Thursday, May 8, 2008

New Seals For the Slavia 618, Part 1

I bought a Slavia 618 off of Gunbroker in February, for $39.90 shipped. It was listed as a "gunsmith special" because the seller said "looks good and complete but has no tension, looks like the linkage is not connected inside.". When I received the rifle I found that I only had to connect the cocking linkage and replace the trigger spring for it to function. The piston slot was rough and the gun barely spit a pellet out, so I put it on my to-do list of airguns to work on. Slavia is the brand name of airguns made by the venerable firearms manufacturer CZ, they are well made air rifles and a good bargain. The 618 is likely 30 years old, give or take.

The 618.

Three screws remove the action from the stock.

The trigger spring is a replacement I came up with, just a bit larger than what was stock.

To remove the locking detent I punched this pin out. Make sure you have something to catch the chisel detent...it will fly out.

I was having problems with lockup, so I figured I would remove the chisel detent and clean it.

To remove the barrel/linkage I removed the pivot lock screw and pivot screw.

To remove the trigger I pushed out this pin.

The trigger/sear is a simple affair.

This is my special Slavia tool. It's a bit of aluminum rod turned down to fit just inside the tube, with a notch to turn and clear the bayonet style catch for the spring.

With the spring compressor I inserted the tool.

Then turned the tool (there wasn't much pressure)so the catch would clear the slot.

This allows the "trigger housing"to slide out as I backed off the spring compressor screw, followed by the spring guide, spring and piston.

The trigger housing...

The spring guide. I almost thought I should turn up a new one, but decided to leave it stock.

The spring. I had previously lubed it when I first received the rifle.

The piston. I had wire brushed it.

The cocking slot was deburred, it was worn perhaps 1/32" from what it was new.

The piston seal was definitely in rough shape.

Chewed up and ugly, it snaps off the piston.


The piston end where the seal snaps on. This was also cleaned up a bit on the wire wheel afterwards.
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19 comments:

  1. mondotrashoSeptember 9, 2008 at 6:37 PM

    Thank you for this wonderful information. I'm restoring a 613 and had no idea where to start.

    Michael

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 14, 2009 at 11:15 PM

    thanks a lot for this, my 618 needed a clean up !

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJanuary 14, 2009 at 11:16 PM

    thanks a lot for this, my 618 needed a clean up !

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousAugust 4, 2009 at 6:53 PM

    i'm sorry this is going to sound dumb but.. my grandma just gave me a 618 and well.... i have no clue how to load it. my friend said just drop the BB down the barrel but...i'm not sure??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Felice LuftscheinAugust 4, 2009 at 7:10 PM

    http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2008/03/how-to-cock-and-load-spring-air-rifle.html

    Shows you how.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JamesJanuary 1, 2010 at 5:45 PM

    Any idea where one can buy a piston seal for a 618 ???

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  7. Felice LuftscheinJanuary 1, 2010 at 5:49 PM

    Unfortunately I don't know where to get them, JG Airguns has them for the 630 but I don't know if they fit the 618, and suspect that they don't

    ReplyDelete
  8. JamesJanuary 2, 2010 at 6:33 AM

    618/625 seals are available from http://www.gunspares.co.uk/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=24501&cat=625

    ReplyDelete
  9. Steven EnglundJuly 11, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    Hi! I don't have a "pivot lock screw and pivot screw" because I purchased my 618 at a flea market and it was missing that part... someone had hammered in a threadless bolt instead. The bolt works o-k, but I am wondering how I can replace the actual part, or what type of bolt I could replace it with. Right now, the rifle cocks and fires just fine, but the barrel is a little loose. Could that be related the lock spring and locker not doing their job? The lock spring is pretty tight, but seems to work because the barrel doesn't flop down once cocked.

    Let me know how you can help! GREAT blog!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Felice LuftscheinJuly 12, 2011 at 9:39 AM

    Steven,
    If the barrel wiggles side to side then it probably needs more tension from the screw to make the barrel less loose side to side, best thing is to make or have made a replacement screw. You can try JG Airguns or Chambers Gunmakers for a stock replacement but I doubt you would find one. If the barrel is loose up/down then it may be the detent, you could try a stouter spring in the chisel detent. But these are not deluxe guns, so if it works just shoot it and enjoy it - cost of parts often exceeds getting another whole rifle.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJuly 19, 2011 at 11:57 AM

    hei!
    Eg har pusset å dullet med mitt slavia 618 siden eg fikk det i tolvårs gave med min far. det er nå noe modent for restaurering å skulle gjerne visst hvor ein kunne få tak i desse delene.. håper du har noen ideer på lur?
    Mvh Espen29

    ReplyDelete
  12. The conductorAugust 22, 2011 at 6:00 AM

    Thanks for this info, I just was given a 618 and enjoyed finding this about it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. JaykeDecember 2, 2011 at 4:14 AM

    Hi, does anyone know where i could get a stock for one of these baby's? thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  14. DominiqueJune 19, 2012 at 3:59 PM

    I received a Slavia 618 from uncle.
    It was stored in a garage, and is pretty rusty.
    I can get the trigger to fire only once in a while after cocking the gun. Most of the time, after I lock up the barrel, the trigger is loose and will not fire, as though nothing had happened at lock up. The gun locks up nice and tight, and when it does fire, it seems to have good power. I have yet to shoot a actual BB with it, in fear that the barrel was dirty.
    I took the gun appart, and it appears OK. Any idea what may be the cause? I took pictures.

    Dominique

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nick CarterJune 19, 2012 at 5:26 PM

    If the trigger is loose then maybe the trigger spring isn't pushing it enough to engage the sear. Otherwise I don't really know. Also don't shoot BBs in it, only lead pellets.

    ReplyDelete
  16. MarmOctober 9, 2013 at 2:40 AM

    Hi,

    I have just uncovered a Slavia 618 from my cellar, and would like to restore it.
    Looks like this post is great to help, unfortunately it's impossible to get the pics.
    Could you reload them?
    Many thanks from a french Slavia user

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nick CarterOctober 9, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    Seems like Google is having a problem, I changed a setting so now you should be able to click on the pictures and have them show up. If it doesn't resolve itself in a week I'll have to enter blogger support hell but I bet it will clear up.

    ReplyDelete
  18. UnknownJanuary 25, 2017 at 11:37 AM

    I have one of these Slavia 618 from when I was a kid. I disassembled it way back then probably in the 60's for what reason I have no idea. So now I'm disassembling again to clean it up. I realized that way back then I must have broken the "catch" off from what you call the "trigger housing". Do you think this is bad? Do you think that the pin that goes through the bore and the "trigger housing" is sufficient. I'm not sure what the "catch" was for.
    Thanks in advance. You have some serious skills! I appreciate your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  19. UnknownDecember 15, 2020 at 3:54 AM

    Interesting read...cannot recall how young I was when I got my 618, probably about 50yrs ago. Time has taken its toll on the little guy and I am also busy restoring.
    Thx for the information.

    ReplyDelete