Help tightening extractor on 686

P

part swede

New member
On my first two outings to test my used 686, I had it bind up after the first shot of every load. I had cleaned it even harder between these outings, scrubbing out the previous owner's fouling from each chamber and completely cleaning the cylinder face and the face of the forcing cone. My searches here suggest it's a loose extractor rod, which is left-hand threaded I believe. They say to apply some blue loctite and retighten it. With a piece of rubber tube and some pliers, I cannot even loosen the rod. How do I crack this particular nut?
 
Mr Swede: If you can not loosen the nut on the ejector rod, it is clearly TIGHT! So, I don't think a loose rod could be your problem. Don't try to remove it if it's on tight.

Does it bind only in DA mode? If you pull the trigger just enough to free the cylinder stop, can you turn the cylinder easily by hand?

Other ideas:

1) Cylinder binding can be caused by dirt getting on the inside of the ejector rod when spent shells are ejected and building up there. I don't think this is your problem, but clean that area completely and do NOT oil in that area as that makes dirt stick to the rod.

2) A bent crane (the part that carries the cylinder) will cause binding.

MOST LIKELY:

There may be some problem with the star (at the hammer end of the cylinder) causing a problem. Clean this and check for burrs or strange looking wear. Re-lube with grease and try it again.
 
The change to a left hand thread on the extractor rod was intended to prevent binding, and since you say the rod is tight, that would not seem to be the problem.

Is there any sign of primers backing out? Your cleaning may be a problem in itself if the chambers are so clean the brass sticks firmly to the chamber walls and lets the primer back out and bind the action.

Jim
 
OK, it may not be the extractor rod. It could be the crane or extractor star. I had this problem when shooting both SA and DA. It was impossible to continue shooting DA and it took both thumbs to cock it. This was with both .38 and .357's.

Now, when pulling the trigger slightly, the cylinder can be rotated but there is uneven resistance. When dry firing, there is no noticeable problem.
 
I'd try cleaning under the extractor star. You may have powder residue or crud under it, which will cause it to bind.
 
Is there any sign of primers backing out? Your cleaning may be a problem in itself if the chambers are so clean the brass sticks firmly to the chamber walls and lets the primer back out and bind the action.
Click to expand...

I have seen this in a Ruger 44 shooting blanks. The gun has enough headspace so that if there isn't a heavy bullet pushing the case back the primers back out and jam it.

I don't see how cleaning a chamber would worsen things unless the dirty chamber was somehow jamming the shell to reduce otherwise excessive headspace.
 
All of the above.............and then..........

Could be massive amounts of crud in the assortment of parts inside the cylinder. One way to get the cylinder assembly apart is to remove cylinder and crane from gun. Putj in very hot water for a while and then unscrew the ejector rod. Stuff empty cases in the cylinder before attempting to unscrew. This takes some of the strain off of the star locating pins and/or keyway. 9mm brass works even better as it is taper case and will lock the star solid.

Trying to unscrew the ejector rod, if tight, with cylinder in gun runs the risk of bending the crane.

Closepin in vise makes a pretty good grabber for the rod and doesn't mar the knurling.

Once apart, clean everything well, relube and reassemble. Might just fix it.

Sam
 
It's been my experience that 99% of the time, a binding cylinder is traced to 2 things.
1. A speck of fouling stuck under the ejector, either on the face of the cylinder, or on the ejector it'self.

2. A bent ejector rod. These don't need to have much of a bend to bind the cylinder. If you're not set up to gauge run out of the rod, open the cylinder and spin it, while you watch the end of the rod for wobble. I have seen these with a "Zee" bend that makes it LOOK like the rod is straight. Again, just a small bend is enough to cause binding.

If you can't unscrew the rod, it's either Loc-tited, or you're trying to turn it the wrong way.
 
If the cylinder turns freely unloaded....

It's not anything under the extractor star, either.

What kind of ammo you got there? Check and see if any of the rims are twisted.

For unloosening or tightening the extractor rod, take the cylinder out of the gun, (front screw) and use a drill chuck to grab the rod. On a Smith, the thread is left hand. When you put it back together, use the chuck again. Turn until the thread stops, then tighten 1/12 th turn more and don't bother with lock-tite.
Uh... unplug the drill first. And put empties in the chambers, like Sam said.
 
If it doesn't bind when empty, that's all the more reason to clean under the star since any crud under the star will tend to force the cartridge rims back against the frame which in turn will bind when the cylinder is rotated. It may or may not be the solution, but it's certainly worth a try before you start disassembling it.


CR Sam:

To change the subject, the RIG I ordered came in. Seems to be good stuff. Thanks again for turning me on to it.
 
The verdict

I am in the wrong discussion board. You can now all tell I am a newbie.

Sorry for the interuption.

Kid
 
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