Mark II pistol bolt broke Update

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timnc

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Weird day at the range. During recoil the "ears" part of the bolt on my MKII simply dropped off. Looks like it might have been welded to begin with;but, I can't really tell.
Is it possible to somehow reattach this piece myself keeping in mind that I have NO metalworking skills or tools( i.e. is there some type of metal super glue that would work)?
 
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A GOOD welder will know how to properly reattach it....not sure if the factory will even replace it any longer,,,,,,you can give them a call, after all it IS a defective part..... 8) :roll: :wink:
 

timnc

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When all else fails, try the obvious. I called Ruger customer service and was told to send them the bolt and they would replace it. We will see if this works out. Will report on my experience later.
Thanks rugerguy, ps and contender for pointing out the obvious.
 
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those ears are usually "pressed"on and as I had said ( and we have done over the years) can either be welded up or even "pinned" in place,,,,gotta know just how to do it....yes, this is the "obvious" if they just simply replace it,,,won;t be the first OR the last one that needs "fixed"......they had this occur back in the days of the Korean War when they went to a "two piece" bolt, and it too "failed"....this was an effort to "save on steel" back then...... 8) :roll: :wink:
 

SGW Gunsmith

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timnc said:
Weird day at the range. During recoil the "ears" part of the bolt on my MKII simply dropped off. Looks like it might have been welded to begin with;but, I can't really tell.
Is it possible to somehow reattach this piece myself keeping in mind that I have NO metalworking skills or tools( i.e. is there some type of metal super glue that would work)?

It's been written by several Ruger Mark II pistol owners around here, one in particular, who writes that he owns many, many Ruger Mark II pistols and he's NEVER seen, or heard of this happening. Maybe he'll read your post:

aqJAo9Ml.jpg


Just about ready to part company with the bolt body:

r09QJ0gl.jpg


Here's what the two piece bolts look like:

lH6ZRQkl.jpg


You can send your separated bolt back to Ruger, ask them for an RMA number, spend some money to try and have the bolt ears welded back on, and hope the bolt body doesn't warp, that's all your choice.
Ruger no longer has any Mark II bolts in stock for replacement, or so I was told by them. They also told me that they no longer have an Ruger Mark III bolts, with the smaller bolt ears, in stock as those were used to replace Mark II bolts. What they may do most likely, is send you a Ruger Mark IV bolt, which is similar to the Mark III bolts, but don't have the LCI cut along the left front side of that type of bolt. These bolts have the smaller ears also.

It's most likely silly of me to mention this here again, but there is a preventative fix to avoid bolt head separation, and it's been very successfully done 50+ times, but some owners feel comfortable thinking it only happens to other Ruger Mark II pistols, not theirs. Others here seem to conveniently 'forget' that head separation can, and does, happen on Ruger Mark II bolts, or, their choice is to ignore the issue until it hits home.
I've taken care of MY Ruger Mark II bolts and have three non-two piece Mark II bolts in stock. Priceless.
 

timnc

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SGW your 1st photo shows exactly what happened in my case. Bolt is on it's way to Prescott and we shall see how Ruger handles this situation.

Cannot speak for other MKII owners;but, this definitely can happen.
I have owned 8-10 MKII's over the years and only other problem I had was a broken extractor-on the same gun-which was an easy fix once I had the replacement part.
 

SGW Gunsmith

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timnc said:
SGW your 1st photo shows exactly what happened in my case. Bolt is on it's way to Prescott and we shall see how Ruger handles this situation.

Cannot speak for other MKII owners;but, this definitely can happen.
I have owned 8-10 MKII's over the years and only other problem I had was a broken extractor-on the same gun-which was an easy fix once I had the replacement part.

Oh, I'm sure they will send you a replacement bolt, Customer Service is good at what they do. I've asked them a couple of times WHY they don't make a run of "one" piece Mark II bolts specifically for the replacement of the two-piece bolts that come unglued. I was told that would require an additional part number for bolt stock. Well, yah!
Even after a "preventive cure" for the two-piece Mark II bolts has been done, and Ruger gets a Mark II pistol in for whatever reason, the preventive fix is so hard to find that they'll replace the bolt anyway. So, I warn those who have two-piece bolts that have been reinforced to NOT, EVER send your bolt back to Ruger, just send everything else.
 

timnc

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Update
Broken bolt received by Ruger on Thursday May 29th in the afternoon. New bolt assembly received by me on Monday June 3rd in the noon mail delivery. I have already installed it and it fits and cycles just fine.
My only cost was postage to send them the broken bolt.

Sent Ruger an email thanking them for another example of GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.
 

SGW Gunsmith

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timnc said:
Update
Broken bolt received by Ruger on Thursday May 29th in the afternoon. New bolt assembly received by me on Monday June 3rd in the noon mail delivery. I have already installed it and it fits and cycles just fine.
My only cost was postage to send them the broken bolt.

Sent Ruger an email thanking them for another example of GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Just curious, did they send you a Mark IV bolt?
 

timnc

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Location
Staunton, VA
It was identified as a MKIII on the plastic envelope it came in.
Whatever, it works just fine. Range time yesterday and 100 flawless rounds.
 

SGW Gunsmith

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timnc said:
It was identified as a MKIII on the plastic envelope it came in.
Whatever, it works just fine. Range time yesterday and 100 flawless rounds.

If it is a Mark III, there will be an LCI cut along the left, front end of the bolt. Good to read all is now well.
 

timnc

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Oct 12, 2010
Messages
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Location
Staunton, VA
Yes stainless. KMK 514 from 1991-92 with somewhere between 30,000 & 40,000 rounds. The broken extractor came at around 25,000. Accuracy still as good as when it was new.
 

SGW Gunsmith

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Messages
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timnc said:
Update
Broken bolt received by Ruger on Thursday May 29th in the afternoon. New bolt assembly received by me on Monday June 3rd in the noon mail delivery. I have already installed it and it fits and cycles just fine.
My only cost was postage to send them the broken bolt.

Sent Ruger an email thanking them for another example of GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Glad to read you were taken care of very well. From what I understand Ruger is sending Mark IV bolts as replacements, nothing wrong with that, but the ear diameter is a bit smaller than the Mark II bolts. Most likely why many are attaching "bolt assists" on the newer bolts.
 
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