Remington 1100 maintenance tips

Grouse Man

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Another forum listed some really great longevity tips for the Remington 1100/11-87 autoloaders. It didn't show pictures, though, about what or where these high-wear and friction points were. Hopefully I can add a little information with some pictures.

On the magazine, pistons and cylinders, I use BreakFree CLP and I shoot the gun wet, meaning, sprayed on and not wiped off. Let that stuff soak into the metal. It keeps powder residue in suspension and will simply not bake onto metal. Here's the mag tube after shooting probably 125 rounds.



and here are those same parts with a single wipe with a cloth. No scrubbing or steel wool, just a cloth.



Okay, that's the easy part. Next are some of the places which get hammered. The high-volume shooter who created that other list of longevity tips, suggested using grease as a cushion to reduce vibration and wear on some of these areas. Most of them don't involve moving parts so there's nothing to slow down the action. Here's the inside of the barrel extension. You can see where the locking lug has been riding hard, removing the bluing and actually dimpling the metal. I put a thin layer of grease on this area. (This is a 20 ga. Magnum gun, btw). You can also see that some bluing is missing from the flat part on the bottom of the barrel. That's where the forearm support rests, and a little dab of grease goes there as well.



This is the top of the barrel extension; a little grease here as well as a cushion against vibration.



This is the trigger group, and all it's assorted parts. The topmost piece of black metal (looks like the blade of a hockey stick) will show wear at that very top-most tip. Dab o grease.



You can also see on what is the right side of the lifter, is a large 'ear' that sticks up, near the front of the lifter. That is also another wear point.

Here's the front of the receiver where the foreend support (little wing-shaped little thingie, that sits across the action bars). You can see where the support has bitten into the receiver to make those elongated-"C" marks dimpled into the steel. A little grease on the receiver on each side, again, hopefully providing some cushioning.



This is the action bar assembly, where the bolt rides. Every shiny spot there is from friction. Either very light layer of grease or oil.



This is the inside of the receiver, specifically where the barrel extension seats against a milled edge. That's another area that needs a little grease as it seems to take a pounding.



Even this little handle shows signs of friction wear. Lightly grease up both edges and pop it back in.



Now here's the bolt. Again, it has been sprayed with BF CLP and simply wiped off with a cloth. Almost looks factory new after about 10 seconds of wiping.



And that's it. The rest of the insides I use a very light oil along the action bars where they ride inside the receiver, and CLP on the trigger group parts. The trigger group, when it really gets filthy, I just dunk it in hot soapy water, dry it with compressed air and then a little CLP. I hope this helps. If you have an 1100/11-87, take a look at your gun for these signs of wear and see if you can't slow down the damage process somewhat.
 
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The action return spring in the stock needs an annual break down and cleaning. It is the part that really slows down an 1100 when dirty. With field use it will be full of dust and seeds and what have you. Good post.

Darryl
 
You might wanna add some cleaning tips of the trigger group as a whole too.
While the trigger group doesnt always cause the kind of trouble you are speaking of(carbon, plastic build up)
You are already there and an old tooth brush and some really hot water and simple green soap does wonders to clean
up that simple and easy to clean trigger groups with little dis-assembly.
Thanks again for taking the time to take pictures and post with your tips,
Rob
 
For Remington trigger groups I simply hit them with that canned power blast citrus stuff, works great
Then I lube the areas pretty much as described.
It is AMAZING how stuff can get into the butt stock area and clog up the works in there!!
Cat
 
I have had 1100's since the late 60's and never had problems with them. One thing Remington always said was keep the gas system clean and DRY. When wet like you recommend it will gather dirt /burned powder very fast, and cause trouble.
The Gas cylinder/ piston and seal should be cleaned with solvent that flashes dry, like break clean, and kept dry so it does not collect dirt. This has worked for over 40 years, and 3 1100's.
 
I have had 1100's since the late 60's and never had problems with them. One thing Remington always said was keep the gas system clean and DRY. When wet like you recommend it will gather dirt /burned powder very fast, and cause trouble.
The Gas cylinder/ piston and seal should be cleaned with solvent that flashes dry, like break clean, and kept dry so it does not collect dirt. This has worked for over 40 years, and 3 1100's.

Funny you mention that. My vintage ones also work better dry but the new style with the 1187 gas system,those work much better wet.
Like you my 1st one was mid 60's and quickly grew to eight over night (two 4 ga skeet sets) and a box of parts.
I clean mine after every outing , a total strip down regardless if I fire 25 rounds or 250 that day so maybe that is why the dry works for me.
I still own lets say more than a dozen of them.:)

Excellent write up grouse man. Thanks for sharing
 
Grouse Man,

Interesting write-up. Thanks for posting. I've been shooting 1100s/11-87s for better than 40 years now.
 
Funny this comes up. I broke an action bar today on my 1100. Don't eject spent shells worth a damn right now lol. But a fellow cgn member is helping me out with the fix. This is truly a great forum
 
The nut holding the butt stock on has a bigger slot that my biggest screwdriver, it is on tight. I'll have to stop by Princess Auto to see what fits better, before I can inspect and clean the bolt return spring. So clearly, it's never been cleaned. More pics coming! I'm interested to see what sort of gunk is in that tube after 35+ish years.
 
The nut holding the butt stock on has a bigger slot that my biggest screwdriver, it is on tight. I'll have to stop by Princess Auto to see what fits better, before I can inspect and clean the bolt return spring. So clearly, it's never been cleaned. More pics coming! I'm interested to see what sort of gunk is in that tube after 35+ish years.

Just a comment the large one I use has a hex shaft with flats which hold the vice grips real well and work perfectly to free up these old nuts. Many will not turn after 35 years with out that extra leverage the grips provide.
 
If you can find it, get a drag link socket for a 3/8 drive. If i wasnt on my phone i'd link a picture. Google image it to see what one looks like.

You may need to go somewhere other than Princess Auto though to get one
 
Needed a BF screwdriver to get that end cap off. I pulled the spring out, and surprise surprise! It was very clean! This is how it looked after being pulled out.



IIRC the length of the spring should be 14.5", and it was just shy of that mark by 1/8". The inside of the tube was also quite clean. As you can see, it's not a hex nut at all, only a thick, wide flat blade screwdriver will work. And yes, vice grips on the shaft apply the needed torque. The wooden dowel was not in the tube. It's what I used to push in the silver-coloured plug to release the tension on the retaining pin.



Just to add a note of caution when removing that butt stock cap. Since it could have been on for 35+ years, it may have some corrosion in the threads. Squirt some quality penetrating oil into that hole in the end of the cap, then tilt the barrel slightly upwards so that the oil runs slightly back towards the butt pad. The threads are on the inside of the cap, so the oil has to work it's way down out of the tube and then wick its way into the threads. Give it a day or so to work.

The recoil return spring tube is attached to the receiver, so carefully clamp the receiver in a well-padded vice, NOT the stock. This way all the torque is absorbed by the receiver, without stressing the wood. Put some anti-seize on the threads when you put it back together.
 
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What part does the 4" wooden dowel play ?
My guess. The couple rods I have seen over the years in that location were metal and shorter. They were added to compensate for a weak spring that needed to be replaced but god knows here. Not factory that is for sure Also don't see the action spring follower??
 
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I have had 1100's since the late 60's and never had problems with them. One thing Remington always said was keep the gas system clean and DRY. When wet like you recommend it will gather dirt /burned powder very fast, and cause trouble.
The Gas cylinder/ piston and seal should be cleaned with solvent that flashes dry, like break clean, and kept dry so it does not collect dirt. This has worked for over 40 years, and 3 1100's.

Yea, I used to keep mine dry too...but I would only get maybe 5-7 boxes and then the stoppages would start. So I'm gonna try it wet like this thread suggests...see how far I get with that.
 
The nut holding the butt stock on has a bigger slot that my biggest screwdriver, it is on tight. I'll have to stop by Princess Auto to see what fits better, before I can inspect and clean the bolt return spring. So clearly, it's never been cleaned. More pics coming! I'm interested to see what sort of gunk is in that tube after 35+ish years.

My advice:
since you are doing this, buy and install a new recoil spring while you are at it. Because for all the effort of tearing it appart, you may as well replace it with a new one. Which it likely needs.

Personally, when I bought mine used, I bought a number of new springs: recoil spring, magazine tube spring, new extractor (and I think a new spring for that too?)

If you've been shooting it lots, you should also replace the "rubber o-ring" at the front, made of Viton, and I think Caterpillar makes a cheaper replacement that's the same size and same material. I think the size is #21 if memory serves.

When I first bought mine, I did some searching and found a great PDF file all about the care and maintenance of 1100's for high mileage...this thing is seriously in depth. I don't recall where the links were, but I think it might have been on a website "shotgun world" or something?! I'll try to find it for this thread, and yes, we should sticky this one.
 
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