[livewire]

I just brought home my new 1894 in 44 cowboy. While wiping it down i noticed that if you bump the stock the lever opens. Thats a little to easy for me, is there a way to tighten it up?

 

[pisgah]

"Falling lever syndrome" is common with Marlins, and the problem (and solution) lies in the lever plunger, the little "latch" that holds the lever shut. Usually, either the edge of the plunger, which should be crisp, is a bit rounded, or the spring backing the plunger has grown loose, or there is an accumulation of gunk inside the hole the plunger rides in, restricting its travel.

The sure fix, requiring no further diagnosis, is to replace plunger and spring. This works so well, in fact, you may find the lever is now locked too tightly -- no problem, just round the edge a tiny bit with a fine file.

But before you go to that length, you can remove the plunger and spring, clean out the hole, and maybe stretch the spring a bit. Or, you can use a fine file and re-establish the edge of the plunger end (this is what Marlin told me, years ago, they did to fix 90% of the guns with this problem). Or, you might find that just a spring replacement will do the job, or maybe just a plunger replacement.

Any way you go, the repair is easy and inexpensive.

 

[livewire]

Thanks for the help, I am going to contact marlin first, just so i don't void the warranty. The fix you mentioned sounds easy enough.

 

[StretchNM]

Livewire, maybe there's just some gunk in there holding up the lever plunger? I can;t imagine a new rifle with a worn plunger or spring. I hope they don;t make you send it in.

I'm not sure if breaking down the rifle voids the warranty or not. If not, here's a link with pictures showing how to do it. I followed them some time back with my 1894 and it was pretty smooth and easy.
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,28648.0.html

If nothing else, have a look at it. Once your plunger problem is fixed, you're going to want to break it down for cleaning someday.

 

[StretchNM]

Here's another fix for the problem (if it isn;t gunk in there)
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,55734.0.html

And another:
http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,32010.0.html