Remington 870 ejector spring questions

[SOFDC]

Hi, i'm sorry if this has been covered, my search-fu turned up nothing on this particular problem...

I have a hawk 982, the little chinese 870 that fires 2 3/4 and 3 inchers....but I broke my ejector spring cycling dummy rounds somehow...Sooo...which ejector spring?

Will this: http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=286541 work? Or do the magnum and super magnum springs differ?

Also, shortly before the spring died, it had the strangest feeding problem i've encounted with a pumpgun: The harder I racked the action, the worse it fed. It would kick the next shell approximately 1/4-3/4 inch out of the magazine tube onto the lifter and stop cold. And wait a second. And then maybe boot it out the rest of the way, live ammo or dummies. Problem wasn't as pronounced when racking the action slowly.

Lastly, how in the world is one supposed to mount a front sling swivel on this thing? I had planned to once I got it running again (Note my confidence!) but...I have no idea where to start! I might be able to drill the head off a rivet and replace/restake it just fine, but shotguns in general are not my area of knowledge.

 

[dfariswheel]

It appears the same ejector spring is used for the standard 3" and the 3 1/2" Super Magnum.
Whether the Remington part will fit the Chinese made gun is another question.

You'd be better off ordering the part from the importer.

http://www.iacshotguns.com/

Note also, that replacement of the spring usually requires a special rivet cutting tool to get the old spring off without having to remove the entire assembly.
Replacement required a special staking punch, and you have to do this right or the rivets that enter the receiver from the outside will have to be polished flush and the receiver refinished.
Brownell's sell the special staking and cutter tools.

For your feed problems, disassemble the magazine and check the inside of the tube for rust or fouling. Check the spring for rust or distortion. Check the magazine follower for distortion or breaks.
With the magazine disassembled, use a rod to gently push the follower through the magazine tube to check for any problems.

Check the shell releases in the outer walls of the receiver. These must be staked tightly in place, and have plenty of spring tension. If they seem to be sticky, use a gun scrubber to blast out the under side, dry and spray in some lube.
DO NOT remove the shell releases. They should be staked in place and only removed if they need to be replaced, something seldom ever needed.

To attach a sling swivel, assuming your gun has a standard magazine, drill a hole in the center of the magazine cap, and buy a Remington 870 type sling swivel from Brownell's.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=25742/Product/QD_115_MCS_SWIVEL_SYSTEM

 

[SOFDC]

Magazine checks out, smooth as silk. Shell releases are in place and springy springy. Seems like the shell is getting kicked out of the tube and getting catching on the lifter, and stopping cold.


Understood about the tools, and rivets. They are on the way. I'm going to see if I can troubleshoot this rather than sending it off to someone.

 

[SOFDC]

Well, I realize this is necro-posting, but this thread crossed my mind and I figured I should leave a cautionary tale behind about doing the job onesself, and a very strange technical question.

This really is not a home job sort of deal, While I did solve the last round feed issue with 800 grit paper on a couple rough spots and a Wolff spring I am ashamed to admit there was resulting Bubba from my attempt to replace the ejector spring. There was not enough left of the rivet after the brownells tool in the drill press did the job to allow for a replacement, whether that is my fault entirely (Something I missed? I thought I checked for everything setting up the vice and the tool..) or something to do with the IAC 982 itself or all 870s I don't honestly know.

On a whim, I took it out and decided I wanted to see how far out I could hit a paper plate with a slug, thinking I would have to single load the weapon to do anything. Imagine my great surprise when the hull kicked out farther than my mossberg does with a relatively light pump on the action. It did this every time it was called to do so...it seems to work like it did before as far as extraction and ejection...but that makes no sense. It's no longer my HD gun, but I do wonder...how vital is the ejector spring, really? Is it simply there to reduce potential strain on other parts? (Extractor? Shelf of the ejector spring housing? Kicking the shell out of the reciever when you light stroke the slide?)

Very strange gun.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Well, you made me go look.

Don't have a 982 handy right now but do have a 981 (same basic gun, bead sight instead of ghost rings though). So I checked.

One note before I start here. I have 870s in 20 gauge too, and the 20 gauge Express guns don't have a spring in the ejector. They have a little 'step' at the back of the ejector where the 'hump' of the spring would go if it were a 12 gauge gun and had a spring.

Well, the 12 gauge 981 has the same kind of step at the back of the ejector, on the top, right where the 'hump' of the ejector spring lines up. The 20 gauge guns work with no spring, I don't see why a 12 gauge 981/982 wouldn't as well.

When an ejector spring is replaced, the front rivet has to be replaced as well - see Part # 16 at http://www.urban-armory.com/diagrams/rem870.htm . Drilling out the 'set' part of the rivet that holds the broken ejector spring in place leaves the head of the rivet (on the outside of the receiver) free to fall out or be punched out when a new rivet is to be installed.

Only problem I can think of that might materialize for you at this point is that the front of the ejector could come loose, with no set rivet to hold it in place. The rivet in the back may hold it forever or until the next time you shoot it, I don't know. The bolt helps keep the ejector in place too, until the bolt is all the way back, so that may be a factor.

For future reference, it might work out better in the long run to leave the rivets alone if the ejector spring on another 981/982 breaks...

fwiw,

lpl

 

[Virginian]

Wish I had seen this when first posted; I might have been able to save you a little grief.
One does not have to replace the rivet(s) or the ejector when replacing the ejector spring, or when changing an old 2-3/4" ejector set up to handle 3" shells, on an 870. I know nothing of the Chinese gun. Sounds the same, but I never paid a bit of attention.
There's two ways. First you can carefully pry the old spring off the rivet with a small flat bladed screwdriver. Then trim the rivet gently with a Dremel just enough that the new spring will slide over it, and grind back the step on the ejector if changing to 3" configuration. Then install a new spring over the old rivet and re-rivet things in place. You will need to back up the rivet with a hard surface that will not mar the receiver. A piece of 3/4" clean smooth flat steel covered with a single layer of old sheet works great. A piece of typing paper will work if you are real careful.
Or, you can grind off the inside face of the rivet shank and drill and tap it for a small machine screw. Use some Loctite to keep it there. Either approach is to me preferable to replacing the rivets and having to refinish the receiver.
I have done this successfully on 2 Model 870s and one 28 gauge 1100. Most 870s will eject just fine with no spring, BTW, if you just pull the handle to the rear fast enough to allow the lip on the ejector to kick the hull out.
The shell latches do not have to be staked in place at all, much less firmly, for the action to function fine. The staking is just there to keep them in place when you disassemble the gun. The last one I had come loose, I Superglued it back in place, and that was about 4 years ago and now I don't even remember which one it was. In use, the trigger group and pins keep them in the correct position. Browning doesn't stake theirs; they just advise you to never take it apart.