Marlin 336 help needed

E

easyliven88

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A buddy gave me an extremely rusted/pitted 336 to see what I could do restoration wise. When I received the rifle the action would only open this far, the bolt wouldn’t budge.
After a 24 hour soaking in evaporust I figured it would open after the bath since the rust was removed. Nope, still only opens little bit like in the pic. I’ve never owned a lever action so I’m at a lose as to what’s stopping the bolt from opening. Trigger and hammer work great, loading door is fine.
Is it possible to break down if the lever only opens this much? Thanks for any info that can be provided.


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Put a pin through the strut for the hammer spring and remove it as a unit. De-tensioning it and removing it will allow you to take all the other parts off. Check out U-toob for some video.
 
First of all...make sure the chamber is EMPTY.
Lightly tap the rear of the bolt several times using a plastic hammer while applying a penetrating
solution and work the lever at times during the process.
 
Don't put it in evaporust again. At this point, it is just doing damage by enlarging the pits.

As for the problem: The locking bolt is probably stuck.
Remove the trigger plate.
In the process, you'll also end up removing the hammer, cartridge lifter, finger lever, and associated screws.
Once that stuff is out of the way, you can pull the locking bolt out.

Alternatively:
Hold the action upright (hand-held, not clamped in a vise).
Open the finger lever as far as it will go.
Tap the back of the bolt.
Smack the bottom of the action with a non-marring hammer.
Tap the sides.
Tap the back of the bolt.
Smack the bottom some more.

If the locking bolt can be freed without disassembling the action, this will get the job done.

If not, you must disassemble.
 
I wouldn't tap on the bolt to go forward or back. The vertical moving locking bolts are holding the bolt in place and they have to be lowered (via the lever) so the bolt can move rearward.

I'd go for complete disassembly, but then again, I've done that a bunch of times.
 
All the internals have been remove, and the bolt is still rust frozen in time lol. I’ll hit it with the penetrating oil over night and see if that helps. Thanks for the help fellas.


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Good move. Let the oil do its job.

Now, let's distinguish between bolts. Is it the vertical locking bolts that are frozen in place or the bolt that has the firing pin?
 
Put a brass rod down the bore against the bolt face and smack it with a hammer. Drive the bolt out of the receiver. The brass rod will keep you from damaging the bolt face. The ejector is still in the gun, and the bolt is frozen to the receiver for some reason. My bet is that as soon as the bolt starts to move you will knock it right out of the receiver.
 
That looks terrible.
Hopefully the bolt comes out easily once you break it loose.

I wouldn't tap on the bolt to go forward or back. The vertical moving locking bolts are holding the bolt in place and they have to be lowered (via the lever) so the bolt can move rearward.
Click to expand...
The extractor typically contacts the angled relief cut in the barrel, resulting in rearward pressure of the breech bolt against the locking bolt.
Giving it a little tappy-tap-tap when stuck often makes a difference.
 
After an overnight zap of penetrating oil, I took a wooden dowel and she tapped right out. Thanks for all the help! Now a bolt disassembly, and deep clean.


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Yeah I'd like to know what was in there too. Looked like petrified patches or paper towels... no wonder it was stuck.
 
That nasty looking stuff was a foaming penetrating oil the did nothing lol. It wipes off easily enough, it sounded like a good idea. Nothing like the real deal though….Kroil..


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It's not enlarging them. It's taking the rust out of them and leaving the good metal.
Click to expand...
That is a matter of perspective.
If you like sanding, filing, and grinding a receiver to a completely perfect new surface, in order to reblue, then that may be correct to you.
But if a person understands that a "rusty" surface finish* (red iron oxide) can be converted to bluing (black iron oxide), then there is no need to strip every bit of oxide and enlarge the pitting further.

I really don't understand why it is such uncommon knowledge, that neglected and rusty-looking bluing can be restored by boiling and carding.

*Surface oxide, not scale.
 
Do you know how it came to be so rusted up? Kind of looks like it may have been in a lower temp fire. What did the wood look like?

Not trying to diagnose, just curious how it got so abused.
 
The wood is in great shape, has a nice grain and will have a semi gloss finish with truoil. As usual the rifle was improperly stored for years, hence it’s sad condition.


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People do dumb things.
I have a 336 that was put away in a wet leather scabbard and forgotten about.
The seller had already attacked it with a wire wheel before I bought it. So it'll be reblued when the project is done.

Probably could have been salvaged otherwise. But, since the damage was done, I went full-custom with the project.
By the time the metal work is done, there will not be a single piece of that rifle that I have not reworked, tuned, customized, made from scratch, or designed and had CNC machined.
 
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