Weak or broken top lever springs are one of the most common problems that occur in hammerless Lefever shotguns. It happens across such a long period of production that I believe they must have had a very large quantity of top lever springs made at the same time that were either improperly tempered, or made from a poor grade of spring steel.
If you are going to play with repairing and restoring Lefevers, you will want to learn to make this particular spring, because finding a good original is never easy. When you make one, take the time to make a few extras, because it is only a matter of time before you find another Lefever with the same problem. Here's a pile of Lefever parts that recently sold online. They thoughtfully included the broken top lever spring so you'd at least have the dimensions to make another.
