Slide Assembly Loose Play.

Remington 870 Repair and Gunsmithing.
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Smoke-pole
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Slide Assembly Loose Play.

Post by Smoke-pole » Fri Oct 13, 2017 2:30 am

My 870 LW, chambered for 3" 20ga shells, seems to have a lot free play between between the slider assembly (diagram no. 57, according to some older exploded views) and the receiver grooves. My concern is that the "wings" on the part will soon wear down due to the lack of overlap between the slider and the receiver lands. While most of the force applied is lateral, the slider gets pushed upwards when it rides over the hammer during the cocking phase. Has this been a problem to any of you 870ers?
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Synchronizor
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Re: Slide Assembly Loose Play.

Post by Synchronizor » Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:30 am

It's a little hard to understand exactly what you're describing. Can you upload a picture?

Smoke-pole
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Re: Slide Assembly Loose Play.

Post by Smoke-pole » Fri Oct 20, 2017 3:08 am

Can't provide a picture, so I'l try again. As you most likely know, the bolt sits on top of a shiny piece of steel. It's called a slider assembly according to some older exploded diagrams, and measures 1" wide x 2 1/4" long. it appears to have been made by furnace brazing two pieces of steel together. Anyway, the slider assembly in turn sits on the forearm pump rails, held in position by some cut-outs machined or stamped into the top of each rail, aft end. The slider is what locks or unlocks the bolt as the forearm is moved back and forth. The top of the slider engages with the bolt latch, and the bottom serves to push the hammer, first rearward, then downward where the hammer can engage with the trigger sear. My concern is that the slider fits loosely in regard to the grooves in the receiver ( the slider shares the grooves into which the forearm rails slide in and out). When placed into the receiver by itself (to check for sticky spots) mine can "wobble" from side to side. In other words, the side-to-side distance in the receiver grooves is maybe .025" wider than the width of the slider. While that might not sound like a big deal, it has me wondering if the slider imparts enough bearing as it engages with the receiver grooves. I'm probably too old to worry about wearing it out, but I'm wondering if maybe somehow a slider assembly from maybe a 28 ga gun was accidentally installed in my 20 gauge ( assuming that a 28 gauge slider is of smaller dimensions, a guess on my part since I've never disassemble a 28.) Smokepole

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Synchronizor
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Re: Slide Assembly Loose Play.

Post by Synchronizor » Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:45 pm

Without being able to look at in person, I really couldn't tell you if you have an issue. If the gun isn't malfunctioning, you're probably just looking at normal manufacturing variances. If you really are concerned though, you could always take it to a qualified gunsmith for inspection. Plenty of folks know how to work on 870s.

Smoke-pole
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Re: Slide Assembly Loose Play.

Post by Smoke-pole » Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:40 pm

Thanks, Synch. The only issue I've had in the years I've owned it is that it would jam when using 3"shells. I'm assuming the jolt that occurred when the magazined shells returned "home" after recoil was enough to overpower the regulator bar. I've since replaced them both, just haven't tried it out yet.

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