My 625 took a dump and stopped working

[71Commander]

I have a 5" 625-4 that has gone on strike.

Not every time but enough to be a problem, I can't pull the trigger in a smooth motion. The trigger catches on something about 2/3s of the pull then with added pressure, releases, causing shots to be erratic. Sometimes it hangs up and I can't pull the trigger using both fingers. I have to open the cylinder, then close it.

I have checked for high primers and that's not the problem. I have taken the crane off and gave it a good bath. I have tried using new moon clips. Nothing works.

Bad trigger, maybe?

Any ideas?

[MrBorland]

bent ejector rod?

[benny hill]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

[Toolguy]

The trigger pivot pin may be broken off. When that happens the hole in the side plate will hold it in position just enough to kind of work. That is one of the few things I will send a gun back to the factory for.

If you are shooting lead bullets check for build up between the front of the cylinder and back of the barrel as Benny Hill says.

Also, clean out between the extractor (star) and the hole it sits in. When you eject spent cases, trash from the chambers falls onto the underside of the extractor and gets trapped in that space. When the cylinder is closed with the trash in there it can be very hard to turn. Clean this often with a toothbrush.

Check for endshake. If the cylinder has some front to back play, the hand will push it forward enough to rub on the back of the barrel. Anything that makes the cylinder drag even a little adds tons to the trigger pull.

Edited June 13, 2012 by Toolguy

[71Commander]

bent ejector rod?

It's fine. Crane has a ball dtent.

[71Commander]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

There's clearance in the flash gap.

Thanks.

[71Commander]

The trigger pivot pin may be broken off. When that happens the hole in the side plate will hold it in position just enough to kind of work. That is one of the few things I will send a gun back to the factory for.

That sounds like what's going on. Any way to definitely tell if this may be the problem?

Thanks.

[Steve in Allentown PA]

The trigger pivot pin may be broken off. When that happens the hole in the side plate will hold it in position just enough to kind of work. That is one of the few things I will send a gun back to the factory for.

That sounds like what's going on. Any way to definitely tell if this may be the problem?

I hesitate to say this in case there's something obvious I'm missing but couldn't you just pop the sideplate off and pull out the trigger to see if the pivot pin is still attached to the frame?

[jhgtyre]

The trigger pivot pin may be broken off. When that happens the hole in the side plate will hold it in position just enough to kind of work. That is one of the few things I will send a gun back to the factory for.

That sounds like what's going on. Any way to definitely tell if this may be the problem?

I hesitate to say this in case there's something obvious I'm missing but couldn't you just pop the sideplate off and pull out the trigger to see if the pivot pin is still attached to the frame?

Of course. I think Toolguy was saying that, if the pin is broken, he would send it back to the factory.

-ld

[Waltermitty]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

There's clearance in the flash gap.

Thanks.

How much endshake do you have?

[71Commander]

The trigger pivot pin may be broken off. When that happens the hole in the side plate will hold it in position just enough to kind of work. That is one of the few things I will send a gun back to the factory for.

That sounds like what's going on. Any way to definitely tell if this may be the problem?

I hesitate to say this in case there's something obvious I'm missing but couldn't you just pop the sideplate off and pull out the trigger to see if the pivot pin is still attached to the frame?

Everything seems in order. (It was really grimey inside)

I dryfired it with the plate removed. I could feel a small hitch, but didn't notice anything out of place.

Edited June 13, 2012 by 71Commander

[71Commander]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

There's clearance in the flash gap.

Thanks.

How much endshake do you have?

There's some. Aprox. 50K rounds through it.

That's going to be my next/last inspection before I send it in for service.

Thanks.

[MrBorland]

bent ejector rod?

It's fine. Crane has a ball dtent.

If you haven't yet done so, spin the open cylinder & look at the end of the ejector rod. If it's bent, I'm guessing a ball detent wouldn't do much to prevent binding from bent ejector rod. Warren?

Everything seems in order. (It was really grimey inside)

I dryfired it with the plate removed. I could feel a small hitch, but didn't notice anything out of place.

Did you back off the strain screw before removing the side plate & dry firing? On one hand, it's good to do so, especially if you're going to dry fire it without the sideplate. On the other hand, if the problem is under the sideplate, wouldn't backing off spring tension make it difficult to reproduce the problem? Warren? Bueller? Bueller?

Tom

[Toolguy]

The ejector rod needs to be straight whether it has a ball detent or not. If it doesn't have the front detent for the end of the ejector rod, a bent rod won't bother it as much, but still some.

There is no need to back off the strain screw when the side plate is off.

[Waltermitty]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

There's clearance in the flash gap.

Thanks.

How much endshake do you have?

There's some. Aprox. 50K rounds through it.

That's going to be my next/last inspection before I send it in for service.

Thanks.

Your problem sounds like my experience with excessive end shake. S&W installed a new cylinder for me and kluged the clearances. On trigger pull the hand would engage the ratchet and push the cylinder forward until it contacted the forcing cone. Push the cylinder as far forward as you can and observe or measure the gap, it must not be zero.

[71Commander]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

There's clearance in the flash gap.

Thanks.

How much endshake do you have?

There's some. Aprox. 50K rounds through it.

That's going to be my next/last inspection before I send it in for service.

Thanks.

Your problem sounds like my experience with excessive end shake. S&W installed a new cylinder for me and kluged the clearances. On trigger pull the hand would engage the ratchet and push the cylinder forward until it contacted the forcing cone. Push the cylinder as far forward as you can and observe or measure the gap, it must not be zero.

I think that's it. There is NO clearance. None.

[Toolguy]

All revolver develop endshake with enough use. It's a simple matter to set it right. Takes me about 10 minutes.

[Waltermitty]

See if there is a lead build up between the cylinder and barrel forceing cone.

There's clearance in the flash gap.

Thanks.

How much endshake do you have?

There's some. Aprox. 50K rounds through it.

That's going to be my next/last inspection before I send it in for service.

Thanks.

Your problem sounds like my experience with excessive end shake. S&W installed a new cylinder for me and kluged the clearances. On trigger pull the hand would engage the ratchet and push the cylinder forward until it contacted the forcing cone. Push the cylinder as far forward as you can and observe or measure the gap, it must not be zero.

I think that's it. There is NO clearance. None.

Read about cylinder bearings: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=9858/Product/CYLINDER-BEARINGS

[4mike]

open cylinder, pull back cylinder latch and try your trigger again

(problem may not be related to the rotation of the cylinder)

[Matt Griffin]

Late to the party, it sounded like what I've seen when endshake becomes an issue. It can be annoying to detect because often there is a period where it only binds when hot. Get some Power Custom .002 shims from Brownell's and drop one in, it'll fix you for the next 100,000 pulls.

Matt

[Toolguy]

You will probably need 2 or 3 shims, I would get half a dozen.

[Waltermitty]

You will probably need 2 or 3 shims, I would get half a dozen.

The Brownells link I posted above come 10 in a pack. I buy the .002" and stack them up.

[71Commander]

I ordered them. 10 to a pack.

When they get here, I'll give em a try.

Thanks all. Big help.

[71Commander]

Another question.

Is this something that I should be pulling the crane off and dropping oil into occasionally?

[Matt Griffin]

Another question.

Is this something that I should be pulling the crane off and dropping oil into occasionally?

Nah, not really. You'll just collect crap in the oil. Throw in a shim and get some sparkplug gappers, check the gap before the season starts and make sure you check it on all 6 cylinders since the yoke can get a little eccentric. .002 is the dead minimum gap but you want some leeway, shim it to .004 and you'll be fine. Also if you've never taken a cylinder assembly apart, it's threaded backwards and very sensitive to over-torquing. Put a dummy clip in before you start unscrewing (right-loosey!) and use blue loctite when you reassemble. You don't want much more force than feeling it bottom out and then giving it a gentle nudge more.

Matt