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What did I break and how?
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mattri View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 09 2024 at 4:53am
Took the bolt out of my Enfield and now it won't go back in. 

It seems the bolthead is loose from the bolt body. When the bolthead is snugged up it does not align with the bolt body and will not go into the action at all. When the bolthead is allowed to align with the bolt body it slides into the action but the bolt will not close. 

A)what would cause this? 
B) how to repair?  

Thanks, Matt. 
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Points: 8404 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote britrifles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 09 2024 at 5:02am
Screw the bolt head all the way down, then back off just enough to align it with the upper bolt body rib and insert into the action body, that should be just a very slight adjustment, not a full turn.  The bolt head should be slightly past the bolt body rib when turned all the way in. 
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Thanks for the reply- that is what I have done but the bolt will not close, it stops right before the bolt can turn all the way into the receiver, hopefully that shows in the pic. 
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Do you have more than one LE? Any chance the bolts got interchanged? Can’t think of another reason.  

The photo looks pretty small, looks to be a sportered No. 1 SMLE, is that right?  Looks like the bolt is not turning very far either. 

Try pulling back the trigger while you insert and lock the bolt. 
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This is the only rifle I have. 

The bolt was cycling fine right before this happened. 

It really is very strange it seems like bolt head can't go into the chamber enough to allow the bolt body to clear the back of the receiver. I've tried pulling the trigger, moving the safety, pulling back on the cocking handle etc and it just won't go. I also triple checked no obstruction in the chamber. 
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Remove the bolt head and try it. 

Nothing lodged up into the breech? Nothing in the barrel? Extractor or extractor spring broken/bent? 

Running out of ideas…
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mattri View Drop Down
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Do you mean take the bolt head off and see if the bolt body will fully insert into receiver? 
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DarioPirovano View Drop Down
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I had the same problem with a no.4 and the cocking piece sear broke inside the receiver blocking the bolt.
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mattri View Drop Down
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Ugh I was afraid of something like that. Were you able to find a replacement? 
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Can you remove the bolt? 

Never seen a cocking piece break like that. Can’t imagine how that would happen. 

Yes, if you can remove the bolt, look for an obstruction, from a foreign object or broken part. See if the bolt locks with the bolt head removed.  Check the extractor and extractor spring to be sure they are not bent or broken. 
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Yes the bolt slides in and out of the receiver easily, it's just the last fraction of an inch that the bolt doesn't go into the chamber area to allow the bolt to fully close. 

No obstruction of any kind.   

Bolt was cycling perfectly 5 min before this happened. 
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britrifles View Drop Down
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Just for grins, try it without the bolt head. Then if it locks, try again with the bolt head attached, but move the bolt head around with your thumb, try pushing down and then side to side as you try and lock the bolt. 

Did you look closely at the extractor and spring? Does the extractor engage with the slot in the barrel and get crammed over to the right as you rotate the bolt? 

Something must have changed… but what? 
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Geoff, the safety lever
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Zed View Drop Down
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Is the cocking piece aligned? 
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice!
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mattri View Drop Down
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If the cocking piece weren't aligned or the safety engaged wouldn't that prevent the bolt from sliding into the receiver, or is there another piece? 

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britrifles View Drop Down
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Originally posted by DarioPirovano DarioPirovano wrote:

Geoff, the safety lever

Having a hard time seeing that. If the safety is engaged, the bolt will not insert into the action body at all. Lever must be forward. Once the bolt is inserted, rotating the lever a small amount doesn’t prevent the bolt from locking, but rotating it a fair bit will prevent the bolt from moving at all as the Safety Catch drags on the bolt body.

  I’ve been trying this on my No. 1 skeleton action, can’t get the bolt to not lock fully as long as it can be inserted into the action. 

You could try removing the safety entirely, perhaps something there is bent/distorted? 
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