speed six lube?

[Merle1948]

Greetings,

I finally got brave & took my 9mm Speed Six apart last night. It had been a pain about misfiring, so I thought perhaps it was dirty or gummed up inside as the firing pin indents looked a bit light. To make a long story short, it was both clean & bone dry. The only wear marks I could see were on the sides of the hammer, and they looked fairly substantial. I was wondering if that much drag could be my problem?

A footnote; the disassembly pin fell out of the mainspring assembly BEFORE it was fully seated. It was quite a PITA to get it recompressed & insert the pin at the same time. I will be a lot more careful next time!


According to the manual, all you are supposed to do is put a couple of drops of oil in each opening, but that doesn't sound like enough in this case, so I plan to take it back apart & lube the trigger group & especially the sides of the hammer to see if that improves the % of misfires.

My question is, what is your favorite type of lube, teflon or moly? Any favorite brand? Anybody else have a similar problem?

Thanks.

:? :? :?

 

[DeletedMember275]

Is your gun misfiring with factory ammo or reloads; double action, single action, or both? Has the mainspring been replaced with a reduced power spring (or had a coil or two snipped off)? These are all things we need to know before we can offer suggestions.

It's not uncommon for pistol hammers to rub the frame. You may want to polish the insides of the frame slightly with a stone where the hammer rubs; there may be small burs or tool marks that are causing friction. I would lube the gun at pivot points and friction points with a drop or two of your favorite gun oil; I like CLP, simply because I have a lot of it.

 

[contender]

There are many good quality gun lubes. Everybody has a favorite. I just say,, find a quality brand. I know a lot of folks who use Lucas!

 

[rugerguy]

yes, use any of them "sparingly", see all too many 'over oiled'...most any revolver you can get away with about 5 drops in basic areas total.....
I've seen (and have done it myself) just spray the inner lockworks with whatever handy ,dandy spray oil that is "handy" and then blow it ALL out with an air hose.............trouble with "sprays" it is NOT their lubricant that is bad or no good, it is the "propellants" used in the can, .thats why when we may use WD-40 in bulk, and put it in pump-spray bottles, for all around use...
but for the occasional "light gun oil lube" we have always used Breakfree CLP, works for us.
The outside of the gun, we have always used 'RIG,' on piece of sheepskin....

 

[WESHOOT2]

BreakFreeCLP.

 

[Merle1948]

Is your gun misfiring with factory ammo or reloads; double action, single action, or both? Has the mainspring been replaced with a reduced power spring (or had a coil or two snipped off)? These are all things we need to know before we can offer suggestions.

It's not uncommon for pistol hammers to rub the frame. You may want to polish the insides of the frame slightly with a stone where the hammer rubs; there may be small burs or tool marks that are causing friction. I would lube the gun at pivot points and friction points with a drop or two of your favorite gun oil; I like CLP, simply because I have a lot of it.

I have only used factory ammo in this one, as generic 9mm is so cheap. It is misfiring in both DA & SA. Since I bought it used I can't speak as to any previous mods, but I have owned it for many years & have changed nothing. It used to work just fine, so I presume the spring was adequate no matter what may have been done to it. I was mostly concerned with the action being bone dry and the hammer drag marks looked severe to me - almost a scoring. I now think that stoning it would be a good idea. I also wonder about any galling action, as the hammer is stainless & the gun is blue. I "think" I remember stories about the early guns having problems, but that may have been different grades of stainless not working well together - too far back to trust my memory! I have some REMOIL with teflon that I have used in the past, but was wondering if moly does a better job of "building lubrication" in the metal.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Merle1948]

There are many good quality gun lubes. Everybody has a favorite. I just say,, find a quality brand. I know a lot of folks who use Lucas!

OK, thank you.

 

[Merle1948]

yes, use any of them "sparingly", see all too many 'over oiled'...most any revolver you can get away with about 5 drops in basic areas total.....
I've seen (and have done it myself) just spray the inner lockworks with whatever handy ,dandy spray oil that is "handy" and then blow it ALL out with an air hose.............trouble with "sprays" it is NOT their lubricant that is bad or no good, it is the "propellants" used in the can, .thats why when we may use WD-40 in bulk, and put it in pump-spray bottles, for all around use...
but for the occasional "light gun oil lube" we have always used Breakfree CLP, works for us.
The outside of the gun, we have always used 'RIG,' on piece of sheepskin....

OK, thanks. As far as I could tell, there wasn't even one drop of oil in the action. I usually don't use spray lubes, as I have had them "bounce" back out at me.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

 

[Merle1948]

BreakFreeCLP.

Thank you.

 

[P94/GP100]

I simply spray the triggerguard action group with Dri Slide (a magnesium disulfide dry film lubricant carried in an evaporative liquid/spray carrier), and use a light coating of TW25B on the sides of the hammer, on the mainspring strut {after removing the spring} and on the crane axle and on the corresponding interior of the frame where the crane axle rotates.

Best, Jon

 

[gb6491]

I have only used factory ammo in this one, as generic 9mm is so cheap. It is misfiring in both DA & SA. Since I bought it used I can't speak as to any previous mods, but I have owned it for many years & have changed nothing. It used to work just fine,...

As it used to work fine, you might want to check that the screw on the recoil shield (under the the thumb latch) is tight.

Regards,
Greg

 

[Merle1948]

I simply spray the triggerguard action group with Dri Slide (a magnesium disulfide dry film lubricant carried in an evaporative liquid/spray carrier), and use a light coating of TW25B on the sides of the hammer, on the mainspring strut {after removing the spring} and on the crane axle and on the corresponding interior of the frame where the crane axle rotates.

Best, Jon

OK, thank you.

 

[Merle1948]

I have only used factory ammo in this one, as generic 9mm is so cheap. It is misfiring in both DA & SA. Since I bought it used I can't speak as to any previous mods, but I have owned it for many years & have changed nothing. It used to work just fine,...

As it used to work fine, you might want to check that the screw on the recoil shield (under the the thumb latch) is tight.

Regards,
Greg

Boy, that sucker is small - I'll have to dig up a proper screwdriver.

I looked at the exploded diagram, but don't see what effect that would have - am I missing the obvious?

Thanks for the tip.

:? :? :?

 

[CanonLyles]

There are many good quality gun lubes. Everybody has a favorite. I just say,, find a quality brand. I know a lot of folks who use Lucas!

I finally found some Lucas gun oil in the auto parts store in Wheeler, TX. I have been looking for a long time, as I am a firm believer in Lucas. I do like it the best, so far. But, I also like Hoppe's Elite synthetic very much. I love RemOil for final wipe down & storage protection (it's not very viscous). But, Lucas is VERY viscous. Haven't tried Breakfree CLP, yet.

 

[gb6491]

Boy, that sucker is small - I'll have to dig up a proper screwdriver.

I looked at the exploded diagram, but don't see what effect that would have - am I missing the obvious?

Thanks for the tip.

:? :? :?

If loose, that screw (cylinder release pivot) has been known to cause cylinder drag on the Sixes (IE: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=510297 - about post 17) and, as the cylinder release runs perpendicular across the path of the transfer bar, I thought there might be a chance of interference if the release isn't properly secured...besides it does no harm to check it.
Regards,
Greg

 

[ncspeedsix]

Another problem could be your moon clips. I have a 9mm six and mine misfires quite a bit if my moonclips have been re-used quite often or bent in any way.

 

[Merle1948]

Boy, that sucker is small - I'll have to dig up a proper screwdriver.

I looked at the exploded diagram, but don't see what effect that would have - am I missing the obvious?

Thanks for the tip.

:? :? :?

If loose, that screw (cylinder release pivot) has been known to cause cylinder drag on the Sixes (IE: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=510297 - about post 17) and, as the cylinder release runs perpendicular across the path of the transfer bar, I thought there might be a chance of interference if the release isn't properly secured...besides it does no harm to check it.
Regards,
Greg

Thanks for the explanation & the link.

I have a set of Grace gunsmith screwdrivers, but the smallest one is a bit too wide to fit in the hole - looks like I will need to polish it a bit before I can use it. The pic of the staked screw looks like a good idea to me too. I went thru that thread & the only other likely problem would be the firing pin not retracting properly. I have not tried it since I degunked it so I don't know if it is "cured" or not, but will try it this weekend.

Thanks again.

 

[Merle1948]

Another problem could be your moon clips. I have a 9mm six and mine misfires quite a bit if my moonclips have been re-used quite often or bent in any way.

I suspected them at first, but after trying a number of different moon clips (that worked last week) I decided to just go home. I looked at them very carefully & even put them against a straight edge; they all looked good. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Merle1948]

Boy, that sucker is small - I'll have to dig up a proper screwdriver.

I looked at the exploded diagram, but don't see what effect that would have - am I missing the obvious?

Thanks for the tip.

:? :? :?

If loose, that screw (cylinder release pivot) has been known to cause cylinder drag on the Sixes (IE: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=510297 - about post 17) and, as the cylinder release runs perpendicular across the path of the transfer bar, I thought there might be a chance of interference if the release isn't properly secured...besides it does no harm to check it.
Regards,
Greg

I just went back & looked at it again. I held it up to a bright light & watched the firing pin - it retracted quite promptly. There is only a minute amount of wobble in the pawl. Doesn't seem as if either of them would be my problem.

Then I tried a jewler's screwdriver on the latch screw. It was at least 1-1/2 turns loose. :shock: :shock: :shock: What concerned me was how easily it turned - I don't see how it will stay tight when it turns that easily. I was wondering about taking it all the way out, degeasing it & the hole and then applying locktite. Once again I looked at the diagram and didn't see how I could get into trouble, but my luck usually runs to the bad.

At any rate, I still need to customize a proper screwdriver so that I can get it tight. I won't reef on it too hard, using a jewler's screwdriver, as it doesn't fit properly.

Thanks again.

 

[Merle1948]

Boy, that sucker is small - I'll have to dig up a proper screwdriver.

I looked at the exploded diagram, but don't see what effect that would have - am I missing the obvious?

Thanks for the tip.

:? :? :?

If loose, that screw (cylinder release pivot) has been known to cause cylinder drag on the Sixes (IE: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=510297 - about post 17) and, as the cylinder release runs perpendicular across the path of the transfer bar, I thought there might be a chance of interference if the release isn't properly secured...besides it does no harm to check it.
Regards,
Greg

Thanks for the explanation & the link.

I have a set of Grace gunsmith screwdrivers, but the smallest one is a bit too wide to fit in the hole - looks like I will need to polish it a bit before I can use it. The pic of the staked screw looks like a good idea to me too. I went thru that thread & the only other likely problem would be the firing pin not retracting properly. I have not tried it since I degunked it so I don't know if it is "cured" or not, but will try it this weekend.

Thanks again.

Well, I tried it out last night. It's still not fixed. I guess the next move is to get a new hammer spring from Wolff & see if that cures it.

What is really troubling me about this is that it worked one day - but not the next. I just don't understand how a spring could fail that fast.

 

[WESHOOT2]

Ruger service time?

(they are very good....)

 

[Merle1948]

Ruger service time?

(they are very good....)

Yeah, if the new spring doesn't cure it.
I'm trying everything I can think of, as a learning experience.

What I find odd is is that one guy says they are almost out of parts for the Six Series and they next guy says they ae still well stocked. Guss it makes a difference if they have the part you need - or not.

Thanks.