking the reciever! Oops! So now the challenge is trying to get it to fit. Man, it's tricky! I can get the sear spring screw all the way threaded with the spring seated properly in the sear, but I'm having trouble pushing the sear down far enough to hook the little notch on the trigger assembly. I'll have to keep trying and tinkering with it. I know how I want it to fit, it's just a matter of getting it to fit...Does anyone have any tricks on how to compress the sear with the spring engaged? I just cant get it far enough to attach with the trigger assembly. Thanks alot for the help! It is greatly appreciated!

 

[Gmack]

Update guys! I got her reassembled and working properly. Just had to get the trigger seated properly in with the sear, then the bolt slid in like butter! Thanks for everyone's help!