Tikka M55 - Bolt Assembly and Disassemby Instructions

[shaun]

Hi Everyone,
I would like some help from the Tikka M55 experts please!
I have a Tikka M55 in.222 Rem that's as old as I am and could possible be in better condition. It's a great rifle. I've had it for a year or so and have cleaned and maintained it well ...except the bolt. I've never been able to find any assembly/disassembly instructions. Knowing the history of the rifle I knew I'd need to start thinking about cleaning the bolt.
I eventually found out how to remove the firing pin assembly from the bolt body by continuing a clockwise turn with the cocking piece (? think this is the correct name of the part) ... When I did this the firing pin assembly released ...leaving me with two pieces... the main bolt tube/handle and the firing pin assembly etc. As I didn't have any further info to disassemble from there I cleaned what I could see... there was a bit of gunk build up inside the bolt and over the firing pin and spring etc from over the years ...so I'm glad I could at least do that.
After cleaning and slight re-lube I attempted to reverse the process. This is where I got stuck. When I released the firing pin assembly I noted the position of the cocking piece(?) to the bolt handle so I could put it back together the same way. The only way this would work is to use brute force with multi-grips (pliers) on the cocking piece to get it assembled and back into the uncocked position. I tried a bit of force with the multi-grips and a protective rag but no good...
Would anybody care to shed some light on this. If you need pics just let me know.
Thanks in advance for your help and sorry for the "War and Peace" novel I've written here... thought it might give the right detail to those that know.
Rgds,
Shaun

 

[misako50]

Shaun- All I can do is get you to spend money on a rubber jawed vice (about $35) or a gunsmith that cleans guns as a substantial part of his business. Either way it will cost you a few bucks.-Misako

 

[shaun]

Thanks misako50.
I may need to see a gunsmith to help me out of this bind but surely there's instructions on "How To" disassemble/re-assemble a Tikka M55 bolt somewhere. I just can't seem to find it. Surely someone has cleaned one themselves without a gunsmith to help and knows the process?!
I had a thought that perhaps due to its vintage and manufacture, the Tikka M55 might have a comparable Sako model with similar/same bolt design. Would you (or anyone else) know if there is one?
Thanks again for commenting misako50!
Rgds,
Shaun

 

[cat9]

Not sure if this is relevant, but there is a manual for sale at link, for $7 by email (just found in a search ... no due diligence done on supplier). It might just be the exploded view you get for nothing at Tikka website???
https://www.devicemanuals.com/manual/Tikka-M55-Exploded-View-Reference-==TXpRNU5qVXg=.html
Something else to look at:
https://webcache.googleusercontent....cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&source=www.google.ca

 

[misako50]

Shaun- cat9's exploded view is helpful. It differs from a Sako only in the form of the shape of the parts. You still need to compress the firing pin spring and twist after it bottoms out. Easier to do with a vice than barehanded. After you get it back together, you may wish to just soak it overnight in solvent and blow it out with compressed air. ( in place of disassembling).- I don't like to take my rifles down too far as there is the chance of losing small parts. I don't shoot one rifle for thousands or even hundreds of rounds, so the cleaning isn't real anally based as some might wish to adhere too.

-Misako

 

[shaun]

You still need to compress the firing pin spring and twist after it bottoms out. Easier to do with a vice than barehanded. Misako

Thanks Cat9 and again to you Misako50!
Misako50, can you explain a bit more about compressing the firing pin and twisting? I've tried to compress by putting the base on a padded hard surface to see if there's "any" movement at all but it's rigid... wont budge ...and I was giving it a bit of pressure too. Obviously I'm not putting the pressure in the right area to get spring movement. Do you think you could elaborate for me?
If it helps... I can upload a pic or 2 to show where I'm at with it... and where/how the firing pin mechanism is sitting.
Thanks again.
Rgds,
shaun

 

[shaun]

Sorry.. forgot to say already that I already have the exploded view of the M55 ...thanks Cat9!
The other link went to some dodgy site... have come across a few like it with titles the same for the M55.
Rgds,
shaun

 

[jburke832]

Shaun,

The reason everything seemed rigid is that the firing pin must push the cocking piece out of the rear of the bolt shroud as the assembly goes into battery on the bolt assembly.

A procedure I have used in the past is to drill a hole slightly larger than the cocking piece through a scrap piece of 2X4. Place the bolt shroud/cocking piece/firing pin assembly over the hole with the cocking piece aligned to enter the hole. Usually there is a tab on the bolt shroud that needs to be aligned with a corresponding slot on the bolt assembly. Place the bolt assembly over the firing pin assembly (with the tab and slot aligned), depress it, and twist the bolt assembly when the bolt shroud is flush with the bolt assembly. You may need to use a padded clamp to keep the bolt shroud from turning with the bolt assembly.

Please be careful not to mar or scratch the finish

Good Luck!

John

 

[woodbeef]

Is the problem you are encountering is the bolt is in the fired postion,but you want it in the uncocked position? If so just carefully use a regular flat screwdriver to pry the cocking piece past the cam on the bolt. It will work if you slowly turn the screwdriver.

 

[shaun]

Done it!!!!!
Thanks JBurke832... it was your tip that got it done for me. Thanks for the idea!
Also thanks to woodbeef ...I've had this issue also whilst "playing" with the bolt. Cocked the bolt accidently and wouldn't go back into the rifle. Came across a tip like yours. Very useful info.
The link below was heldful also. I've read it before but didn't notice the "tool" the guys was using (I've uploaded the pic ...it's the second pic down on the web page... ) ...this tool would compress the spring to allow the turning of the bolt shroud/cocking piece to remove the firing pin assembly. I would also think it would work better than the "hole in the block of wood" trick that JBurke832 suggested to me to us.
https://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/bolt-maintenance-methods-materials/
Misako50... after I put the bolt together again I socked it in solvent overnight... blew it all dry with compressed air and then relubed (tips from the above link helped on that also).
Thanks again to everyone ...this was a great exercise in community help. :bigsmile3:
Rgds,
Shaun

 

[misako50]

Shaun- Thanks for sharing that experience. Hopefully the solvent you are using does not take the blue off your parts. Hoppe's never damages my gunparts (nor does diesel fuel and light machine oil). I don't just use the solvent bath for gunparts. It gets a fair share of auto parts as well-Misako

 

[claygrazer]

The tool in the picture looks exactly like my old Sinclair International bolt disassembly tool for the Remington bolts. I modified mine to disassemble my M995 action bolt by widening the slot in the bidy of the tool. It works perfectly.

The newer Sinclair tool has a Delrin body instead of an aluminum body. I'm pretty sure it could be modified ot work for the Sako.