Rossi Rifleman

Maybe a newb question here, but I've read on here about Akuser and others removing the lever detent and cutting a link or two out of the spring to make the lever close a little easier. I've polished the snot out of the detent and the reciever where the detent passes through. It made it a little smoother, but there's still a decent amount of force needed to overcome the lever detent and I'm wanting to fix that.

I looked in the hole opposite the detent and it looks like there's threads cut into the hole. I tried pushing the detent in and tapping the pin (I think it's a retaining pin) but no dice. Maybe I need to push the pin in further? I just want to make sure I'm doing it right before I add a little more force. I appreciate any instructions.

I'm not 100% on what your speaking of as a detent is an impression on something left to catch an opposing protruding mechanism. I'm assuming your speaking of the lever friction stud?
number 45 is the lever friction stud, 46 is the friction spring, 47 is the holding pin. the holding pin is is knocked out same as all holding pins in firearms. I haven't had much sleep in 56 hours so I'm fuzy but trying here it should drive out from right to left and install the same way but reversed. I also know many including me have incorrectly called this the lever detent. I'm just trying to clarify that your not speaking of something else

There is also the lifter detent pin and the detent cut in the cartridge guide (.357/.38) or inside of the receiver wall (.44/.45 versions).

quite frankly if you've polished the lever friction stud / detent pin and the notch it fits in I'd probably leave well enough alone unless it is really tough to pop out of place. I have seen a Marlin that did not move freely and needed some corrective action but in general I want there to be a slight snap into place with the leve as I don't want it falling under it's own weight.

Lever Friction Stud (57), Spring (58), and Pin (59) are from my Owner's Manual. I've had them out on all five of my rifles. I believe it took complete compression. I removed them just to clean that hole. On all the rifles, it was packed with old, hardened shipping grease. The stud worked fine after cleaning, I did not trim the spring.

Lever friction stud was what I was referring to (sorry still new with the terminology - maybe that's why nothing showed up in my forum search) . Ak and RD, thanks for the helpful pictures and instructions. I think I may have been trying to drive out the pin from the wrong direction at first. And Archer, I wasn't 100% on trimming the spring, I had just read about it being done. I wanted to get in there and see what crud I could clean out and maybe try and polish it a little. Hopefully I can have the same experience that Ranch Dog had.
Part of that final push is the extractor spring compressing too so I may look for a lighter one of those too. Anyway, thanks for the instruction - and AK, get some sleep man!

ryjo, keep us posted I've caught up on sleep . As RD said to knock the pin out it comes out a tad easier if you compress the lever friction stud in as it has a locking pin notch in it and can cause the lock pin to be harder to knock out.

Got the pin out (it helps if you drive the pin in the right direction ). But there didn't seem to be too much gunk in there. The lever friction stud itself seemed to be smooth with no burrs. I polished it a bit but it was already pretty smooth. Still debating whether to alter the spring.

Which direction do you drive the spring out? I have the spring from the gunslinger kit I want to install..
It's really stuff the detent.

bugsbunny45 wrote:Which direction do you drive the spring out?

It doesn't matter. As I remember it is fully compressed or very close to it, just need to center the detent that the pin passes through. If it is full of crud, it is hard to depress. Get some light oil around it and let it sit.

I am trying to install my gunslinger spring kit. It's the spring thst holds the part that keeps the clever closed.