Problem with the takedown lever on a 1916 Erfurt
 

Hello,

I'm having an issue with the takedown lever on my 1916 Erfurt and was hoping I might get some assistance. When I go to fieldstrip my 1916 I can't move the takedown lever without the assistance of a padded screwdriver blade. On my DWM and Mauser I can easily push the barrel back, rotate the takedown lever, remove the trigger plate and take apart. On the Erfurt however it won't budge, now once I do rotate it and strip the gun it moves freely and when I reassemble it's fine, no problems rotating back into place. Any thoughts? I've been researching the problem but haven't found anything, is there a way to remove the takedown lever and lubricate? Is this just the case with some older lugers? A couple people recommended cocking the toggle and then doing the takedown but that didn't work.

thanks, Nick

Hi Nick, Is this a numbers matching gun? Your trigger plate might not be fitting properly. You can remove the take down lever for cleaning and lubrication when it's in the "down" position. It is held in by a small "L" shaped spring. However, if it moves freely when the gun is disassembled, I don't think that's the problem. Regards, Norm

Hey Norm,

It is all matching, and I looked over the trigger plate and didn't see anything unusual. I'll take a look at the "L" pin tonight and see if anything looks amiss.

thanks, nick

If you can't easily move the takedown lever when the action is open (such as being cocked with an empty magazine in place), then there is a worn or broken part issue and the gun requires repairs by a LUGERsmith, not a run-of-the-mill GUNsmith. My advice is to send it to LugerDoc.

John, Thanks for the refural. He should first make sure that the receiver is out of battery when attempting to turn TD lever. As previously mentioned, the side plate is most likely not fitted correctly and putting too much friction on the lever. TH

Lugerdoc right on again. This is what I have found usually. The td lever is probably rubbing at some contact point of the side plate. Either where it goes across the flat tab on the SP or the very end where the small circle of the td lever rotates inside of the end of the SP tab.

Figured it out, I'm an idiot, if I ever forget my wife reminds me. With this particular Erfurt if I press the barrel down until it stops going back the takedown lever will not move, if I press the barrel down until slightly before the barrel stops the takedown lever works fine, don't know why I didn't think to try that first. This is a 1916 Erfurt which I understand don't always have the same fit and finish as the pre-war guns, do you think that's the case here? I have a 1914 Erfurt and a 1916 DWM and this doesn't happen.

Thanks your help,

nick