Gas Piston

**stid2677** · 11-04-2007, 04:59 PM

Okay, so I shoot my R-1 a lot. After using this rifle all over Alaska it started to jam on me. When I say Jam I should say that the bolt would not go all the way forward and the trigger would pull and I would hear a click and it would not fire. I would have to recycle the bolt and fire again. I clean this gun like a fanatic, so I clean it again and still it continues to jam. After a while it gets so bad I can't count on it. I hunt bears in Alaska and I bet my life on my rifle and I need to know it will fire when I pull the trigger. I was in a fix, leaving for a hunt in a few days and my primary weapons is jamming. So I tear it down again, I notice that the gas piston feels tight. I remember the piston assembly moving freely with the bolt locked to the rear. Mine was binding badly. I removed the lock ring from the piston assembly and found it to be severely corroded between the rings and the piston itself. I could not find anywhere in the manual that said to clean the piston assembly this way. The corrosion was building up under the rings causing the piston to bind in the barrel. I cleaned the corrosion off and oiled the parts and reassembled the rifle and I and happy to say that she is back in the game. I have now added disassembling and cleaning the piston assembly to my cleaning plan. Hope this might help some others that have had trouble. I ordered a new piston assembly from Brownell's
This is the piston assembly

corrosion under the rings

**stid2677** · 11-04-2007, 05:02 PM

the corrosion after I cleaned off the gunk.

a view of some of the corrosion on the end of the piston as well, this may be caused from hot gas coming out of the barrel.

Steve

**tucker301** · 11-04-2007, 06:00 PM

Great post, Steve!
If I were you, I'd contact Benelli directly about this.
They need to see the degradation of the parts that's taking place.

Yes, some members of Benelli do read these forums, but I'd make it more official.

**parachute** · 11-04-2007, 08:31 PM

Great post Steve, thanks for sharing you experience. I guess I'm lucky, I have been cleaning that part.

Al

**shekaree** · 11-05-2007, 10:48 AM

Steve,

You are making history!!! Great job...

Thanks a million for sharing this info in details. I am sure lots of unhappy owners will be happy again.

**underwood** · 11-05-2007, 07:30 PM

Steve,
Great information. I'm having a similar problem on a Comfortech and I think that the assembly is a little different. I don't see a lock ring. Can anybody help me out?
Thanks

**stid2677** · 11-05-2007, 08:41 PM

Mine is the Comfortech, you have to remove the gas piston. Then remove the locking ring that holds the rings. With mine the trouble was gunk between the rings and the piston.
Steve

**underwood** · 11-05-2007, 09:47 PM

Thanks for the quick reply. At the moment the gas piston is in the gas collector cylinder and appears to be stuck there which is why the shells would not eject. I'm trying to figure out how to get it out or even move it.
Rich

**underwood** · 11-06-2007, 10:50 PM

I had a problem with shells not ejecting and while taking mine apart to see if I could find the problem I got on the forum and saw Steve's comments and pictures which were a big help. My problem was that the gas piston was stuck in the gas collection cylinder. It was stuck so tight that it wouldn't even wiggle. I put some lubricant on it and after some time I could start to wiggle it but not get it apart. I called customer service and had them look at Steve's comments and pictures told them what my problem was and asked if there were any special ways to deal with the problem. They said that I was on the right track and that it should come loose. They also said that I might take a hair dryer and try and heat it up a little. By tapping on it with a plastic hammer very lightly I end up getting the gas piston to come out but the rings stayed in the cylinder. I had to tap them out threw the top. My gas piston was in good shape but I think that enough crap was under the rings or in the cylinder that it caused the problem. Everything cleaned up fine and it's now back together. The piston moves freely and works like it should so all should be fine. I'll try it out in the next day or two and make sure then off to elk hunting on the Oregon coast. My guess is that this is an area that needs to be looked at and cleaned on a regular basis.