.308 Savage 110s series J "cocking indicator malfunction"

[Gadfly]

My first post here, so please bear with me if my nomenclature is off.

My father just passed his Savage 110s series J rifle to me. It is a late 70s mfg, bull barrel, blind mag, wood stocked set up.

Upon breaking it down to check for rust and general condition, I noticed a disturbing trend. The "cocking indicator" / "bolt release" appears to be able to work free from the sear. Even when mounted in the stock, there is enough play that about every 20 cycles of the bolt, the cocking indicator works loose from the sear, and pops straight up, perpendicular to the barrel. At this point, cycling to the bolt will not reset the trigger. I have to remove the stock, pop everything back into place (which is a simple fix) and instal the stock again.

It it looks like there is too much clearance in the stock. This clearance allows the cocking indicator room to jump off the sear.

The problem is, according to my google research, the series J uses a unique stock, do I can't find a replacement. And no, I don't want a $500 custom stock...

Any clue as to why my cocking indicator won't stay engaged? Is this common? Is it the stocks fault for being out of spec?

any help is appreciated. I am looking forward to shooting it, just want to sort this out first...

[sharpshooter]

Before 1998, all of the models used the old style 3 piece sear/bolt release. It is not uncommon for the lever to work loose from the sear, but it will still remain in the right position as long as the sear pivot pin is in place. What you are experiencing is the pin is sliding to one side after numerous firings and slides out of the hole in the thumb lever, disengaging it as a lever.
Simple fix: reverse the pin so that the head is on the same side as the lever.

[Gadfly]

I think the head is allready on the same side as the lever... I will take pics in the morning.