Metal guide pin vs plastic?

R

RickE

New member
I just purchased a Ruger LC 9, and found it had a plastic guide rod. There is a company that makes replacement rods (stainless). I would appreciaite any opinions you may have.
 
I'd go ahead and shoot it. If you see what you think is excessive wear, order the new one. I think it will probably work ok unless you plan to put thousands of rounds per year through it. Even then, plastic, well engineered can work well for a long time.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 
The factory plastic rod work fine,they don't tend to break or anything.I make my own stainless rods because it doesn't cost me anything otherwise I wouldn't bother,As far as the ss rods causing damage,just another internet rumor.
 
No, it's not a rumor.
The plastic guide rods are designed to flex slightly when the gun recoils. Metal guide rods will cause excessive wear on the hole in the slide.
 
Maybe ,if its not lubed properly.I've got them in 5 pistols ,several mfg,most in the 3to4 thousand rounds fired area and none of them are even scuffing the finish in the holes yet , So I'm not worried one bit. I always believe what I see personally with my own eyes.
What possible purpose would there be for them to flex ?They are there to hold the spring straight and inline with the slide action.If they flex,they are hitting somewhere they're not supposed to.
 
Rick, I don't recall where I read this - I cruise a number of forums and gun sites. Possibly a Google search might turn up a reference.
 
my father in law has the same gun and he has well over 3000 rounds through it and it is now showing some wear. He'e a go to the range and pump 300 rounds at a time through it kind of guy plus he shoots 2 times a week. I will be replacing it soon but he had zero issues with the guide rod so no worries.
 
What was wearing? The plastic guide rod? Or did he replace it with metal, and the wear was on the frame?
 
XDM's come from the factory with steel rods,so do many others,that right there says it isn't an issue. Plastics are used for wieght reduction and cost savings,not much more.
 
It's not an issue with all guns. It's sometimes an issue with guns that were designed for plastic rods. Everything isn't black or white.
 
For me, one of the first things I changed on my Glock (for competition), was to swap the plastic guide rod for a tungsten one. I did this simply for the added weight up front. I have many thousand rounds through it with no problems to report! Also, in the Gen 3 G22's my agency issues, we have replaced several guide rod assemblies due to them getting stressed and snapping. Glock stated this was a "small" problem with the full size 40s.
 
Thats part of the reason why I made my own stainless rods for my Beretta's. When new, the plastice rod was straight,after about 300 to 500 rounds the rods all look like a bow. I figured they were causeing more binding than help at that point, and it didn't pay replacing with another one that will do the same thing.
Was your Glock plastic rod getting warped with use like my Beretta rods were?
 
On my comp gun (9mm), I swapped the guide rod and spring first thing so I don’t know how that would have held up. On the duty guns (.40), my guide rod was bowed WAY out of proportion and was causing stoppages due to the slides rearward movement being slowed. New assembly (no aftermarket parts allowed on issued guns) and no problems. Other agency guns were nearly as bad also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top