MedicAJ Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 With increasing regularity, I'm getting a malfunction where a shell gets fed onto the lifter, but the lifer doesn't bring it up far enough for the bolt to strip it into the chamber (the lifter only brings it up halfway). A tap on the lifter from the loading port sends the gun into battery and fixes the malfunction. Thoughts on what is causing this? Magazine tube spring? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPeel Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My son had this issue on his gun where I can't think of it ever happening on mine, and they are setup identically. He finally broke down and gave his trigger group a really good cleaning and lube - problem solved. I hope your trouble is that easy to fix! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openclassterror Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 3 potential issues most likely, others possible but less likely. 1) dirty/ dry. As stated above, the lifter and lifter dog can't be jammed up with crud against the trigger group. Drag on the bolt raceways or the bolt spring from severe grubbiness can also keep the bolt from fully actuating the lifter. 2) lifter spring. Gets weak over time, as it is cycled over a pretty significant percentage of its length. If you have less than 1,000 rounds through the gun, probably not this one though 3) bolt spring. As in (2), not usually the cause unless round counts are climbing. Long story short, start with a thorough cleaning and lube job, and only look beyond that if necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1760yds Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I had the same problem. Assuming a cleaned and lubed gun I'd start with replacing the mag tube spring (around $5 for Nordic Components from Brownells). I run a 12 round tube and it wears springs out really fast. When the spring isn't strong enough it doesn't push shells out fast enough or far enough and they hang up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openclassterror Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 He said the lifter is coming up halfway, so I took that to mean the shell is coming out far enough to trip the shell latch. Generally if the mag spring has gone soft, the shell doesn't depress the latch against the side of the receiver and the lifter stays all the way down. Also, if it the mag spring it usually happens only on the last one or two shells in the magazine. That is something to watch for when diagnosing. Have you noticed if it is random, or only when the mag is almost empty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthyBlagga Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My son had the same problem with his brand new VM Tactical. Eat-off-it clean, well lubed etc.. I changed out a lot of parts for Benelli equivalents, didn't fix the problem. In the end, it was the mainspring (the recoil spring located in the buttstock) that was the culprit... changed out for a new one and the problem went away. Cheap fix (~$5 part). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
openclassterror Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 That would be the bolt spring I was referring to. Surprising that he had a brand new one that wouldn't work. Was it dragging in the tube due to being oversize or kinked, or just weak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthyBlagga Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) That would be the bolt spring I was referring to. Surprising that he had a brand new one that wouldn't work. Was it dragging in the tube due to being oversize or kinked, or just weak? Just weak is my guess... folks are replacing Remington parts with Benelli parts for a reason Edited August 4, 2015 by StealthyBlagga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Sierpina Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 A friend of mine was having a similar issue, he replaced the recoil spring with a Wolff, Benelli + 25% spring, and a Benelli carrier spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therealkoop Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Sounds like the mainspring to me as well. Didnt know there was a higher strength spring available, Ill have to look into that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3guns Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Stealthy: Did you replace your spring for a Benelli version or Versamax spring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCSBarney Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Also consider polishing the day lights out of the lifter and where it contacts the trigger group. That seemed to help after I had the lifter welded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtm Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 There are two places on that interface that will really help, Tom can tell you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthyBlagga Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 Stealthy: Did you replace your spring for a Benelli version or Versamax spring? I got the Remington part and it solved the problem. The Benelli or Wolff part could be better, but for me the Remington replacement did the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicAJ Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Thanks everyone. Gave it a completely teardown, thorough cleaning and lube job. Have a new action spring on the way from Brownells, going to shoot it this week and if the malfunctions keep happening I'll replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbauer67 Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 I had the exact same problem this weekend, with a fairly new gun, 5-600 rounds. So I'm very curious what you discover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicAJ Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 So, a little more info. Haven't done anything else yet except clean and lube. This morning I was doing some dry-fire reloading practice, and I noticed that occasionally I could get the bolt to lock to the rear without pressing the shell catch. A quick tap on the lifter sends it back into battery. This would happen when the shotgun was completely empty, so that rules out the magazine spring. So I'm thinking it actually is the action spring, and it doesn't have enough force to overcome whatever friction there is on the bolt when its in its rearward position. Any more thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicAJ Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Just a little followup. I tore down the entire trigger assembly, removed the lifter, etc. There was a lot of gunk from lube that had attracted dirt and such. Gave the entire group a good cleaning, and now it runs great. Ran about 100 rounds through it yesterday at a match without a single hiccup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayDee Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I'm experiencing a similar issue. Just has the port opened and a welded lifter installed. Occasionally, a round will not make it all the way back onto the lifter. If it hangs up, then the round catches and doesn't chamber. Before this work, the gun ran 100% with all ammo. Now this has happened with remington, federal, AA, etc, so doesn't appear to be an ammo issue. The mag spring is new and should have enough tension. I will try to clean and lube the area where the lifter contracts the trigger group. How would the mainspring affect this part of the gun? Just want to understand before I order parts and start replacing things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Therealkoop Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 The mainspring pushes the bolt forward. The lifter is lifted by the camming action of the carrier dog leg against the bolt. If the mainspring cannot overcome the force required to "cam over" the carrier dog leg, the bolt stays back. Tapping it gives the force required to start the camming action and then the lifter lifts. What you describe doesnt exactly sound like this however. It sounds like your shell is specifically interfering with something in the receiver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhall Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Having the same problem. Will the Wolff extra power action spring for the Benelli drop in fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicAJ Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Having the same problem. Will the Wolff extra power action spring for the Benelli drop in fit? Before you replace the action spring, give the whole trigger group/lifter a full tear-down and cleaning. The gunk from lube attracting dirt, etc was what was causing my problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthyBlagga Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Having the same problem. Will the Wolff extra power action spring for the Benelli drop in fit? Yes - I just tried it. Bolt retraction is noticeably stiffer. The gun still cycles 100% with WalMart Federal bulk pack birdshot when held normally in the shoulder. I did also do a worst-case "limp wristing" test, shooting the gun OFF the shoulder; the gun still cycled and fired fine, but sometimes would not lock open on empty... I don't foresee this as being a problem, and even this should resolve as the spring takes a set. As well as improving bolt closure/feeding, I am hoping this heavier action spring will reduce battering of the gun with hotter (high brass) loads. I am going to change out the action springs in all my guns for the Wolff version, even though the others run 100% with the factory spring. Here is a photo; top = lightly used factory spring, middle = brand new factory spring, bottom = Wolff XP Benelli spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhall Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks. Might try the cleaning but the gun has less than 500 rounds through it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamge Posted September 6, 2015 Share Posted September 6, 2015 Thanks. Might try the cleaning but the gun has less than 500 rounds through it Factory lube is nasty and sticky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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