The ejector spring in my 870 (old 12ga 3" express) is pretty much FUBAR. It stovepipes 3 out of 4 empties. I know it's misshapen, but it's not broken, can someone post pics of what it should look like? If I can, I want to try to bend it back to where it should be until I can fix it properly.

How difficult is it to replace? I see Brownell's has a rivet cutter for use in a drill press, but the only drill press I have access to is in my school's machine shop. I don't know for sure, but I imagine they'd be ...upset if I brought a shotgun receiver in. Is there a way to get the rivets out without having to use a drill press? I'm not worried about the gun's finish. It's older than I am and pretty beat up already, so new scratches won't bother me. If anything, it'll add more motivation to paint it.

Thanks.

To replace it is a gunsmith job. Even then the easiness depends on if there's enough material left around where the rivet was to install a new ejector. More than likely all you will have to do to fix your is simply bend it back by holding down the ejector to the immediate right of the rivet and then gently bending the end of the ejector back into place.

 

Yea, I googled some images of the spring itself and tried to bend mine back to what they looked like and it seems to eject live rounds reliably, but I don't have any empty hulls to try it with.

I also called the local gunsmith and he said that he could do it, but it would run about $100 and take a while (apparently everyone waits until dove season starts to fix their shotguns ). It's going to be hard for me to spend $100 on a $150 gun if I can avoid it.

I have a brand new Express receiver I'll sell you for $175 shipped to your FFL. It has no magazine "dimples". Serial number begins with RS and ends with an A.

Gravity covered it.  If you know what you are doing and get lucky there will be enough material to install a new spring with out having to replace the rivet.   If you have to replace the rivet it is not a major issue if you can deal with a bare rivet that is not flush the receiver.  well that and knowing how to remove it. You can dab the rivet with cold blue but it will sticking out some.   I have to grind them down and only replace them on receivers that I am refinishing.  I am replacing an broken ejector housing tomorrow on a PD weapon and will install a new spring at the same time and after a few dozen of these jobs I still hate it.   Unless you have done this before it may very well be better to let a gun smith do it.   If he was straight with you he would have told you that it could take him 5 minutes if he got lucky and there was enough material to stake a new spring on and if so he would adjust that rate.   That is what I tell customers.  I am batting about 50% for replacing springs without having to replace rivets.  

Yeah, this is the same gunsmith that told me that it would take him several hours to restake the shell stops . I drove an hour to go to the other guy, and he completely ignored the problem I was having and told me my gun was junk.

It'd be nice to have a decent smith around here.

ETA: Thanks for the info, guys. Guess I'll pay to get it fixed.

I have gotten 870's in that most would send to the scrap pile and they leave here so good they could be put in any gun shop rack and a guy would think he was holding a new 870P until  he looks at the receiver and sees Wingmaster or Express or a 10 year old serial number on a P model.   This is because the only way to kill and 870 is to melt it down with a blow torch.   So if he told you that he is not much of a gun smith.  If he also sells gun he was trying to make a new sale.  Avoid that guy.

Oh believe me, he pissed me off pretty good when I got talked down to. I knew what the problem was and I knew how to fix it, I just didn't have the tools. He won't see a penny of my money.

I do wish I could find someone like you closer.

What a crap gunsmith. Even the most beat up 870s are usually still quite functional.



 

That's about my success rate too. Really depends upon how much excess metal was on that original rivet to start with.

I built a new jig for this and just had the easiest install on an Ejecttor housing and spring I have ever done.   I am really kind of chicken shit as I will only do this on receivers I am refinishing but with my new jig I could do it on a new receiver.  The rivets come in a matte finish now so I could get away with it.  If doing a Wingmaster I would use the bare rivets and just cold blue them.  Not perfect but beats having to refinish a like new receiver just because the F'en tip of the Ejector housing broke off.  

I also would like Remington to do a modification of some sort to the issue of the ejector housing holding the barrel in place.  It would be a lot of work for them to change the design but well worth it.  They can simply modify it to the same type of design as the 11-87 where the barrel slips over a stud and guides it to the barrel stop.  the stud keeps the barrel from turning.  They don't have to use it like a guide they can just have a stud against the the barrel stop for the knotch in the barrel instead of using the ejector housing.

Am I so simple that I am over simplifying this and not seeing something?

On a related question...

Why do the guns built on the standard 870 receiver use the ejector spring - but the 20ga guns on the smaller frame do not use the spring?

The ejctor spring is simply a spacer due to the width of the receiver.  The 20ga receiver is narrower so one is not needed.  I had to aske that one at the factory 'cause it puzzeld me.