SR9c guide rod assy protrudes

[Popeye1959]

Just bought a new SR9c. Nice gun. Took it apart and cleaned it and later ran 150 rounds of various brands through it without a hiccup. After coming home and cleaning it again, I noticed that after racking the slide, the plastic end of the guide rod assembly protrudes from the front of the slide, leaving a gap about 1/16" between the part and the slide. It's enough that it can snag on something and that's not good for a CCW weapon. Is this normal or is there something wrong here? I also noticed that the guide rod has what I would say in an excessive amount of wear already. Photobucket is being a PITA and won't let me upload any pictures yet.

had to sign up with Shutterfly to post pictures tonite:

Protruding guide rod

Guide rod wear

 

[Rei40c]

Heya,
Not sure about this either mine does protrude slightly but not usually so much to leave visible airspace as in your picture. I found this though, check it out.

http://www.rugerforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=958790

To be honest even after reading this thread, and looking at your pic, I still have to think something is wrong here. Maybe worth a call to Ruger.

Edit: About your second pic of your recoil spring. This does not look like normal wear to me. I have an sr40c with 1500+ rounds through. Granted the springs are different compared to the 9c in tension but the way yours has worn on one side only seems odd. I have not seen this at all in my spring. I think it would be a very simple matter to have Ruger to send you another free of charge.

 

[carbonyl]

I have the same guide rod wear marks and the rod sticks out a bit after the slide cycles. I can push it back flush with a” snap”. The guide rod shined up after the first time I shot it, I have wear marks 180 degrees apart and the issue of the rod end sticking out a bit was always there. I have thousands of rounds through it and it just gets better. I don’t believe either is an issue. I do make sure to wipe CLP on the wear marks.

 

[Popeye1959]

Yeah, there are two rub marks on the rod, 180 degrees apart. Glad to hear this isn't due to me putting it together wrong (didn't think that was it), or me having a defective weapon (more my luck). I will keep an eye on it and if it gets worse, contact the people in Prescott, AZ.

Gonna have to run a few hundred more rounds through it. Hope the slide gets easier to rack, it takes a lot more effort to rack than I expected.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

It will get easier to rack as more rounds get fired. It's not gonna get like a 1911 with a 12 lb recoil spring, though.

 

[cjs1945]

The guide rod seems to protrude slightly on all 9c and 40c pistols that i have seen, it don't seem to be a problem and pushes back with vary little effort, although most are not quite as far as yours. I have not noticed any abnormal wear on any of mine, but the 9c and 40c use the same guide rod assembly and it is available at Ruger store for $5.00 so keeping an extra might be a good idea.

 

[Popeye1959]

Or get the $40.00 Galloway S/S guide rod assy. Could then get a 14 pound spring vs. the 16 pound original one.

 

[Popeye1959]

I just noticed that Galloway also has replacement springs without the guide rod. The guide rod comes apart? No other way to replace the springs otherwise. Maybe this part screws on? Gotta look at the book and gun when I get home.

 

[Clovishound]

I just noticed that Galloway also has replacement springs without the guide rod. The guide rod comes apart? No other way to replace the springs otherwise. Maybe this part screws on? Gotta look at the book and gun when I get home.

Anything will come apart. Whether you have to destroy it in order to get it apart is another question. :roll:

I could be wrong, but I think the Galloway springs are meant to be used with their guide rods. They state on their website that the guide rods can be disassembled to install different weight springs. The stock springs from Ruger come as a guide rod assembly.

http://shopruger.com/VS02060-100-SR9c-SR40c-Guide-Rod-Assembly/productinfo/63036/

Note the price. I plan on ordering a spare one of these days. Just be nice to have one on hand. I understand that recoil springs should be replaced periodically. Not, however, on a brand new weapon. I would agree to call Ruger and they will likely send you a free replacement, unless it is symptomatic of a problem with something else in the weapon. My SR9c with nearly a thousand rounds does not have the guide rod protrude. It does have a very small amount of rub marks on the rod, but nothing like what yours shows.

 

[Popeye1959]

I've seen a lot of comments about how it protrudes. Mine will also pop back in place as almost every other report has mentioned. I suppose I can email the pictures to Ruger to see what they have to say. Figured I would get a good feel about the serevity of this faster through a site like this, so I tried here first.

 

[Popeye1959]

Not that I distrust any of your comments, I contacted the fine people at Ruger. Customer Service said the rub marks are not normal and would send me a replacement guide rod ass'y. I also reassembled it so the marks were 45 degrees from horizontal and took it to the range. Ran 150 round through it with 1 FFE (more about that later). After the range I took it home and saw no new rub marks. Elsewhere, someone had told me to put grease on the guide rod ass'y instead of oil, but when I even mentioned that to the CS woman, she was adamant about me not using any grease (which was my though as well). Hopefully the guide rod suffered some rubbing during break in and the new one will not be subjected to it. Still might get the Galloway one as I like the S/S look better.

The FFE? Well, you know how they say you should be proficient with both hands? And you know how limp wristing can cause an FFE issue? Well, to make sure I didn’t limp wrist while shooting off hand, I made sure I had a positive solid grip. Too bad stupid me has never shot left handed in a Weaver Stance and like an idiot, had my thumb firmly planted directly behind the slide. BOOM, rack, jam, gouge, blood, blood, blood. Thumb was bleeding like a stuck pig and numb from the first knuckle to the tip. For my official review, as this FFE was operator stupidity and not operator error, I’ll not include it in my evaluation. Now I’ve fired 300 rounds with no malfunctions.

You can't really see it from the angle, but the big cut on the left and the small one on the right, are connected and a decent sized flap of skin can be flipped up.

 

[Iron Mike Golf]

I just checked mine. SN 332-06xxx. Guide rod protrudes about the same as OP, no rub marks.

 

[Bruiser]

New here, hi everyone.

Mine protruded as well, and I can snap back into place. I just bought it last night, so all I'ce put through is snap caps (they kept jamming). Am I correct in understanding that the Galloway assembly doesn't protruded out? Just want to clarify for future reference. Hoping to shoot for real this weekend with it.

 

[Ruger Nut10]

Mine does the same and the spare sprg assy I bought from Ruger does the same. Shot 3,000 plus thru mine and it has never been an issue. The snap caps are a non issue. I would bet the gun will run perfect with real ammo. Mine eats everything from Frangible 98 gr all the way to 147 HP's and keeps on ticking. I do want to know if the Gallaway spring can be installed on the ruger assy. I haven't looked into the assembly to see how it will come apart. I thought about getting a 14# sprg so it may be easier for the wife to shoot.

 

[Popeye1959]

From what I've read, the Ruger guide rod ass'y doesn't come apart (unless you break it apart). If you want different Galloway weight springs, you need to use a Galloway guide rod ass'y.

 

[MikeyLikeCarbonFiber]

I've shot a few hundred rounds through my stock guide spring and I don't have those wear marks ... Mine does stick out a little after you rack it but you can easily push it back. Seems to only be stick out like a smidgen.