Try removing the maverick 88 mag tube: Mossberg 1, Me 0

lavino

lavino

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So my SJ follower came today... woohoo!!! But damn, after an exciting dissemble of all the parts... the mag tube won't unscrew no matter how much heat I try to put in. I don't have a heat gun but even putting the mag tube connected to receiver part under lighter flame for a minute or two the loctite is still too tight. So after a few tries... time to assemble all the parts and call it the day. Call me a wimp but my lame Hulk attempt trying to twist off the mag tube just won't work. I try not to use tool since I worry it might damage the tube or the receiver.

Will try again later... Mossberg, you won this round but this is not over yet. I hope heating it too long won't damage anything like the metal follower and the spring etc.

Never really took the gun apart before but after tonight I can dissemble the 88 and put it back with my eyes closed now.
 
I haven't disassembled my 88, but I did disassemble the mag tube on my girlfriends 500 to remove a dent that was causing the follower to bind. All I'm gonna say is, get a heat gun and don't be afraid to use it. It took a surprising amount to break down that loctite.
 
Just had same issue with a 590a1.

Heat gun .... and hold it there for quite awhile. Came off like nothin' after really hitting it with the heat. Didn't need a strap wrench or vice, just gloves.
 
Wait a sec. You're just installing a follower? Isn't there a spring retainer at the front of the mag tube? At least on my 590, I just popped it off with a screwdriver, carefully so the spring etc don't go flying. Remove the old follower and replace with new one, spring and retainer.
 
Trinimon said:
Wait a sec. You're just installing a follower? Isn't there a spring retainer at the front of the mag tube? At least on my 590, I just popped it off with a screwdriver, carefully so the spring etc don't go flying. Remove the old follower and replace with new one, spring and retainer.
Click to expand...

Unfortunate Maverick 88 and some 500 are on the 'special' design ;) No front cap to pop. If you wanna change the follower for these special edition guns you gotta do it the hard way =(

I wanna try the freezing method but my freezer is not long enough for the gun (one of those shortest one bought from Home Depot) Darn... ok looks like heat gun is the only option left. Thanks guys, will update the score if I managed to get it unscrewed.
 
I've taken many of them apart.

I use a propane torch.

Heat the joint until the loctite starts to smoke.

At that point the loctite turns to powder, and completely loses all bonding.
 
lavino said:
Alright.. as long as the factory follower, spring, receiver and mag tube can stand as much high heat as I can put on it... I will do a re-match soon. Some how I always have an impression that if a spring got heated up too much it will lose the spring power.
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If it starts to turn orange, you're doing it wrong. lol

I've read that Mossberg does use a thread locker on their mag tubes. The amount of heat needed shouldn't affect the spring.
 
Alright.. as long as the factory follower, spring, receiver and mag tube can stand as much high heat as I can put on it... I will do a re-match soon. Some how I always have an impression that if a spring got heated up too much it will lose the spring power.
Click to expand...

It won't be a problem.

Just make sure you remove everything else from the gun first.
It should be nothing but the receiver, mag-tube, follower, and spring.

The factory follower is metal. So it won't melt.

The threads on the tube are held in with red loctite.

The temperature required to destroy the loctite is MUCH lower than what it would take to damage your receiver and mag-tube.

You'll see it smoking (and smell it stinking) when it gets burned off.
 
Did a round 2 rematch but Mossberg still won the 2nd round. I did the heat gun method for like 20 mins + (on a just the receiver and mag tube with all parts stripped) the mag tube and receive was so hot it burnt my fingers upon touching it. The whole thing took about half an hour later to fully cool down. I saw a little black smoke but still no luck trying to twist off the mag tube. May be I am lacking proper equipment. I don't have a workshop or anything pretty much do things by hand (condo is too small)

Just to double check... I suppose to unscrew by turning the mag tube anti-clockwise when facing down the mag tube (that is the stock point away from me and the gun's front is pointing at me, of course with the barrel and everything REMOVED) Is that correct?

At this point I dunno what to do... may be kinda give up for now.
 
lavino said:
Did a round 2 rematch but Mossberg still won the 2nd round. I did the heat gun method for like 20 mins + (on a just the receiver and mag tube with all parts stripped) the mag tube and receive was so hot it burnt my fingers upon touching it. The whole thing took about half an hour later to fully cool down. I saw a little black smoke but still no luck trying to twist off the mag tube. May be I am lacking proper equipment. I don't have a workshop or anything pretty much do things by hand (condo is too small)

Just to double check... I suppose to unscrew by turning the mag tube anti-clockwise when facing down the mag tube (that is the stock point away from me and the gun's front is pointing at me, of course with the barrel and everything REMOVED) Is that correct?

At this point I dunno what to do... may be kinda give up for now.
Click to expand...

Correct it is a conventional thread.

What did you use to get a grip on the mag tube?

Did you have the receiver clamped into a padded vice when you tried to unscrew the tube from the heated receiver?
 
The receiver was clamped down from a vise clamp bought from Home Depot. I did use both hand and a strap wrench. Normal size strap wrench are too big the don't seem be grip on the tiny mag tube enough so I picked up a pair from Canadian Tire over the weekend that got a slightly smaller one. I tried so hard the rubber strap on the strap wrench is totally bend out of shape now =(

And yes it is done while heated. Nothing moves either the mag tube or the clamp so I know the receiver was clamped down pretty hard. May be I lack the Hulk strength. If anyone in the Vancouver/Burnaby/Coquitlam area think they can try give it a shot please let me know how much you would charge for this task. I can bring in my stripped down just receiver and mag tube for you to give a try ;)

Somehow this whole thing reminded me of the story: Sword in the Stone
 
Maybe it's time to go caveman and wrap the mag tube close to the receiver with duct tape and then tightly clamp a small pipe wrench onto the tape and give it a good whack with a 3 lb sledge hammer while the receiver is clamped really solidly in the vice.

Or just stick with the OEM follower.........................
 
A propane torch works a million times better than a heat gun.

The heat gun is too slow. The heat dissipates into the aluminum receiver as fast as you are applying heat.

You need a propane torch to directly hit the loctited threads. It should only take a minute to burn off.
 
Dexter Morgan said:
A propane torch works a million times better than a heat gun.

The heat gun is too slow. The heat dissipates into the aluminum receiver as fast as you are applying heat.

You need a propane torch to directly hit the loctited threads. It should only take a minute to burn off.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I tried a small culinary torch, a heat gun, and finally a larger culinary torch - it was only until I used the large one did the loctite smoke and break free.

It took about 3 - 4 minutes at super high temperature to burn off the loctite.

The only caveat is that my spring was slightly discolored, not sure if that was due to oil or actual heat damage?
 
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