jb1911 said:
...FYI: If you take your extractor out don't let the spring shoot out. Even if you can find it, it's a Rosie O'Donnell to put the thing back together.
Actually it's not too hard after you've done it a half dozen times.
Sounds like you figured it out but just in case anybody else is curious, the key to removing the extractor and spring and plunger is get a small, sharp pin (I used a "T" pin but a safety pin would probably work well, too, a paper clip is too thick and too soft) and a pencil that has never been sharpened.
To get the extractor out, slip the pencil through the ejection port and use the side of the blunt end to lift the extractor, then shove the pin into the hole in the side of the slide, angling into the hole in the plunger to hold the plunger. If you want the spring and plunger out hold your finger over the slot, curled over the open end, and pull out the pin.
To assemble, slip the blunt pencil in from the muzzle end of the slide and use it to push the spring and plunger into their hole, then use T pin to hold as before. Drop extractor in place and then pull out the T pin while holding the extractor down with one finger.
BTW, any time you are messing with the extractor assembly a handy trick is to wrap a piece of cloth over the slide and around the work area, so if the spring and plunger do come shooting out they will hit the cloth and pretty much stop dead. They may drop and roll to the floor, but they won't go into orbit. If I'm going to have the extractor out for a while, but the spring and plunger are still under tension, I shove a piece of cloth through the ejection port before laying the slide aside. If the T-pin gets jossled out of place, the spring and plunger won't go far.
John