Hey GaryVA...what's the easiest way to get the extractor out. Looks like pushing the plunger back into the bolt face should allow it to pop out but mine won't cooperate. I want to take a good look at the extractor hook itself. Can't get a real good look at it while mounted but doesn't seem to be much purchase area there.
I originally cleaned and prepped my bolt with TW25B leaving no residue. I have since removed the TW25B and have converted over to Froglube. Removing the cocking piece and firing pin is simple with two hands, but I needed an extra pair of hands for the extractor. I used a detent spring tool I have to detail strip a 1911 to fully compress the coil spring so the plunger was fully seated within the recess. I then used an extra set of hands to fish out the extractor from the bolt body.
Not sure where things stand with your bolt, but this is how mine is working. With bolt removed and in hand, take a cartridge case and place the base of case flat against bolt face below extractor. When you slide cartridge case upward against extractor, it should stop. You do not want the case head to loosely slide under the claw, and you do not want it so tight you must muscle case head under the claw. Best I can describe a proper fit and proper tension, the case snaps into place with an audible click as if it were a magnet.
As such, with bolt in hand oriented as if closed in the rifle and shouldered, the claw extractor holds the round into place and it does not fall out. It has the appearance of being one with the bolt.
Advantage of this 85 system vs. the 70 and 98, is you do not need to undercut the extractor for it to snap over a cartridge case inserted directly into the chamber. Therefore, I'd not want the spring tension so tight that it becomes difficult to do so.
Fit of the claw on my extractor is that it fills the groove of the case head and fully engages the cartridge over the entire extractor width. It would probably tear a chunk off the case head if the case were stuck solid inside the chamber.
I tried several commercial cases, with the poorest quality being HDY, and the fit was positive.
With bolt in hand and cartridge case snapped into place against bolt face, test the extractor claw by tilting the case to the opposite side of the claw. If good, the claw will hold and you'll feel a positive stop. You can roll the tilted case around toward the 12 o'clock position and still feel the claw grab and hold. As the case rolls around to the extractor position, it tilts out, same as ejection. So, if your claw was out of spec and/or the spring tension of the claw against the bolt was poor, then the claw would not hold the case and you may even be able to flip it out at the 12 o'clock position, or even earlier.
I'd make sure the parts fit well, without burrs, so they can move freely without binding. I suspect it possible going to a heavy spring merely masks such issue. But, if things are loose and move freely, with a good claw extractor, then maybe there are a batch of bad springs out there having insufficient strength. If I were switching to a stronger spring, I'd start heavy and shorten the stronger spring until I could snap the extractor over a case inserted directly into the chamber. I'd probably stop at that point and go no looser.
Good Luck!
