I have a MKII on which I installed a VQ accurizer kit and a VQ exact edge extractor when I bought it. The pistol has been operating perfectly since I bought it used about 8 months ago.
Recently I bought a Weigand scope mount that attaches to the existing rear sight groove and installed that with an UltraDot L/T sight.
Now, all of a sudden, I am gettting quite a few very light hammer strikes on each magazine ~ no matter which magazine I use. Also at times, I get failures to extract. I have taken it apart and cleaned all parts, taken the bolt apart and cleaned that too. I have polished the bolt with Flitz and a dremmel and even tried to polish the inside rear of the barrel (where the bolt rides) with the dremmel and a nylon circular brush.
There are no broken parts such as springs, firing pin, etc.
Bolt slides really nice and smooth.
Any body know what the problem is?
One other thing I did before I started having trouble. I added a Power Custom Titanium Bolt Racker to the back of the bolt. Do you think this could be the problem? The bolt clears the back of the barrel perfectly - no hang-ups there.
MKII light hammer strikes
Moderators: Bullseye, Moderators
Update on this problem
Still working on it. So I far I have Flitzed the bolt, and firing pin, and inside of the rear part of the barrel. Smooth as silk. Still not working.
Next I checked the power of the mainspring and it is good - takes a good bit of effort to compress the spring with a thin tool. I have removed the bolt-racker and that was not the problem.
My next step is to check the hammer force with the bolt out of the gun - both with the VQ hammer and then the original hammer and see if there is any difference as suggested by recumbent.
This is starting to get me really interested in the inner workings of this fine pistol!
Next I checked the power of the mainspring and it is good - takes a good bit of effort to compress the spring with a thin tool. I have removed the bolt-racker and that was not the problem.
My next step is to check the hammer force with the bolt out of the gun - both with the VQ hammer and then the original hammer and see if there is any difference as suggested by recumbent.
This is starting to get me really interested in the inner workings of this fine pistol!
No, I kept the original bushing and pin... And now I am getting about 8 misfires to a magazine out of 10. I am also going to try the firing pin I have in my new MKIII in the MKII to see if there is any difference... I have a few empty shells to try it on so I don't have to travel to the range to test it.
I asked because the oversized pin and bushing set can have too tight of a fit and need some lapping to prevent light strikes.
Check the wings on the recoil spring assembly to see that they have not spread out. If they did then they could be dragging inside the receiver and slowing down the bolt.
Also, try removing the recoil spring assembly from the bolt and inspect to see that the front end can slide up and down the guide rod without binding. Occasionally if you flip the half moon end over on the guide rod it will slide smoother on the rod.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
Check the wings on the recoil spring assembly to see that they have not spread out. If they did then they could be dragging inside the receiver and slowing down the bolt.
Also, try removing the recoil spring assembly from the bolt and inspect to see that the front end can slide up and down the guide rod without binding. Occasionally if you flip the half moon end over on the guide rod it will slide smoother on the rod.
Hope this helps.
R,
Bullseye
I thoroughly cleaned and brushed and tested the recoil spring today before my unsuccessful range trip. The wings looked good to me. I have a nagging feeling it is the firing pin even though I polished it today also. I will put that to rest in the morning when I swap out the pin with a new one... If that doesn't work, I will try the original hammer. After that, who knows?
"Occasionally if you flip the half moon end over on the guide rod it will slide smoother on the rod." ~ Bullseye - you mean the wing half moon, right?
"Occasionally if you flip the half moon end over on the guide rod it will slide smoother on the rod." ~ Bullseye - you mean the wing half moon, right?
The half moon part I was referring to is on the front end of the recoil spring assembly. It fits into the slot on the front of the bolt. This is the part that actually slides up and down on the guide during recoil. Sometimes these will bind in one direction and operate smoothly in the other. To flip it, just grab the rear of the spring assembly and hold the front part with your other hand, then spin the whole thing 1/2 turn.
R,
Bullseye
R,
Bullseye
I think I am making progress.
After swapping a MKIII bolt for the MKII bolt, the MKII functioned perfectly every time, leaving good strong marks on some spent shells I used for this purpose. So the problem is not with any parts within the frame or barrel.
Next I started swapping the individual components of the MKII bolt into the MKIII bolt and they all worked ~ rebound spring & support, firing pin, and recoil spring assembly.
At this point I am thinking the problem is the bolt itself. Then
I look closely at the exact edge extractor and it looks a little worn on the top side so I decide to compare it with the original one I replaced. Sure enough the EE extractor is thicker than the one that was originally in the gun. I take the EE out and use my trusty Dremel to grind it down on each side until it is slightly thinner than the original (I got carried away with the dremmel 
). I re-install it into the MKII bolt and now I get a good strong mark on the spent shells each time I pull the trigger.
Time for the range test. After oiling up the bolt very well (this guns seems to need a LOT of oil on the bolt to operate smoothly) I try a few mags full of Wally World Federal ammo. Almost no problems whatsoever. I can actually get through a few mags with no misfires.
However, before this problem I never had any problems with misfires so something is still not right. When I have more time I am going to look a the outside edge of the hook on the extractor - the part that contacts the barrel right next to the bore. If I hold the pistol with the barrel pointing down and just kind of "drop" the bolt into it, the bolt still doesn't always seat all the way. There is some friction somewhere slowing or stopping the bolt from closing all the way every time. It seems to hang up just a skosh before complete seating. Could the extractor spring be too strong, causing the extractor to drag in the channel of the barrel when there is a round in the chamber? I think I will remove the extractor again and try dropping the bolt without it to see if it seats all the way every time. If it works then I guess I have to grind some matreial off the outside hook of the extractor.
This is a great learning experience for me. I hope I am not boring anyone out there!
After swapping a MKIII bolt for the MKII bolt, the MKII functioned perfectly every time, leaving good strong marks on some spent shells I used for this purpose. So the problem is not with any parts within the frame or barrel.
Next I started swapping the individual components of the MKII bolt into the MKIII bolt and they all worked ~ rebound spring & support, firing pin, and recoil spring assembly.
At this point I am thinking the problem is the bolt itself. Then
I look closely at the exact edge extractor and it looks a little worn on the top side so I decide to compare it with the original one I replaced. Sure enough the EE extractor is thicker than the one that was originally in the gun. I take the EE out and use my trusty Dremel to grind it down on each side until it is slightly thinner than the original (I got carried away with the dremmel ). I re-install it into the MKII bolt and now I get a good strong mark on the spent shells each time I pull the trigger.Time for the range test. After oiling up the bolt very well (this guns seems to need a LOT of oil on the bolt to operate smoothly) I try a few mags full of Wally World Federal ammo. Almost no problems whatsoever. I can actually get through a few mags with no misfires.
However, before this problem I never had any problems with misfires so something is still not right. When I have more time I am going to look a the outside edge of the hook on the extractor - the part that contacts the barrel right next to the bore. If I hold the pistol with the barrel pointing down and just kind of "drop" the bolt into it, the bolt still doesn't always seat all the way. There is some friction somewhere slowing or stopping the bolt from closing all the way every time. It seems to hang up just a skosh before complete seating. Could the extractor spring be too strong, causing the extractor to drag in the channel of the barrel when there is a round in the chamber? I think I will remove the extractor again and try dropping the bolt without it to see if it seats all the way every time. If it works then I guess I have to grind some matreial off the outside hook of the extractor.
This is a great learning experience for me. I hope I am not boring anyone out there!
Now why didn't I think of that? Great idea and it will make it MUCH simpler. Thanks.Bullseye wrote:Take a sharpie marker and paint the extractor's surface. When dry, work the bolt back and forth several times. Inspect and look for worn spots in the marker ink, there's your high spots.
OK. I did what you suggested, Bullseye, and ground a little more off the rounded portion of the extractor. I got it to the point where the extractor will hold the weight of the bolt in the pistol if the barrel is pointed up, but when a very slight pressure is applied to the back end of the extractor, the bolt drops out. Is that correct? Is the extractor supposed to hold the bolt in the gun or do you think I should remove still more material?