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Posted: 5/3/2013 5:00:33 PM EDT
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Good Evening All!
I recently purchased a 1903A3. Smith Corona receiver and barrel, Remington bolt (all components). The Remington bolt works flawlessly. I purchased a Smith Corona bolt and it arrived today. It was advertised as new old stock still in grease. The bolt is tighter in the receiver than the Remington bolt and often locks up prior to closing. It was covered in dried, hard grease. I disassembled the bolt and soaked it in mineral spirits, dried and oiled. Afterwards, same problem. Upon inspection, I found the firing pin rod and bolt sleeve are rotating slightly, causing the lug on the firing pin rod to be misaligned with the corresponding groove in the receiver. Any thoughts on how to fix or am I SOL? http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag72/rhpd201/1903A3/1903A3BoltIssue2_zpsb8ffa1a6.jpg http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag72/rhpd201/1903A3/1903A3BoltIssue1_zps47b8e46c.jpg http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag72/rhpd201/1903A3/1903A3BoltIssue4_zpsc8c48077.jpg http://i1299.photobucket.com/albums/ag72/rhpd201/1903A3/1903A3BoltIssue3_zpsa3461ed9.jpg |
I fully disassembled the bolt and soaked it in mineral spirits to dissolve the dried grease. I then rinsed the parts in boiling hot water and finished drying them with my air compressor and reassembled, using RemOil to further clean and lubricate (liberally). The only detents I am aware of are on the bolt sleeve lock and safety lock assembly. The play the bolt sleeve lock allows appears to me to be the same as with my Remington bolt. I wonder if this particular bolt was one that was not accepted at the time of manufacture? Outside of the rifle it seems to be mechanically perfect. The problem is when the bolt is in the rifle and the lug on the firing pin rod fails to line up with the corresponding channel in the bottom of the receiver (see pics). Very perplexing
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| Okay, to further confuse the issue, I have done the following: I swapped the entire firing pin assembly from the Smith Corona bolt to the Remington bolt - it worked flawlessly, as did the Smith Corona bolt with the Remington assembly. I then swapped only the firing pin rods and both bolts worked flawlessly. So, I think the problem is related to the firing pin rod only and only when it is used in the Smith Corona bolt with the BP bolt sleeve. Any expertise to share? |
| You're right about them not being plug and play. The person I bought the SC bolt from was kind enough to send another for me to trade parts with. That firing pin rod wouldn't work either, but when I swapped the bolt sleeve - whalah - it worked. I am up and running but still don't know what problem was with the first SC bolt sleeve. |
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