need help asap!

[boomer92266]

i have a friend that's about to make a mistake i think, but i wanted ya'll to give your idea's so he won't do what he's thinking of doing. he found a decent security six blued from the serial number it was a 1984 model with 4inch barrel. we were shooting yesterday and he noticed his ejector rod is loose and came unscrewed a little. i told him to tighten it back up or do as i did when i got my service six, take it apart clean and relube the cylinder. he has got it in his head that the gun is now no good, says a gun shouldn't come loose and one that does isn't worth keeping. i tell him mine was loose when i got it, i tightened mine after cleaning hand tight and so far it's still good. i've heard some people blue lock tight the rod but i'm afraid to do that to mine. he's gonna try and sell it but said if what i say is true, he'll have me fix it. so has anyone had a ejector rod to come loose?, was it the end of the gun? :roll: let me know soon and i'll get to fixen it for him. also i have no special tools or a gunsmith close by so is hand tighten good enough? we shoot only about 25-50rds a week. thanks for any help.

 

[Catman]

Hey I have a Service Six 4" when I got it I had to dis assemble it to take care of an endshake issue. When I reassembled it I snugged op the ejector rod and thought I was good. Went out shooting and it worked loose, I also have seen where some have needed to apply blue lock tite to theirs but I have been fine with just making sure to tighten it well. No more backing out. As I remember it was quite tight when I took it out. I say have him let you have a look and snug it up.
May also want to pull it apart and make sure the threads are free of any lube.

 

[boomer92266]

how did you fix the end shake in case i ever need too?

 

[Snake45]

This was so common on S&Ws that they switched it to left-hand threads to try to fight the rotation, and even then sometimes they'd come loose.

I got in the habit of always giving the rod a tightening twist whenever I opened the cylinder, whether it needed it or not.

BLUE Loctite is a good solution.

There is nothing wrong with your friend's gun, but if he wants to sell it to you cheap...well, you TRIED to lay the Truth on him. Your conscience can be clear. :wink:

 

[Chuck 100 yd]

He had better get rid of it... I will give him $20.00 for it just to be a nice guy and help cut his losses.

 

[hittman]

I agree with a very small drop of blue Loctite. There's nothing wrong with the gun.

For a real problem with a wheel gun shooting loose, get him a Smith so he can lose the side plate screws too.

 

[GP100man]

I agree with hittmans comment ^^^^

 

[pisgah]

I have never owned any gun with screws that didn't get checked over regularly for screw tightness. Screws on mechanical devices that move and vibrate back out, and that's a fact. People who expect them to stay tight forever in are living in la-la land. If you are having real problems with a particular screw, or are so lazy or indifferent that you can't be bothered to check them once in a while, a dab of blue Loctite helps.

 

[Rainy Day Shooter]

I have had ejector rods come loose before. No big thing. Firearms are mechanical objects that need some TLC every now and again. They are no different than our cars and homes. Help him tighten it up, and all will be well.

 

[22/45 Fan]

One precaution while tightening any ejector rod; put empty cases in at least two opposing chambers before snugging down the rod. That prevents twisting or warping the extractor star. Also wrap a piece of cloth around the end of the rod if you use pliers to tighten it.

BTW, my S&W 686s have been fired thousands and thousands of rounds and the sideplate screws have NEVER loosened by themselves.

 

[RoninPA]

I own a number of Six series guns, from first year of manufacture to last. On some guns the ejector rod can loosen over time and a lot of that can be related to the gun itself, owner(s) either not doing routine maintenance on the gun or just not knowing how to tighten it up so it won't come loose. Tighten up the ejector rod, really not a big deal. If it comes loose again, put a drop of blue loctite on it and snug it up. If you have to do anything down the road the blue will allow you to take it apart with not much difficulty. I also suggest that if you use pliers (even I do sometimes), wrap a smal piece of leather around the rod first so that you don't leave marks.

If your friend just will not listen to you and the comments here, have him sell the gun, he will be able to sell it pretty easily and if he sells it to you for a good price then you are ahead of the game.

 

[Mohillbilly]

In the old cowboy days screws that came loose was fixed in the field by pxssing on them and run them down tight . Wouldn't take long an it would be rusted tight .....

 

[CraigC]

Good Lord, is the sky falling too??? He' being silly. If his Security Six is bad than all my guns are bad because any screw on a firearm can come loose at any time if it's not properly secured with Loctite. `Tis why we don't go shootin' sixguns without a screwdriver close at hand. :roll:

 

[Snake45]

BTW, my S&W 686s have been fired thousands and thousands of rounds and the sideplate screws have NEVER loosened by themselves.

I've never had one come clear out, or even visibly loose, either. I have had one or two occasions (in 40+ years) when a sideplate screw "started" out more easily than I would have thought/liked, though.

 

[Smee781]

I have had it happen before, I just cleaned and retightened it. I have heard of blue lock tight being used before and would use it if needed.

 

[muzzleloader]

yup, happens. My model 13 locked itself up after a (lot) of dry firing. got it openned up, degreased the threads and a LITTLE loctite. been good for 20 years since. But I will take that security six off his hands if it'll make him fell better. 8)