How to get rid of the infamous CZ/VZ gremlin

TheTexan said:
It appears to be they all have it and it depends on how you squeeze tge trigger. Look carefully at this video and try it with yours.
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/a...nt=Gremlin.flv
Click to expand...

So I tried this with my "new to me" CZ's. All three Bolts were cycled about 25 times or more.

CZ 858 T2 with and without tabbed Bolt. No Gremlin. :D
CZ 858 T4V regular bolt. No Gremlin. :D

Maybe I lucked out...Never should have sold my first one.
 
I did a lot of research and tried to learn as much as I could about the dreaded Gremlin......has it been a problem in the recent rifles? I dry tested my new rifle (newest batch) as per the video and it seemed to be fine but in the field I had 2 out of 85 that had the problem, interestingly they were the 2nd round while I was kneeling both times.
When should I become worried about this? and what is the standard approach to dealing with this in a new gun if the gremlin should show up or develop?

Cheers
 
My 858 4v is only a month old and on my first range trip the "gremlin" appeared after 11 rounds.
It would then return every second to third shot!
I got home for an examination and found that the trigger worked itself into the SAFE mode while squeezing it several times, and when I switched the safety switch ON then OFF again the trigger would, only then, release the striker.
I think that on mine..... the problem lies somewhere where the safety switch contacts the trigger mechanism.
???
Anyways, I may just exchange it for a diff. one if I can't easly fix it myself.
 
ugh. nothing is worse than a ghostly glitch floating about that tarnishes the reliability and trust of a gun. I thought we were going to see someone start producing a part that would forever banish this problem, but here we are many moons later and not a peep.

Why do some people have this issue and not others? Does it become more likely with use? Was it a bad batch of parts? Is this related to the modifications they made turning these things into semi-auto? I love my 858, it has never failed me yet but I haven't really shot all that many rounds through it compared to some guys. What is the bottom line here? For those of us banking on 7.62 to get us through the apocalypse this is a potentially disastrous issue.
 
Same... while my 858 has not gotten the attention it deserves I am just now starting to see the gremlin appear.. three times my last range visit with about 400 rounds total down the pipe.

Regards,
 
I'm no welder, and not even that particularly handy but I'll show you my attempt to tab my carrier anyway. Pretty crude and could still use some filling down for aesthetics but I've since shot about 200 rounds gremlin free.

boltcarrier.jpg


Thanks to Obiwanbonjovi for the idea.
 
I returned my CZ 858 -4V tactical to Wolverine Supplies for repair. They repaired it surprisingly fast (factoring in mail time I swear they fixed it immediatly and mailed it back immediatly lol).

This is what they did to fix the "vz gremlin" for me:

-------------------
You are correct, the improved US bolt carrier is not available to us.

We tend to fix the problem by installing a new CZ carrier, unaltered. And stretching the sear spring somewhat so it exerts more pressure on the sear and changing out the disconnect if it fails to meet the specifications.

You may need to return the rifle to us for repair, unless you feel comfortable to do the work yourself. We will of course supply the parts required free of charge.

Let me know.

Wolfgang.
 
CanadianReich said:
I returned my CZ 858 -4V tactical to Wolverine Supplies for repair. They repaired it surprisingly fast (factoring in mail time I swear they fixed it immediatly and mailed it back immediatly lol).

This is what they did to fix the "vz gremlin" for me:

-------------------
You are correct, the improved US bolt carrier is not available to us.

We tend to fix the problem by installing a new CZ carrier, unaltered. And stretching the sear spring somewhat so it exerts more pressure on the sear and changing out the disconnect if it fails to meet the specifications.

You may need to return the rifle to us for repair, unless you feel comfortable to do the work yourself. We will of course supply the parts required free of charge.

Let me know.

Wolfgang.
Click to expand...

I'm curious to know how many people who have the gremlin can fix it by increasing the spring tension? If you have had the gremlin and increased the spring tension has it come back anyone?
 
Is there some more info on this tabbed bolt carrier? What exactly is the significance of the tab? What will this do?

Also heres some vids that I made of my gremlin. hope this helps.
perp

Sear is not releasing firing pin:


How I got the firing pin to release finally:


Why the firing pin didn't release even when the spring was depressed
Looks like the sear isn't connected to the trigger somehow. It barely moves not near enough to release the firing pin
 
Bolt Carrier & tab

I'm really surprised that some innovative person with a shop hasn't started a service to do the tab weld.
That and cutting, tapping and re-welding the charging handle onto the left side of the bolt.
Heck, I'd pay 85.00 to have a gremlin free bolt with the handle on the other side.

Is anyone out there doing this yet? It's been two or three years already.

Please PM me if you are someone that can do this.

R.S
:(
 
Romeo Sierra said:
I'm really surprised that some innovative person with a shop hasn't started a service to do the tab weld.
That and cutting, tapping and re-welding the charging handle onto the left side of the bolt.
Heck, I'd pay 85.00 to have a gremlin free bolt with the handle on the other side.

Is anyone out there doing this yet? It's been two or three years already.

Please PM me if you are someone that can do this.

R.S
:(
Click to expand...

We do both...
 
Me personaly. I do not believe that Perple_Nerple has the gremlin. I truely think that his trigger assembely is shot and needs to be replaced. As for maring on the safety block it could be from the shooting process from debris.
 
Satain said:
Me personaly. I do not believe that Perple_Nerple has the gremlin. I truely think that his trigger assembely is shot and needs to be replaced. As for maring on the safety block it could be from the shooting process from debris.
Click to expand...

satain,

thanks for for your input. I got a new trigger kit coming from Wolverine in the mail, we'll see if this fixes it. But is this not the gremlin? I thought guys were fixing the gremlin by adding in a washer to stop the lateral movement in there


Can someone also explain what the tab on the bolt is for ?

thanks!
 
Perple_Nerple said:
satain,

thanks for for your input. I got a new trigger kit coming from Wolverine in the mail, we'll see if this fixes it. But is this not the gremlin? I thought guys were fixing the gremlin by adding in a washer to stop the lateral movement in there


Can someone also explain what the tab on the bolt is for ?

thanks!
Click to expand...
Can't determine from the video if it's the trigger arm or safety that is out of spec. Also the hammer release pin looks like it's not properly "locked in".
As for the "tabing" the bolt carrier it looks like this;
400_vz5835.jpg
 
Rauch Tactical said:
I'm curious to know how many people who have the gremlin can fix it by increasing the spring tension? If you have had the gremlin and increased the spring tension has it come back anyone?
Click to expand...

Hey Sean,
My second 858 has disappointed me like that,
first time at the range, out of the box, boom, boom,
nothing!!!
Fortunately dimon from CGN was in the next stall at
the range, tore her apart and flexed the striker sear
flat spring up a bit...
Have not seen the gremlin since.

Boom-boom every time the trigger is pulled.
I guess 7 mounths now?
Cheers,
Serguei
 
Xman said:
I was thinking about this today and after taking the trigger and sear apart, I think that what you actually need to do is add material to the trigger lip that hooks the sear rather than file some off.

...
So, in conclusion, a different way to fix the gremlin would be to add a little material to the front of the connector lip.

I wonder if solder would be strong enough...

searandtriggerkd1.jpg
Click to expand...

^ I completely 100% agree that this is the problem. It can be fixed two ways (1&2) and improved by 3

1.) Adding a small washer on the right to force the sear to the left.

2.) Adding some material to the connector lip.

3.) Making sure the spring is centered or slightly biased to the right.


It's obvious after playing with this that the sear wants to move to the right with each trigger pull. I noticed also that the spring was not exactly straight. I believe it was slightly off center to the left, so when the sear was depressed each time it wanted to move to the right.

I used some needle nose pliers to apply some (precision lol) bending force to bring the spring back to center. This made an immediate difference in how many trigger pulls it took for the gremlin to manifest.

Adding a washer to the right of the sear will stop the small movement to the right (maybe 0.020"?) and allow the connector lip to remain in contact.

Adding material to the connector lip will allow the sear some more movement before any slipping occurs.

The gremlin happens when the connector lip slips to the left of the sear because the sear moves ever so slightly to the right.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom