Stubborn safety spring plunger

[Rustship]

Just curious, has anyone ever had a safety spring plunger stuck in the trigger housing? Never have run into this on a dissassembly before. Cant pry the plunger back away from the mag catch to release it. Been spraying with penetrating oil, let it soak overnight in Kroil, still wont budge. I normally use a jewelers screwdriver and they pull right back. They are tricky suckers anyway because they really dont have a good edge, they have a slope. I noticed when I bought this carbine and took it apart it looked like there might have been some corrosion going on right there in the hole to pry it loose. Any of you guys run across this and what chemical did you use to break it free. I have taken all of my housings down and never run into this. Any suggestions?....Thanks...Rusty

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[USGI]

I think I would try getting it hot with a heat gun and then the penetrating oil. I used the tip of the guide for the operating slide spring on my last one - of course it wasn't stuck, though.
Good luck with it. - Bob

[Hercules Powder]

Rusty, As a last resort, if it were mine and I couldn't get it to move I would rather drill it out than scar the finish and have it looking nasty. Heat would probably work but there again in may discolor or damage the finish. Once you get the mag catch out hopefully you can dig out the rest. If not I would drill it out as well. John

[USGI]

I agree with John, especially if it's not an expensive mag catch. They're a lot cheaper than a TH. One thing that might help too if you haven't already tried it, would be to lightly tap both ways on the mag catch in attempt to rock the end of the plunger a bit. I know the notch in the back of the catch contacts the plunger in the direction that keeps the catch from coming out, not sure about the other way, or if it just bottoms out against the TH. Maybe try getting penetrating oil in from the safety end too, because that end of the plunger is probably free since it has to move for the safety to work. Do you already have the trigger out? - Bob

[painter777]

Dirt and crud in there when oiled can also bind it up.
Try one of those lighters with the intense flames like the crack heads like.
You can direct the flame exactly where you want it.
Walk away when frustrated............ try again later ;-)

Good Luck,
Charlie

[Hercules Powder]

Bob, I mean drill in the hole where you pry the plunger back. That way you would only sacrifice one end of the plunger and the spring. Or the other end also if he would have to drill the rest out through the plunger hole. Like I said last resort if nothing else frees it up.

[Rustship]

I had that idea of drilling the plunger in order to stick a scribe in there and pry it back. The mag catch is expensive and the housing is pristine. The safety is right and mag catch is right. I think I'll just leave it alone. There is no problem, mag catch springs in and out just fine and the push safety operates just fine. I just cant stand not being able to pull it apart. I think I'll just keep soaking it and prying, maybe warm it up in the oven. But for now I'm leaving it alone. SG's are pretty hard to find, and its original. And I did think about tapping the mag catch back and forth to maybe break it free, it may just need to break loose one time and then start moving.

[Hercules Powder]

Leaving it alone is a great idea. Don't break what you can't fix.

[jimb16]

You can also try to free it by repeated tapping with a nylon hammer. If ir is rust, that will help break it up and not damage the housing.

[DaveHH]

in there with the little tube provided to localize the jet. The chemicals are not really harmful to a finish beyond removing any oil in the metal pores which is replenished when you reapply it. That stuff can really break up carbon crud and flush it out. Part comes out clean and oil free. Anyone else have a problem using this stuff?