Hello to all, and a hearty thank you for all the great information on this site. Yesterday I bought a used M40, and after going over Cort's Steyr M Disassembly Guide, decided to strip it down completely before firing it. I has a bit too much oil in the assembly, and being somewhat meticulous, I want it right before I fire it. Anyway, I got down to the point where you press the press the limited access lock into the frame (until the spring is completely compressed), and I cannot seem to press it down enough to pull the action carrier out of the frame sub-assembly. Is it possible that there is dirt/grit under the limited access lock, and it won't compress enough? I spent about a 30 minutes trying to pull it out, and I realized that pulling on the action carrier as hard as I was would cause me to lose the spring if it suddenly loosened. At that point I stopped to regroup, and ask for help. Any hints on doing this properly?
Make sure it is not cocked. dry fire it before attempting to pull it out. and make sure safety is off (which it should be if you dry fire it). Also lift the front end out first as it rocks out by notches in the rear. you should already have the take-down lever and manual safety bar out.
Assuming you've already gotten the manual safety rod and the takedown lever shaft removed, the key lock button may need to be rotated a little to allow it to be fully depressed. The best tool to use is the key to depress and rotate it to get it pressed all the way in so that it is below the inside surface of the frame to allow the action to rotate out. Once the action starts to rotate out, the button is held under the frame, as you rotate the action some more and you see the button start to emerge from the top of the frame that's when you need to put a finger on it to keep it from launching into the ether. There is some play between the action and the frame once the takedown shaft is removed so it is pretty obvious to tell if the button is not presed down enough to allow the action to rotate out. It maybe possible that there is some gunk keeping the button from being depressed all the way but I doubt that is the case if you don't see evidence of gunk in the action. Good luck.
I had the same problem. It took me a little bit to figure out that the trigger needed to be pushed forward (toward the business end). Then you'll be able to push the button down with ease. Just be sure to keep the button covered with your thumb or "ZING" there it goes.
Yes, pulling the trigger forward did it. Thanks Flashpoint, and thanks all for the help. After pulling the trigger forward, it came out easy. Unfortunatly, I buggered that little plastic access lock a little, but it survived. After I cleaned it up, re-lubed it, I took it out to the back and ran a clip trying to dismember a sapling at about 25 yards. Actually hit it twice. Nice gun. I like the way it recoils straight back instead of pulling the muzzle up. I plan to take it to the range next weekend and run a few rounds thru it. Regards all.
