Maverick 88 stuck dowel rod

P

PaddyWhacked

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I am an owner of a Maverick Model 88 and I have an issue with my magazine tube/dowel plug. The wooden dowel plug on the inside of my magazine tube is wedged between the side of magazine and the spring, and now the spring is bound up, so I can no longer load any shells into the magazine. Any and all attempts to remove the magazine tube to unbind the spring have failed. I've tried strap wrenches, wrapping the magazine tube in duct tape and using channel locks and heating the tube where it meets the receiver. I am extremely frustrated at this point and I'm at my wit's end. I had plans on going squirrel hunting this weekend, but now it looks like those plans have changed. Any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
 
try this..

go to hardware store (old fashion type), see if they have various sdiamters of steel wire/round stock.
What you going try, is to form a hook is the purchase round stock and ease it thru the threaded hole of the mag tube (where the barrel get secured), you'll attempt to feel where spring and dowel are fixed and then attempt to pull the spring up toward you to loosen the dowel, causing it to drop back inside the spring, allowing it to shake out thru that threaded hole.

You might also try and feel the dowel end and push on it.

action should be in a vertical position.

once dowel is out, throw it away after you make a replacement using threaded stock (all-thread) cut to length , with cross slot on one end. thread into mag, down enough to secure barrel screw. take off barrel count out the number of threads and apply medium loc-tite and re-assemble.
 
While a can is 4-5 bucks and you need only 1/64th ounce I would buy PB Blaster from auto parts house. Barely piddle a few drops onto mag tube and receiver joint. Let it sit a spell pointed up. when you take the strap wrench to it again look for bubbles indicating some PB is working into the threads.
It is a bi metal connection so it is easy for them to be well bonded as well as some loc-tite having possibly been used.
Brent
 
Thanks for your suggestions, but it seems a new problem has come to light. After posting that last night, I gave up and tried to reassemble it for use as a single shot at least through the weekend. I'm not sure why, but now my pump won't slide back onto the magazine tube all the way. The metal arms that slide into the receiver are getting stuck inside just before the point where I can put the bolt slide plate back in. I can see where they have rubbed bluing off of the metal inside the receiver in their tracks. No pump means no open action means ruined shotgun. I've tried to get in touch with Mossberg over the issue both through email and phone calls, but haven't been able to reach anyone. I didn't mess with the receiver at all, and there is still some play in the metal arms, so all I can figure is that I must have bent the magazine tube maybe a sixteenth of an inch or so and it's causing too much downward pressure on the arms when I'm trying to feed them though. Other than that I have no idea. Has anyone else seen anything like this before?
 
Many of the problems that come up in normal use with a tubular magazine fed shotgun, arise in the magazine itself. That's why I prefer designs with a straight through clean-out type magazine arrangement. Mossberg makes them now, and as far as I know they will fit the Maverick. If I were going to rebuild that 88, I'd put that sort of magazine tube on it, assuming it were possible. Of course that means buying a new barrel too, but you can sell the old barrel and recoup at least some of the expense.

JMHO, YMMV.

lpl
 
I'm really hoping the magazine is the issue. I'm going to send it into Mossberg as soon as I can find a decent shipping container. I called around to a few of the local smiths and armorers and was told that Mossberg doesn't charge, even if the 1 year warranty on my Maverick is up. I'd love to change out the magazine and I want a new barrel anyways. I was planning on chopping the on on there down to 18.5", buying a new 28" for squirrel and game birds, putting a grip pump on it along with a folding pistol grip and calling it my kill anything hybrid. lol Sounds like those plans are down the tubes for now. I just don't understand why they felt it was necessary to seal the magazine to the receiver. That seems a little counterproductive to maintaining your shotgun.
 
I had some troubles with my 500 as well... i had a broken steel cleaning rod laying around you know "just in case" and i simply cut it to the same length as the dowel in there and threw the dowel out.

Problem solved. Most of the time i run plugless anyway though... pigeons, muskrats and other critters do not require the use of a plug. It goes in for Goose and Duck season and then comes back out for the rest of the year.
 
I would have replaced the dowel had I been able to get it out. I've got a couple of arrow shafts with the fletchings torn off just aching to be used as impromptu plugs.
 
There needs to be downward force applied to the slide arms when you're trying to push it into the receiver because there is a drop in the tracks that they run through. Unfortunately my problem occurs after that. About a 1/4" past where downward force needs to be applied they stick like they don't have enough clearance to push all the way through.
 
Stuck Dowel Rod

I have the exact problem with a Maverick 88 model I bought last December. When ejecting a chambered round it fails to load a second round. Noticed the follower spring does not have enough tension, when removing barrel I can see the rod is on the outside of the spring. I have attempted to remove the magazine tube but it is seized. I brought it to a friend who is a gunsmith and he said it looks as if the tube screws in to the action body, is this correct? He said it appears to be the same as the Mossberg 500 model. What is the best way to repair this? Will the Wolfe spring work for this gun also? Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Yes the wolf is the same for the 500 or 88...

Here is the last ditch effort for the tube...

strip the gun totally of stocks and inner parts...
Put receiver and mag tube in oven at 225-250... while it is heating put some ice cubes in a damp rag and return to freezer.
Pull out the gun and immediately quench the tube at the threads.
It should shrink it and break loose corrosion and loctite.
Brent
 
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