model 1100 won't fire

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BRvalley

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I picked up a well used Remington model 1100 a while back, it would fire fine but wouldn't cycle....took it apart and no O ring....ordered a new piston seal kit, took the gun apart for a cleaning and reassembled with new piston seal and O ring...now it won't fire...I didn't touch anything in the trigger group, blast of cleaner, blast of air, small spray of lube and popped it back in the gun

not an expert but fairly inclined, and no local gunsmiths so hoping I can learn something and fix on my own...it did fire half a box before I disassembled, so I'm sure I missed something...the bolt is in the full forward position when a shell is chambered, I double checked the piston/seal was assembled properly...it seems like the hammer isn't hitting the firing pin with enough force maybe?

my second issue, the shells are very hard to feed into the magazine, and they get wedged 3/4 of the way into the magazine tube...once they are in, if I cycle the bolt manually the shells feed fine into the chamber...but very hard to feed into the magazine tube...I took the spring out and checked for debris or anything, but they are equally hard to load, it seems like the angle of the carrier ramp is causing the issue?

anything obvious I'm missing here?





 
Is that new gas piston installed the right way? Because if it is not, the piston sleeve/bolt assembly won't be fully forward and will cause those issues. The new style piston is a one piece system...you need to remove both the old piston and ring before installing the new one.
 
I believe I have it installed correctly...the flat side of larger ring facing the rear

and yes, old piston and ring removed

 
I have never seen that new one piece system as it has been years since I owned and shot an 1100 but on the old system the grooved side of the piston ring always pointed into the barrel lug with the rubber o-ring positioned between the piston ring and the barrel lug.
 
I just came across this comment online:

"Oh, he forgot to mention that the two piston seal pieces need to be snapped together before installing. If it's not done correctly, the firing pin won't hit the primer of the shell."

It sounds like this is potentially causing both of my issues, I did not snap the 2 pieces together (no instructions from Remington came with the parts, and no mention in the owners manual that I read)

I might also bring the old piston seal to the range, and if I can't get the new seal to fire, try the old parts again
 
Stick with the old pistons parts and new O ring. The pic indicates minimal wear to your mag tube so the gun has reasonably low rounds through it. The new ring set ups don't work well with the older 1100's. Make sure the old O ring is not mashed up in the barrel ring ahead of the ports. Resolve these issues and you should be OK. I agree with VLT79 that the action sleeve is not moving forward enough.

Darryl (confirmed model 1100 lover)
 
madtrapper143 said:
Stick with the old pistons parts and new O ring. The pic indicates minimal wear to your mag tube so the gun has reasonably low rounds through it. The new ring set ups don't work well with the older 1100's. Make sure the old O ring is not mashed up in the barrel ring ahead of the ports. Resolve these issues and you should be OK. I agree with VLT79 that the action sleeve is not moving forward enough.

Darryl (confirmed model 1100 lover)
Click to expand...

the old O ring is definitely not in the barrel ring, I did check for that

I will try both old and new piston rings.....just curious to know why the new rings don't work well with older 1100's?

I haven't tried to date the gun yet, but it came with a marlin 60 that dated to 1984, and apparently he owned both guns for quite a long time, so I'm assuming similar age with the 1100
 
The new ring set ups are like anything else just not as well engineered or manufactured. Older 1100 mag tubes exhibit minimal wear the older two piece rings seated better on the tube to achieve gas seal. Keep the splits in the rings opposite to prevent leaks. Older guns were designed to use two rings newer ones were manufactured to work with the snap together rings. That's why I would use the older ring set up.

P.S. what is the prefix letter of your ser# ? that will date the gun.

Darryl
 
madtrapper143 said:
The new ring set ups are like anything else just not as well engineered or manufactured. Older 1100 mag tubes exhibit minimal wear the older two piece rings seated better on the tube to achieve gas seal. Keep the splits in the rings opposite to prevent leaks. Older guns were designed to use two rings newer ones were manufactured to work with the snap together rings. That's why I would use the older ring set up.

P.S. what is the prefix letter of your ser# ? that will date the gun.

Darryl
Click to expand...

That makes two of us. I agree with you 100%
The old design causes the taper of the forward piece to expand the sealing ring creating a better sealing action which helps with lighter loads and produces way less less contamination on the mag tube, etc. That shows up pretty clear especially when trying to clean the 2nd design
What is wrong with the old style. I have never had an issue with them and shooting many 1100's since the late 60's
Cheers
 
any help with dating the SN? from what I've read online, the M possibly indicates 1965, 1974 or 1992...

I'd guess 92 but not sure how to confirm this with certainty

and the V indicates standard action
 
1974 or there about. The letter designation often indicates a range of 2 to 3 years. There is a barrel code also but it only gives the age of the barrel which could have been swapped out over the years.

Darryl
 
Your gas piston is upside down!!! Flip it around and it will slide further into the gas chamber, allowing everything else to operate normally!

Edit: with the ring snapped into place you should have a 2 diameter assembly. The smaller end fits into the gas chamber.
 
If your 1100 is that old and will not function with steel shot shells, the ports in the barrel are probably too small. I went through exactly what you have with my 1100 and after consulting the book, The Remington M870 and M1100/M11-87 Shotguns, A Shop Manual, by Jerry Kuhnhausen I opened up the barrel ports to what he said and it runs fine with steel shells now, though it is not recommended that you shoot lead shells thorugh it once the ports are opened up.
 
Success!!

ran through 2 boxes last night, functioned perfectly...I plan to go back soon and try the old piston assembly

will try out some steel shot as well, it won`t be my duck gun so not overly worried if it doesn't cycle steel
 
VLT79 said:
Your gas piston is upside down!!! Flip it around and it will slide further into the gas chamber, allowing everything else to operate normally!

Edit: with the ring snapped into place you should have a 2 diameter assembly. The smaller end fits into the gas chamber.
Click to expand...

you were right, thanks...I was missing the snapping together part, so out of frustration I tried flipping it around a few times....Remington could have saved some headache with some quick instructions on the packaging lol, but I know for next time

cheers
 
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