Ruger MKII Mainspring question

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22_plinker
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Ruger MKII Mainspring question

Post by 22_plinker » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:31 am

I bought my wife a Ruger MKII Competition Target Model last year at a gun show. When I went to take it down for a detail cleaning I realized that the mainspring housing was stuck in the handle. It would open like normal but it was all I could do to get it to swing out. The stud came out easy enough. Then of course since I was in a hurry I didn't get the hammer strut right so I had to take the main spring back out and again it was stuck...I've never had this problem before. Has anyone else experienced this and how do I fix it? I would assume the fix would be to somehow spread out the opening in the handle. Thanks for any help.

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Post by blue68f100 » Sun Sep 27, 2009 2:12 pm

Check to see if the pins are penned so they do not shift side to side. If loose, it can kick to one side and hang on the frame.

To tighten take a center punch and peen the pin a little more.
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Post by 22_plinker » Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:54 pm

blue68f100 wrote:Check to see if the pins are penned so they do not shift side to side. If loose, it can kick to one side and hang on the frame.

To tighten take a center punch and peen the pin a little more.
Ok I decided to take the mainspring out and take a look at the pins. I actually had to pry the thing out after countless attempts to work it out by hand. All of the pins were flush with the housing. As I looked at it I could see marks on the housing were it has been sticking in the frame of the pistol. I'm not sure what could have caused this problem unless the pistol was some how mashed but the grips were in perfect condition. The barrel is a little rough with scratches and nicks here and there. I truly like this pistol and wish I could figure out this problem. I would also like the have the barrels marks worked out of it. Any suggestions on what might have caused this how to fix it? Thanks...

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Post by Bullseye » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:00 am

How about posting some pictures of the worn areas on the mainspring and frame so we can make pertinent suggestions for the remedy.

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Post by 22_plinker » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:24 am

Bullseye wrote:How about posting some pictures of the worn areas on the mainspring and frame so we can make pertinent suggestions for the remedy.

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I'll see what I can do this evening after work. I have considered sanding or filing the arae on the grip where it seems to be rubbing but not sure that would help.

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Post by 22_plinker » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:23 pm

Ok, got some pictures of the area where the mainspring has rub marks on them. The one showing the grip with the mainspring sticking out indicates where it sticks. I was able to get it out easier the first couple of times but then the strut didn't fall into place and it was a bear to get out again.

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Post by Bullseye » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:20 am

Stoning or filing that area will work fine for those drag points, You can use a Sharpie permanent marker to help highlight the high spots. It doesn't look like it will take much work to fix that little problem. Having a stainless frame makes it even easier, you won't have to reblue the stoned areas. The MS pins look good.

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Post by 22_plinker » Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:59 am

Bullseye wrote:Stoning or filing that area will work fine for those drag points, You can use a Sharpie permanent marker to help highlight the high spots. It doesn't look like it will take much work to fix that little problem. Having a stainless frame makes it even easier, you won't have to reblue the stoned areas. The MS pins look good.

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When you say stoning what type of stone do I use and where do I pick one up? It was really hard to get apart when the strut didn't settle in right, when I was putting it back together it looked like it was going to fall right into place. This gun is used but I don't think anyone has done any mods on it because the trigger is pretty sloppy. I'll do a trigger job on it later, right now I'm working on my 30 year old Mark I. Thanks for the information Bullseye.

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Post by blue68f100 » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:25 pm

This is deffinately not dialup friendly (24kbps), can't wait till I make it back home in a couple of week (25/10mbps FIOS). Does not look bad. I would check to make sure the mainspring housing is flat with a straight edge first. You could have a slight bow causing the problem. Pins look good like Bullseye said. Stoning is a tool used to smooth things out, like a sharpening stone or sand paper on flat steel plates. A fine diamond file would work in that area since it's not going to show. Since you are not going to need to remove more that ~0.010".
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Post by 22_plinker » Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:35 pm

Thanks for all of your comments guys. I'm learning but it's a slow process that's why I count on you guys that have been there before. I may just live with it as is since I don't take it down that often and it did seem a little easier the other day. I'm currently working on my MKI and it's coming along nicely. But again thanks for taking the time to give me some advise.

PS...Blue I understand the dila up issue. I can't access this site at work because the I.T. Department has us locked out.

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Post by raw6464 » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:28 pm

Why don't you just grind/file a little off the main spring where it binds rather than the frame? It may very well be the frame but grinding or filing the main spring should be easier as the spring already has is "marked" where it needs to be filed down... and it leaves no external marks.

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