1911 reassembly

[Pinky787]

So I have had a few 1911s over the years from kimbers to taurus to RI to desert eagle but this is a 1st. Took the gun apart to clean it up a little bit. This 1 is a rock island, and after reassembly the slide stop is very hard to engage/disengage taking alot of force than before, the slide will rack semi fine but on occasion it will stop at the notch where you push the slide stop out, rerack the slide and it goes back into battery. I've taken it back apart twice and put it back together with the same issue. Never had this problem before it is my daily carry so want to figure it out before my life depends on it and jams after the first shot or something. Any help would be great thanks

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[wvsig]

How far down did you strip the gun?

 

[Pinky787]

Slide off recoil spring and guide rod out, barrel out. That about it @wvsig barrel bushing and the spring cap obviously

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[GymB]

Field strip it, lets see what you got in there. While you’ve got it apart, does the barrel link move freely, any cracks in the link or whatever you call the things that the link pin goes into?

Unrelated, is that trigger original?

 

[pinkbunny]

@1911gobang

 

[wvsig]

Check the slide stop itself foe burrs or any unusual wear. Check the barrel link for issues. Make sure it isn't binding. Do you have another 1911? If so try to install the slide stop from the other pistol. Also compare the two slide stops and see if there is a difference.

 

[Pinky787]

No heat in the building, ill field strip it again in the morning n see. But in the 2-3 times I stripped it and reassembled yes the link moved freely. I didn't notice any cracks but ill look more closely tomorrow.
As far as the trigger it is factory as far as I know. I am 2nd owner so not 100% sure, I know grips are swapped

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[Pinky787]

Unfortunately it is my only 1911 had to sell a few off. So nothing to compare .

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[Howland]

Don't feel bad. I stripped down my first 1911 for a thorough cleaning after putting it through its paces. I used a magazine step by step with illustrations as a guide. I thought it went pretty smoothly.

A couple weeks later I went to clean off the bench for a reloading session. First step was to put away the open magazine. As soon as I moved the magazine one of the diagrams moved on the page.

I had carried around a pistol for two or three weeks with the grip safety disconnect not installed.

 

[Catfish]

In that 1st photo has the slide stop engaged the notch in the slide or is it pushed all the way in? maybe your right index finger pushed it out a bit?

 

[OldNascar]

Check the plunger and spring that tension the safety and slide stop for kinks and burrs.

 

[Pinky787]

Slide stop was all the way. If I racked the slide and slowly let it go instead of just letting the spring tension take over is when it would hang up in that first picture. Here is the slide stop. It looks ok to me

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[S4f]

Slide stop was all the way. If I racked the slide and slowly let it go instead of just letting the spring tension take over is when it would hang up in that first picture. Here is the slide stop. It looks ok to me

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Look at the flat part( back of the slide lock) that engages the plunger tube detent is there a dimple or is it smooth.
Any carbon buildup on this area

 

[Pinky787]

Slide stop in with the slide off, moves up and down easily unlike when the slide was on requiring alot of force to engage the slide stop. Barrel link moves freely no cracks that I can see

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[Pinky787]

Look at the flat part( back of the slide lock) that engages the plunger tube detent is there a dimple or is it smooth.
Any carbon buildup on this area

Small dimple from where it sits there there was a little when I cleaned it last night but seems pretty clean now

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[OldNascar]

The slide stop plunger has to fully engage the slight intention in the slide stop surface to fully disengage the slide stop. Try assembling the slide without fully setting the slide stop, let it dangle just using the cross pin and check the function of the slide. If it is free then do as suggested before and check the plunger and spring for a possible bind or misalignment.

 

[Pinky787]

Now I wonder if the slide stop is bend ever so slightly. It stopped short, press in a little at the end of the slide.stop and it goes into battery

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[wvsig]

I am betting an out of spec slide stop because it should not be under any tension without a mag in the gun. Nothing should be pushing it up.

 

[OldNascar]

Yeap, you can bend the slide stop by pressing on the pin area rather than at the slide notch on reassembly. Just bring the slide stop around to where it dangles and apply pressure to ‘unbend’ it and all should be well, good luck.

 

[Pinky787]

@OldNascar doesn't look binded up, but it didn't shoot out when I took the safety out, I pushed it in with a punch to try to prevent that but as I let off the punch it just stayed in place

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[Pinky787]

So bending the slide stop appears to fix the problem. Given the unknown round count and me having a extra laying around I went ahead and changed the firing pin spring which looked as if the one in it was on backwards. Unknown if the recoil spring is stock or not. While I've got it apart and doing everything else I have a new #10 spring is that worth swapping as well or just leave it as is

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[OldNascar]

Glad to read it’s up and running.