Colt slide catch spring mod.

[techmike]

The one thing I disliked most about the Colt was the difficulty level when re-installing the barrel and the slide catch spring. Just a bad design. I came up with a solution that has worked very well on my Colt. The spring (and bolt) are now held captive by the slide catch and the modified spring hole.

TM

1296_069b1e24429fc57458f4888774fbfe07aa61e9a1.doc

[rodent.22]

great fix! this is the only pain I have run into on reassembly of the Colt.... :thumb:

[imschur]

Great info Mike

[RonJon]

I have found it easy to replace the stock slide stop spring and pin using the following method:

It is necessary to have the two halves of the slide enclosure apart (the part with the 5 screws & nuts).

With the barrel removed, the slide stop spring and pin will have come out on their own (be careful not to let them fly away!).

I use a good tweezer to place them into their hole on the half of the slide enclosure that has the slide stop installed with the solid plunger part facing toward where the barrel breech will be.

Then (and here is the trick) carefully push the spring and plunger into the hole with the EDGE of a very small flat screwdriver (I like to use a clear plastic bag to catch the parts if they do slip!). Keep it flat near the bottom as you slide the barrel breech down over it leaving it there in its proper place then pull out the screwdriver when the barrel breech has it captured as you push the barrel breech all the way down. (Use the flat surface of your workbench to keep it aligned - it's not hard to do).  This will keep the slide stop spring and pin in place as long as you do not move the barrel and its breech end again until you get the enclosure re-assembled with all of the other parts (ejector, & bolt).

Hold the enclosure halves together with your hand while you replace the screws & nuts, all the while keeping the parts within (barrel, bolt, ejector, etc) contained.

Once you get the screws and nuts back in and snugged up joining the two halves of the enclosure you are done!

I know it's a lot of words (I do that do make sure I don't leave out any detail), but it's really pretty easy to do it this way successfully!

Ron

[techmike]

Yup. That's the way to do it. But I don't have to anymore! :beer:

TM

[draggun]

Great Mod TM. You nailed it. It makes you wonder why it wasn't designed that way initially.

[techmike]

Thanks Draggun. Does make you wonder, usually German design is much better.

TM

[rodent.22]

I work at a german car dealership, their overriding philosophy is why use one bolt when you can use 6....

[wobblinwheel]

How come I can't open these files??

[rodent.22]

PM Imschur

[imschur]

How come I can't open these files??

Do you have microsoft word?

[wobblinwheel]

I looked in "all programs" and found only "Wordpad". I can open the file, get text and a bunch of "gobbledegoop"n no graphics. Can I download Microsoft Word?

[wobblinwheel]

I looked in "all programs" and found only "Wordpad". I can open the file, get text and a bunch of "gobbledegoop"n no graphics. Can I download Microsoft Word?

UPDATE! I searched the web and found "Microsoft Word Viewer 2003", installed it, selected it as default for .doc files, and it WORKED! DAMN, I'M GETTING GOOD AT THIS!!! I'm finally learning how to werk a kumpooter!....with a little help from you guys!

[wobblinwheel]

Wonder it you could take the original "spring-pin" and FLATTEN-OUT the big end (or "peen" it on the end) until it fits SNUG in the hole? Just experiment until it needs to be "tapped" in there. Maybe then you could keep the same spring? Haven't tried it, but just a thought,

[techmike]

Remember, the slide housing is a zinc alloy. I would not:  "Just experiment until it needs to be "tapped" in there." - That would be a great way to crack the housing, IMO.

TM

[kerrville]

Here's that same doc that TechMike made, but in a friendly PDF format. 

Thanks for the info.

update: (revised the PDF)

5464_10f35ed27822d11b2eda693824058d64b5570bd7.pdf

[imschur]

thanks

[techmike]

Thanks, Is it just me, the arrows don't seem to line up with the picture in the PDF... :confused:

[kerrville]

Sorry bout that.

When I first opened it, it did seem a little weird to me.  But I figured that was just how it was.  I tried opening it in a different version of Word, and everything lined up.  I updated the PDF in my previous post. 

[techmike]

That works! :thumb: