gr7070 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The ejector rod on my 686-6 won't stay tightened. It loosens frequently requiring me to tighten it down after a couple stages. If I don't tighten now and again it interferes with opening the cylinder. If I tighten it greatly to ensure it doesn't loosen the ejector rod cannot be pushed without a lot of effort. It seems there's no middle ground. I can't find the sweet spot of tight enough to stay indefinitely and not too tight to move eject nicely. Is this common? Any suggestions? Is this a problem S&W can/should/would fix under warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
underlug Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 The ejector rod on my 686-6 won't stay tightened. It loosens frequently requiring me to tighten it down after a couple stages. If I don't tighten now and again it interferes with opening the cylinder. If I tighten it greatly to ensure it doesn't loosen the ejector rod cannot be pushed without a lot of effort. It seems there's no middle ground. I can't find the sweet spot of tight enough to stay indefinitely and not too tight to move eject nicely. Is this common? Any suggestions? Is this a problem S&W can/should/would fix under warranty? The threads on the ejector rod are delicate. You need to make sure when you re-tighten they are started correctly and you should never crank hard on them, or, you can easily strip them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Some blue LocTite on the threads would fix the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Yeah, I normally don't like to apply loctite to extractor rod threads, but in this instance I think it is the obvious solution. One drop of blue loctite should do the trick. Then leave it alone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr7070 Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 Thanks gentlemen! I, too, didn't think loctite would be desired there. However, it's sounding like it might be the way to go for my issue. I've got one finicky chamber that sticks a little - cases don't always seat nicely and sometimes leave one up when I go to close, even when clean as can be and off the clock. Should I wait to loctite the ejector rod until after I've figured out what to do with it? I may end up sending it out to get the one chamber enlarged a hair. I'm guessing I won't want the rod loctited if I'm going to do that. Thoughts??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eisenhow Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I had mine back out, on the clock, at the MA State ICORE championship. I also found out the hard way that it is a LEFT HAND THREAD. Bones can attest to me completely unscrewing it and having to put it back together and finish the stage. After the match it got a thorough cleaning and drop of loctite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCARICH Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I had the same problem, found out that I over tighten and slip the threaded end of the ejector. I now use clear fingernail polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg K Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) If I tighten it greatly to ensure it doesn't loosen the ejector rod cannot be pushed without a lot of effort. This part makes me wonder if the rod is bent or if the female portion of the threads in the extractor have a crack in the body that swells up when the rod is tightened. Just because the rod is tight should not make it harder to operate. I would be glad to take a look at it if you make it down to one of the SA or Bandera matches. Edited July 16, 2011 by Gregg K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirpy Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Make sure you clean the parts before using the LT or FNP. Helps! FWIW Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Gregg makes a good point--a crack in the female threaded portion of the extractor is a fairly common problem, and it creates the exact symptom you describe. It is usually caused by overtightening the extractor rod (one of the several reasons I tell people not to dink with them)--however, I have seen at least one brand new revolver that had this crack straight from the factory. You can check it by removing the extractor and the rod, and assembling them without the cylinder--look carefully at the barrel of the extractor as you tighten it up. The crack will be just a hairline going up from the end of the extractor barrel that will appear as you torque the rod tight. If this is happening, the real solution is to have a new extractor fitted. However, in the real world, a drop of loctite will probably work fine. One drop of blue loctite (not frickin' nail polish, or any other home remedies) on the threads, tighten just enough to be fully in place without causing the crack to open up, and let it dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 BTW, you can buy loctite at any auto parts store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pskys2 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Sounds like you have a crack. If you do use Loc Tite, use ONLY THE BLUE 242. Stay away from the Red 271 as that takes a bit of heat to loosen back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granderojo Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Clear nail polish will make a bond that's not as strong as Blue but, will hold in light use. It's eaiser to take back apart and clean up for reassembly is as simple as nail polish remover w/acetone or pure acetone. One can always go to Blue if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 (edited) You could probably use maple syrup, too, but seriously--why not stick with consistent predictable products that are specifically made for the task? Just do blue. Edited July 16, 2011 by Carmoney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr7070 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 Much appreciated, all!! I'll take it apart and take a look at it. If need be I'll ship it off to S&W. I do have some blue (the liquid) loctite I use on my guns from time to time.. It's actually Uncle Mike's Gun-Tite from Loctite. It has green text on the bottle and model No. 1631. It's "removable threadlocker with ordinary tools". Thank you all for the help. I'll let y'all know what I find when I take it apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom E Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 The purple 222 is probably most correct for this application. "Blue" is meant for larger diameter fasteners and can be stronger than you need/want for our "small" stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Like Tom E - I have found Loctite 222 to be the best solution for this problem. Check for the cracked female section on the rod before you glue it all together. If it lets go with Loctite on it... your job just gets a whole lot harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr7070 Posted September 7, 2011 Author Share Posted September 7, 2011 I finally got around to checking for the ejector rod female end crack. There was no crack so I called S&W to see what they would suggest. They alwant mento send it in; a shipping label is on the way. The operator thought it might be "overrun" - if I remember what he called it. He went on to explain that it might have to do with the rod not quite fitting right and they may need to adjust it??? Seemed strange to me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to solving this issue regardless; it's been a bit annoying having to finger tighten the rod after every stage, but not too tight so it will still work. Thanks again for all the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Griffin Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Be careful of letting any loctite seep out of the female portion, it's easy to gum up the guts that way. Also, I've replaced and ejector twice with no need to re-time so it's not a bad spare part to keep handy. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R112mercer Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Just some stuff I learned the hard way and hadn't been mentioned: Always have some empties in the cylinders when you tighten the ejector rod so you keep the force off the star. Also get a good ejector rod wrench, Power Custom makes a nice one. It makes removing and installing the rod alot easier & helps prevent you from screwing up the rod. Just don't torque it too much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Remember, we're talking a tiny dot of loctite. Like Matt said you don't want it going anywhere else. Besides that's all you need to make it hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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