Cylinder wiggle in S&W 686

M

Maromero

Moderator
Hi folks. Good afternoon. I'm new to this forum and would appreciate your take in this.

I tried to open the cylinder of my father's S&W 686 and it would not open. I had to screw the ejector rod for it to open, which was loose. After "looking" to see everything was in place I noticed the cylinder has a wiggle along the ejector's axis (if you are looking from the top of the revolver and the barrel is pointing at 12 o clock, the wiggle is from north to south, not sideways). The rod won't tighten any more and the wiggle is a approximately 1-2 mm. When the cylinder is towards the barrel (forward of the wiggle) it rolls like cream. When towards the back it feels like smooth grinning! (no pun intended!)

When I questioned my father about the problem he stated he needed to regularly screw in and adjust the ejector rod or the cylinder would lock up.

The revolver has @21 years and besides this problem it seems in excellent condition. It has also seen its share of ammo but not a lot for 20 years of use.

Any ideas, solutions, recommendations on how to fix it. Is it a do it yourself, a local gunsmith's work or S&W customer service. Yes, I've never had the need to service a weapon with the manufacturer and/or any gunsmith exept for blueing so I don't know.

Thank you for your time and responses.
 
Maro: You can pad a pair of pliers with a piece of leather and tighten the ejector rod. If it still works loose, as a last resort you can use "purple" locktite. Its for small screws that need to be adjusted after locktiting, but use it sparingly.
 
If I understand correctly, you are saying the cylinder can move back and forth endways as much as 2mm, meaning a barrel-cylinder gap of that much. I can't imagine how that could happen and I strongly suggest having the gun checked by a gunsmith or returning it to S&W.

BTW, note that the Model 686 ejector rod has a LEFT HAND thread to help prevent its unscrewing and tying up the gun.

Jim
 
It sounds like you're getting the movement when the cylinder is open because you talk about "rolling" it. If so, that amount of movement is not unusual. What's important is how much front to back movement the cylinder has when the gun is closed - that's called "end shake" and excessive end shake - on the order of several thousandths or more - is a problem, but (if not too excessive, in which case the barrel has to be set back) it can be corrected by any competent gunsmith for short money.

BTW, the cylinder turns easily in the forward position because it's only running on the yoke (the hollow rod that runs through the center). In the back position the edge of the cylinder is bearing on the frame lug, which is there to prevent the cylinder from falling off when swung out of the frame.
 
BTW, note that the Model 686 ejector rod has a LEFT HAND thread to help prevent its unscrewing and tying up the gun.
Click to expand...

That's correct. Somehow it becomes loose, be it shooting (recoil) or during cleaning.

It sounds like you're getting the movement when the cylinder is open because you talk about "rolling" it. If so, that amount of movement is not unusual. What's important is how much front to back movement the cylinder has when the gun is closed - that's called "end shake" and excessive end shake - on the order of several thousandths or more - is a problem, but (if not too excessive, in which case the barrel has to be set back) it can be corrected by any competent gunsmith for short money.
Click to expand...

This is correct but ignorance kept me from checking for a wiggle when the cylinder is closed. I will check but if memory serves me right, it tightens up considerably when closed.
 
I had a loose cylinder on my 686, installed end shake bearings and an oversized cylinder stop. Made it like new, no more end shake and really tight lockup. End shake bearings are drop in parts, they install in a few minutes. The cylinder stop required a complete disassembly of the entire pistol, then it just took a little light filing to adjust the fit.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=629944
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=392482
 
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