LC9 firing pin return spring

[GKC]

I was watching the Galloway Precision video where the slide detail strip is demonstrated, and when he removed the firing pin, he commented that the firing pin return spring had been redesigned by Ruger. He also mentioned that they were selling the now 20mm spring (apparently it was originally 25mm.) I went to their website, and I don't see the spring for sale, and then I read elsewhere that they are not selling them anymore, since they are now available at shopruger.com.

I called Ruger technical support to see if my wife's LC9 (2/2012 test fire date) had the redesigned spring in it, and the tech I spoke to didn't know about the redesign or spring length, then or now. I assume that any springs that Ruger is now selling on their website would be the latest version...right?

Does anyone here know about the change in spring length, and when it was done? Has anyone here changed their spring?

My wife has not yet shot this gun (it is the TALO Gold edition, and she thinks it is too pretty to shoot) but I have finally persuaded her we need to at least fire it enough to break it in and insure function...and especially so if she ever wants to start carrying it. I do plan to break it down, and clean out the firing pin channel, and make sure that there isn't any oil, residue, etc. and I thought if the spring does need to be changed, I'd go ahead and order one, and do it while I have it disassembled.

 

[George]

Ken, I read the same as you from the same sources. IMO take it out and give it a good run in with good name brand brass ammo. and see if you get any light strikes.. I use Remington Rem oil in a aerosol spray can with teflon in both ends of the firing pin front and back.. this stuff is so light it cleans well and leaves no oily residue but then will dry and leave a teflon coating.This works well for me and leaves me with fewer detailed cleanings..I still use reg. gun oil on high wear stots per manual and then some. My wife's gun was test fired 01-2012 so if you find out anything conclusive let me know.. We got our CCP's but neglected to get our range permits yet so as of yet her LC9 in Nickel it sits still unfired.. I suspect if I got some light strikes I will shorten my firing pin retaining spring by 5mm that's if it's 25mm long to begin with.. Because that's the talk I have heard also.. if we get to shooting it I'll post and let you know how we make out.. I did use a wood dowel with a empty gun and it shoot out a good 6 feet or so.. Held it in when firing it had good strong impact on the dowel.. I don't think there is going to be a issue with our wives guns.. George

 

[GKC]

Thanks, George.

I ordered the stainless steel guide rod and hopefully that will be here tomorrow. Then I will clean it, and hopefully we can get to the range and shoot it. (I offered to go shoot it for her, to check function, and she quickly vetoed that idea.) I put a Pachmayr grip sleeve on it, and she really liked the feel of the grip with it.

I'm thinking about just blowing out the firing pin channel with some aerosol Gun Scrubber (polymer safe version) and see how it fires. I hadn't thought to do the pencil/dowel rod test...I'll try that as well. I have used a wooden pencil (eraser end to the firing pin) on other pistols...there is a dot on the kitchen ceiling from my first test. :wink:

 

[George]

Good to hear from you again Ken! Ya I was thinking of slip on Pachmayr's or Uncle Mikes what ever I can find locally.. Ya I think the SS guide rod make good sense to me for this gun. For me it takes away the cheap plastic one I just dislike " just me" . Like I said before I also got the 20lb recoil spring set for it to give me a variety of options of my choice with the org. 16lb springs for my wife.. The 20lb set are about 1/4" longer then the originals and the gun goes to battery better when running some rounds through it by hand checking function.. But really got them because it was shipped with the shipping price of the guide rod alone. I know I would have kicked myself if I didn't get them .I would have been wondering how they would have been.. Sounds like your wife will be shooting before mine so please post how you both like it and make out.. George

 

[recumbent]

I put the uncle Mikes sleeve on my LC9 then replaced it with the Pachmeyer sleeve and it is really nice.
The Pachmeyer sleeve is so much better than the Uncle Mikes. The palm swell makes all the difference in the world.

 

[George]

Thanks! I'll pickup the Pachmeyer sleeve on your recommendation!

 

[GKC]

Thanks! I'll pickup the Pachmeyer sleeve on your recommendation!

Hey! What about MY recommendation? I mentioned it first! :?

J/K :lol:

I didn't try the Uncle Mike's grip but the Pachmayr does make the gun feel much better to me! And my wife likes it, which is the main thing, anyway.

 

[George]

LOL!! Ken, Thought I was answering you. I was just reading the post's not looking at who posted.. LOL! Ken somehow recumbent, got one up on you!! George

 

[GKC]

Well, I got the stainless steel guide rod in today, and put it in my wife's gun. I put the slide back on the pistol, and it jammed tight on the frame. I mean to the point it would not budge at all. I suspect I didn't get the recoil rod in the right position on the barrel. Anyway, after struggling with it for a bit, I took it to my local gun smith...and he fixed it in about 5 seconds. He took it to the back, so I didn't see what he did, but he gave me a quick explanation about the barrel riding up, which I didn't completely follow...and then he told me to hold the slide muzzle down when I was reassembling the pistol, so the barrel would remain in place properly.

Now, I've never had to do that before...and while I don't have a lot of experience with LC9s, I did field strip mine a few times, and it reassembled easily. I didn't put a steel guide rod in mine, though.

Anyone else encounter anything like this?

 

[George]

Ken,Needless to say I didn't after installing it in my wife's gun.. I had taken down the gun many times too as I rotated different combinations of the recoil springs I had.. My guess is.. I only say this because i had this issue with my wife's gun when reassembling it once.. I neglected to slide the retaining pin in all the way then close the retaining pin door and after I worked the slide a few timed the gun locked up tight like your saying.. After a fit and a bit of time farting with it I was trying ot free it when i held the gun to the left side down, retaining pin door side down and after a bit i got lucky the retaining pin fell out on it's own then the slide came off it worked it self out enough to jam the gun because I had left the takedown door open and didn't notice it till the gun fell apart.. That door must be close at all times. It was so locked up It felt like I had the safty on, the slide would not move. Maybe just maybe this was your issue.. It's easy to get frustrated and over look a issue.. I don't think it could be like your gunsmith said about barrel lockup But that's just IMO.. Take your wife's gun and open the take down door and slide that pin out just far enough to just start to go through the take down hole in the slide but not out past the door.. you will see it is hard to notice but you will also see if this is what the gun felt like when it locked up.. I have never see or heard of this kind of issue with this gun and have it related to the barrel.. As far as the SS guide rode goes that's easy to see if it passes through the slide guide rod hole in the slide fully.. If so the diameter is right and I don't that this could be cause.. I did use a digital caliper to measure both guide rods before installing and man they were right on with size in every way.. I don't think it's the SS guide rod.. Let me know how you make out.. I really think what happened with your wife's gun was just a fluke..Try and relax about it.. I'm going to fart with my wife's gun right now to see if I can duplicate your issue and not have it being the take down pin ..Sending good luck your way.. George

 

[George]

Ken,
I took my wife's LC9 down and looked at it close in every I could think of with just t he barrel and frame and pin,Barrel in the slide frame and pin with and with out the recoil spring installed with the pin.. There is just no way ,no place to put in the take down pin wrong as far as barrel or barrel slide goes.. it would not go in the gun or if it did then the barrel and slide would not be on the gun or stay on the gun. You would know it. I don't like the little slide down take down door that retaining the take down pin.. I think there should be some way to lock that up IMO. But I really think that the take down pin worked it self out just a tad if the take down door was open.. It would be hard ot see as the slide does not have to be back that far to start the takedown pin on it's way out again if the take down door was open.. I must admit that i didn't notice my door was open when my wife's gun locked up . It's all black on black on that part of the gun so it's hard to notice especially if one is frustrated at the time as I was.. The slide worked a few time fine before it locked up and again i would have never noticed why it locked up unless that take down pin i didn't fall out on it own and the slide slid off the gun.. Took me two hours to find that darn take down pin as it worked itself under then into the bottom side of a throw rug we had down.. looked under the rug 10 times at least.. never would have thought it would have been stuck in it.. I would like to figure out a way to lock that take down door closed.. Myself now I would be ok with it but my wife may just open that door thinking she is using the slide release or something I feel.. I really think this was your issue. There is just no other way I can see you could get the barrel and slide on the gun and get the pin in and have it hold the slide and barrel on the gun if it was not in right.. It just won't go.. hope I have helped you in some way figure out your issue..I always look at the takedown door when ever I pick up the gun making sure it's closed after what happened to me. Maybe buff the finish off each side of that take down pin to make it stick out more if the door is open would help.. George

 

[GKC]

Hey, George...

It wasn't an issue with the take down pin, because I never got to the point of putting it back in. I had reassembled the slide, and then was putting the slide on the frame. It went about 3/4 of the way on, but not fully on, before it stuck. I wasn't forcing the slide on the frame, or moving it quickly, but it locked up tighter than Dick's hat band (an old saying I have heard all my life.) Anyway...the only thing I can think of is I didn't get the recoil rod assembly seated down fully, and it came loose and allowed the barrel to travel forward, and they jammed together. The barrel hood was not seated in the ejection port, but was forward...so it must have come loose.

I'm going to try field stripping it again, and make sure I watch what I am doing this time. I don't think it was anything wrong with the steel rod itself...it was the loose nut working on the gun that was the problem.

 

[22/45 Fan]

Can someone explain to me why so many shooters buy a brand new gun and have NEVER fired it and have no idea if there are any problems, make multiple changes anyway? Substituting aftermarket parts should be done to improve functioning and/or fix an inherent problem, but how about first seeing if the gun functions?

 

[GKC]

Can someone explain to me why so many shooters buy a brand new gun and have NEVER fired it and have no idea if there are any problems, make multiple changes anyway? Substituting aftermarket parts should be done to improve functioning and/or fix an inherent problem, but how about first seeing if the gun functions?

I can give you my answer. I bought this gun for my wife, after buying my own LC9. Hers is a Talo Gold edition, though, while mine was just plain. :wink: (I've since sold mine...but am now thinking about buying another LC9.) She thought it was too pretty to shoot, and it has been sitting in the safe for over a year. I finally convinced her that we needed to shoot it to check function...the slide won't lock open on an empty mag when I rack it by hand; I contacted Ruger to ask about that, and they advised me to fire 50 rounds through it first, before sending it in, so she agreed.

As for the guide rod, I don't like polymer guide rods in any of my guns. If the gun doesn't come with a steel guide rod, and if there is an aftermarket steel rod available, I will buy one and put it in, whether or not I have shot the gun yet. I've read all the arguments pro and con about guide rods, and with no compelling arguments either way, it comes down to my preference. I have replaced guide rods/assemblies on Glocks, SIGs, Berettas, SD9s, this LC9...and probably some others I'm not thinking of off the top of my head. I have also replaced FLGRs on 1911s, since I prefer the GI guide rod and plug.

So, I ordered the stainless steel guide rod from Galloway at the same time I ordered some other parts for my other guns. If I do end up sending the LC9 back to Ruger, I will put the polymer rod back in it...the gun wasn't locking open before I put the steel rod in, so it's not the problem. Besides, sometimes manufacturers will restore the gun to its OEM configuration, and they may or may not return aftermarket parts. Since its an easy swap, and not part of the problem anyway, I'll just put the polymer rod back in if I have to send the gun in.

 

[George]

Ya.. maybe the guide rod somehow got under the part that the barrel pin goes or got in a place where it locked it up, strange.. How I get things back together is slide upside down barrel locked place then I install the front of the guide rode in the hole then get the back of the guide rod fit in the barrel so it will stay compressed in place by it self making sure the barrel is not turned one way or the other if you know what I mean.. then I pick up the slide always keeping my thumb on the guide rod and recoil springs till I get the slide well on it's way to where it should be on the slide. Some say to put the frame on the slide while holding like I said but keeping everything upside down.. I don't like to do it that way.. If you keep the guide rod in place with your thumb I can't see it can go on wrong as it forces the barrel up into the slide where it should be locked in place at the same time.. Once it's well on the frame you should be ok.. if I was you and you want to work with it..Maybe use the old guide rode as if it get jammed up again in the same way the plastic may let you more leeway of removing things.. After your done with it this time.. maybe shooting it will losing things up some put 100 or 200 rounds through it.. That may help too..let me know how you make out and what you find out by taking the gun down and reassembling it a few times.. Best of luck.. I'll keep looking at my wife's and see if I can see how you got it locked up let me know if you figure it out.. George