I shot a whole season with no spring loaded bearing

[Rob D]

I went to order a new extractor for my G34 yesterday to have a spare, and I noticed the caption saying something along the lines of "The LCI model requires the correct spring loaded bearing. I was confused by this. I checked the glock parts diagram and whaddayaknow, my gun has been missing a part for as long as I've owned it. It has the extractor rod and spring, but no spring loaded bearing on the outside.

I had my very first stovepipe on the last stage I shot at A4, which prompted me to order the extractor. How important is this part if you can shoot 18 months and not even notice it's missing? Is it something that would cause problems under the right conditions? I went ahead and ordered the new extractor with the bearing, but I'm curious if anybody else has had a similar experience.

[soundwave]

Sounds like even without the Spring loaded bearing, you still had enough tension on the extractor for it to do its job. Your stovepipe could very well be the result of this missing part. Perhaps the spring tension is finally getting weaker and has no juice left on the extractor.

It is a very small little plastic part. Have you ever detailed stripped your slide? They just snap onto the spring and can easily snap off if not careful.

I imagine once you get the new slb, you will be functioning 100% again. I don;t see how firing rounds without one can really damage your gun internally.

[38supPat]

I once saw a Glock shoot a whole stage with no extractor...lol

[Rob D]

Sounds like even without the Spring loaded bearing, you still had enough tension on the extractor for it to do its job. Your stovepipe could very well be the result of this missing part. Perhaps the spring tension is finally getting weaker and has no juice left on the extractor.

It is a very small little plastic part. Have you ever detailed stripped your slide? They just snap onto the spring and can easily snap off if not careful.

I imagine once you get the new slb, you will be functioning 100% again. I don;t see how firing rounds without one can really damage your gun internally.

I've detail stripped my slide dozens of times. I thought I knew my gun inside and out so I was pretty surprised to learn about a part that I was completely unaware of. The weird thing is that the gun has functioned FLAWLESSLY for a few dozen matches and lots of practice sessions without the bearing, I've had one stovepipe in maybe 10,000 rounds. Is the purpose of the bearing just to act as a spacer and put a little more tension on the extractor spring?

Edited November 4, 2009 by Rob D

[Tom in Ohio]

Is the purpose of the bearing just to act as a spacer and put a little more tension on the extractor spring?

Glock came up with the spring loaded bearing so that they could use the same spring on all of their pistols. The cheap plastic spring loaded bearing is specific to the caliber and is different thicknesses to both make up for the longer slide on the 45/10s and different tension for the 40/357s. The spring loaded bearing for the 9mm is the thinnest, so the most likely to function if missing. I've never tried it, but it would likely cause more problems in the other calibers if it were missing.

It also functions as a bearing, as the name implies, by allowing the slide cover plate to slip into place. Without the SLB, the slide cover plate could easily bind on the extractor spring or bend it as the slide cover moves into place.

[Duane Thomas]

I've always though its primary purpose was to stop the spring from possibly scoring the slide cover plate.

[mlmiller1]

You may have lost it the last time you detail stripped your slide so you may have only gone that long without it, however long that is. I'm sure your gun will be back to 100% as soon as you get the bearing.

MLM

[98sr20ve]

Can someone post a link to a diagram that shows this "bearing".

[SDM]

Can someone post a link to a diagram that shows this "bearing".

Can you see it on here?

[soundwave]

Sounds like even without the Spring loaded bearing, you still had enough tension on the extractor for it to do its job. Your stovepipe could very well be the result of this missing part. Perhaps the spring tension is finally getting weaker and has no juice left on the extractor.

It is a very small little plastic part. Have you ever detailed stripped your slide? They just snap onto the spring and can easily snap off if not careful.

I imagine once you get the new slb, you will be functioning 100% again. I don;t see how firing rounds without one can really damage your gun internally.

I've detail stripped my slide dozens of times. I thought I knew my gun inside and out so I was pretty surprised to learn about a part that I was completely unaware of. The weird thing is that the gun has functioned FLAWLESSLY for a few dozen matches and lots of practice sessions without the bearing, I've had one stovepipe in maybe 10,000 rounds. Is the purpose of the bearing just to act as a spacer and put a little more tension on the extractor spring?

That, and I think "Tom in Ohio" is right on his explanation. Re-installing that unit without the bearing would be a PITA and could damage the spring eventually.

I think it is pretty cool your Glock functioned so well for so long without a part

[98sr20ve]

Can someone post a link to a diagram that shows this "bearing".

Can you see it on here?

Perfect thanks.

[kevin c]

My understanding of the mechanics of the extractor is that, as the slide recoils, it's more the mass of the metal plunger driving into the back end of the extractor that gives it its "bite" into the rim, as the force is trasmitted over the pivot. I thought the spring/bearing were there more to hold everything in place, and less to put tension on the extractor claw.

Edited November 5, 2009 by kevin c

[Rob D]

You may have lost it the last time you detail stripped your slide so you may have only gone that long without it, however long that is. I'm sure your gun will be back to 100% as soon as you get the bearing.

MLM

It's been gone at least a year. It either wasn't in the gun when I bought it used or I lost it right after I bought it and wasn't familiar with all the parts. Guess you can chalk it up to the design that in this particular instance it wasn't a completely essential part. At least it wasn't essential in the short term. I imagine it could damage the spring or the slide cover plate over a long period of time.

Edited November 5, 2009 by Rob D

[MustangGreg66]

I had to look at the diagram to know about the part you guys were talking about. I only took my slide apart once and was afraid I was missing a part, thinking you were talking about a ball bearing. That's a great diagram!

[Tom in Ohio]

Its kind of amazing how many parts the Glock can have missing or broken and still work.

When I took the armorers course we demostrated it working without a trigger spring. They'll also run without any extractor parts or firing pin safety parts (sometimes), with trigger safeties fallen off, broken locking blocks, broken or missing slide stops, and incorrectly installed slide locks (the slide might fall off the front though).

[richbug]

I once saw a Glock shoot a whole stage with no extractor...lol

You realize how many people are going to take their extractor out and try this right? Maybe not on a stage, but just to see if it works...

[Duane Thomas]

Probably not a whole lot, since the extractor also acts as a retainer for the firing pin lock plunger. Just a whole lotta parts you'd have to pull out to try this: extractor, extractor spring/plunger/bearing assembly, and firing pin lock plunger & spring. Without the firing pin locking plunger in place, I'd seriously worry about the top of the trigger bar, the part that normally raises the firing pin lock plunger, getting hung up in the empty hole instead. You fire the gun, the trigger bar is hooked into that empty hole in the frame, voilà! you've just trashed your trigger bar and slide. Leave the firing pin lock plunger in place but with no extractor to hold it in up, it'd probably work its way downward in recoil, and the front of that part of the trigger bar would slam into the plunger on the forward slide stroke. Good way to trash a gun all around, you ask me.

[Rob D]

You fire the gun, the trigger bar is hooked into that empty hole in the frame, voilà! you've just trashed your trigger bar and slide. Leave the firing pin lock plunger in place but with no extractor to hold it in up, it'd probably work its way downward in recoil, and the front of that part of the trigger bar would slam into the plunger on the forward slide stroke. Good way to trash a gun all around, you ask me.

I don't see how that could happen. From what I see, the part of the trigger bar that lifts the safety plunger doesn't sit high enough to actually go into that hole. It just moves forward and the angled piece actually raises the plunger. I think if the trigger bar was in danger of getting caught in that hole, it would have to be rubbing on the slide in front of and behind the hole whether the safety plunger is in the gun or not. Correct me if I'm wrong.

That said, I don't plan on trying to run my gun with missing parts any more than I already(and accidentally) have. I grew up working in an auto repair shop, and that experience taught me that designers don't add needless parts. You might not know why the part is there until it's been missing for some time, but there's always a reason and you always learn it eventually.

Edited November 5, 2009 by Rob D

[DogmaDog]

Its kind of amazing how many parts the Glock can have missing or broken and still work.

When I took the armorers course we demostrated it working without a trigger spring. They'll also run without any extractor parts or firing pin safety parts (sometimes), with trigger safeties fallen off, broken locking blocks, broken or missing slide stops, and incorrectly installed slide locks (the slide might fall off the front though).

Hrrrmmm...My Glock 35 sure as hell didn't work with a broken trigger spring. I found that out the very hard way...

DD

[dsmw5142]

Its kind of amazing how many parts the Glock can have missing or broken and still work.

When I took the armorers course we demostrated it working without a trigger spring. They'll also run without any extractor parts or firing pin safety parts (sometimes), with trigger safeties fallen off, broken locking blocks, broken or missing slide stops, and incorrectly installed slide locks (the slide might fall off the front though).

Hrrrmmm...My Glock 35 sure as hell didn't work with a broken trigger spring. I found that out the very hard way...

DD

It will, just hold the trigger to the rear, rack a round in and fire away. The only caveat is... you can't let go of the trigger. If you just let it out to the reset every time, you can fire the whole mag...no problem. If you let go of the trigger, you will likely have to hold to the rear and rack it again letting out just to the reset.

[kevin c]

It will, just hold the trigger to the rear, rack a round in and fire away. The only caveat is... you can't let go of the trigger. If you just let it out to the reset every time, you can fire the whole mag...no problem. If you let go of the trigger, you will likely have to hold to the rear and rack it again letting out just to the reset.

Good to be reminded of that.

Great expedient if TSHTF in real life. But I'm pretty sure that your finger on trigger during correction of a malfunction like this will earn you a trip home in any competition setting.