Lost rebound spring

[cheryld]

I was cleaning the bolt to my MKIII and when I went to put it back together, the rebound spring that goes into the bolt is no where to be found! Will Ruger be able to replace this part for me? Also, the rebound spring support is quite bent. Is this the way it is supposed to be? If not, could the bend cause ammo to not fire in my gun? I'm just learning about the innards of my gun so please excuse all of the questions. Thanks

[Bullseye]

Yes, Ruger will replace your rebound spring if you call them. The rebound spring support is supposed to be bent. It places the spring up higher on the firing pin and also anchors the other end in the small slot at the bottom of the bolt channel.

I'd take a strong magnet and run around where you took the bolt apart. Good chance you'll find the spring that way. It's pretty small to see by a visual search.

R,
Bullseye

[cheryld]

Ruger is out of stock according to their online store. Brownells has one for the MKI and MKII. Will it fit? Thanks Bullseye. I will try looking for it again with a magnet, but if you could answer my question here I would be very appreciative. Thanks Cheryl

[Bullseye]

Yes, the rebound spring is the same for all models of Ruger 22 Auto.

R,
Bullseye

[cheryld]

Thanks again Bullseye!

[greener]

The way to find the one you lost is to buy a replacement and a spare. When I do that it is a sure fire guarantee that the missing part will exit the dimension it is in and return to this one.

[cheryld]

You must be a mind reader. I ordered 2 from brownells!!

[ronn]

Get an extra spring and support. The support has a habbit of disappearing and the spring often can bend unless you have no spares........then they will last forever.

[ruger22]

Just a little info. The Mark 3 rebound spring is the same as the 10/22's, but the 10/22 does not use the support. A couple months back, the website showed they were out of 10/22 springs, but still had them for the Mark 3 (?). So, I ordered the Mark 3 springs and put them in the 10/22 parts baggie.....

I agree with getting the spring and the support, at least two of each as spares along with the one you need. A good percentage of my parts supply is parts that might escape and hide from me.

[cheryld]

This is good advice. As soon as I get the ones I ordered, I am going to order some extras and make my own "parts bag". Any other things that tend to escape? This was the first time I have taken the Ruger down this far. I did it because I am experiencing a very hight number of failure to fire. Yet, when recycled, they go bang without a problem. Thanks for any advice. Cheryl

[bigfatdave]

The detent balls on the safety lever and bolt-latch (not all models) tend to escape, along with their tiny springs. The trigger-return plunger & spring have a desire to escape as well.

This is why I have an altoids tin with magnets in it handy, and also why I do my detail strips over a big expanse of white paper (I use schematics from work, butcher's paper would work and is fairly cheap).

You could also vacuum in the area you lost the spring, and magnet-sweep the crud from the vac ... sort of a last resort, start with a clean vacuum.

You're still ahead of the game, most people can't clean their guns properly, let alone detail-strip or take down the bolt. The fee for a spring emergency delivery is nothing compared to a gunsmith's fee.

[blue68f100]

The first thing is find a nice large clean place to work, normally my work bench. I use clean paper towels to cover the work space, this makes it easy to see the small parts. This is not on the formal dining area where carpet may be kitchen table ok if no carpet around. When I tear a gun down I put all small parts into a tray that has at least a 1/2" lip, to keep parts from rolling off. Then I remove 1 part at a time as I do my cleaning then put the clean parts on paper towel in another tray. I use syn wheel bearing grease to hold small parts in place, like the safety detent spring and plunger. I do not use grease if it will cause the function to be impaired like the trigger plunger spring. Having spare parts is a good way to insure you will not need/loose them. I do have a small parts kit for all of my guns. The kit includes all parts to do a scheduled maintance service, springs, pins, screws ....

When if comes to working with springs a good trick is to use a clear plastic bag. This way if a parts launches it is contained. Kind of like working in a Lab Glove box.

For locating those stray parts, flash light and magnets are a must have. Stronger the magnet the better.

[greener]

Good advice, blue68f100. Small parts have a habit of falling vertically six inches, turning 90 degrees, moving 3 inches off the edge of the bench and then falling to the floor, somewhere.

[cheryld]

Thanks for the ideas everyone! I live in a very small apartment and am disabled, so it's kind of hard to find a big space to work. I try to use the kitchen table since I don't use it for meals. I usually use a remington mat, but for some reason I didn't this past weekend. So I'm waiting for Brownells to send me a new spring!

[Tigerbeetle]

I put 4 screws on top of a paint can, with the lid rim 1/8th inch high or so. 20 minutes later there were only 3 screws there. No where to be found was the 4th screw on my work bench, garage floor or anywhere else with flashlight, magnet, broom and moving everything carefully all brought into play. I think there is another dimension where small things go.... until you replace it and then they appear side by side.