I just picked up a P210 Legend, and poking around inside and trying to clean off all the oil and grease they packed it with, I see no obvious way to remove the recoil spring from the guide rod. Looks like maybe the end piece unsrews from the rod, but I don't want to muck with it unless I'm sure that's the right thing to do. Can anyone confirm this?
Removing recoil spring from guide, Sig P210
- Thread starter JeffK
- Start date
Maybe I wasn't quite clear. On the 210, the recoil spring and guide rod can be removed from the slide/barrel for cleaning. But the guide rod is peened over on the front end to hold the spring and the disc captive. There is no way to take that guide rod and spring assembly apart. None. Not without ruining it. There is no special tool. You would have to grind the front end off the rod or cut the rod if you wanted to remove the spring.
If the assembly is really greasy or dirty, get some Kroil, gasoline, or some other solvent, and slosh the assembly around in it.
Jim
If the assembly is really greasy or dirty, get some Kroil, gasoline, or some other solvent, and slosh the assembly around in it.
Jim
The spring and rod look like this,
The front side, on the right, is part of the rod and can't be removed, not sure if it's machined or peened. The black back side, on the left, appears to be screwed into the rod. There are two flats machined into the rod, near the back end, which would only be there to keep the rod from rotating while the end is torqued down. You can't see them in this pic.
The front side, on the right, is part of the rod and can't be removed, not sure if it's machined or peened. The black back side, on the left, appears to be screwed into the rod. There are two flats machined into the rod, near the back end, which would only be there to keep the rod from rotating while the end is torqued down. You can't see them in this pic.
and just say you do get the above item all nice and squeaky "clean" are you gonna slap some more oil or grease on it when you put it back in your gun?? Inquiring minds would like to know?? I mean it appears to already be properly lubricated. What is wrong---does the gun malfunction?? I just do not understand your problem
Have you even fired the gun yet? How does it shoot?Oh and by the way we are only rude here when we have to be.
Last edited:
^^^Thank you for demonstrating post #8.
That's not my spring, it's from a google search. I don't need to clean mine yet, but after a couple hundred rounds I probably will.
I'm fine with cleaning the whole assembly, see post #3, it's just gonna be more of a mess. I'm also fine with not disassembling the spring from the rod, since if it's not intended to be taken apart I'm not going to force it - see posts #1 and #3.
An incorrect statement was made in post #4, I pointed that out by way of a photo and explanation in post #5 of how the part must have been assembled in the first place, in case someone else later comes to this thread looking for accurate info. But it looks to me like special tools are required, and probably a lot of torque.
Perhaps post #7 simply misunderstood or didn't read farther up and was trying to be helpful, that's fine. But post #10 is a troll that adds no value.
Thank you, I think I've learned as much as I'll ever learn about this part on this forum, and hopefully down the road someone else will learn something too.
Gun is amazing by the way, fit and finish is top shelf and every action is buttery-smooth. It's in a different class from my P226, that itself is very well made. Have not fired it yet, except dry, plan to this weekend. This gun will become unobtainium in California after January, when the SSE loophole closes - like many other great handguns, it's off-roster.
That's not my spring, it's from a google search. I don't need to clean mine yet, but after a couple hundred rounds I probably will.
I'm fine with cleaning the whole assembly, see post #3, it's just gonna be more of a mess. I'm also fine with not disassembling the spring from the rod, since if it's not intended to be taken apart I'm not going to force it - see posts #1 and #3.
An incorrect statement was made in post #4, I pointed that out by way of a photo and explanation in post #5 of how the part must have been assembled in the first place, in case someone else later comes to this thread looking for accurate info. But it looks to me like special tools are required, and probably a lot of torque.
Perhaps post #7 simply misunderstood or didn't read farther up and was trying to be helpful, that's fine. But post #10 is a troll that adds no value.
Thank you, I think I've learned as much as I'll ever learn about this part on this forum, and hopefully down the road someone else will learn something too.
Gun is amazing by the way, fit and finish is top shelf and every action is buttery-smooth. It's in a different class from my P226, that itself is very well made. Have not fired it yet, except dry, plan to this weekend. This gun will become unobtainium in California after January, when the SSE loophole closes - like many other great handguns, it's off-roster.
Just for clarity, I have owned a P210 for many years, have taken it apart and read just about everything I can about it, including translating a bunch of German pages, too. I believe James is similarly experienced.
He was trying to politely talk you out of damaging your gun. I was attempting the same with less pussyfooting.
I have no doubt that you have found the method by which the rod assembly is put together. But there really are ways to make parts like this that crush the threads together as they are tightened to make a permanent bond, and if you get it apart that will be it. Even if it goes back together, you won't know for sure what the parts are doing during firing, and if they separate inside you gun the damage could be regrettable.
There a guy named Michael Zeleny who posts as Lavartus on various forums. He knows more about these guns than anyone in the US. I'd ask him before you proceed.
He was trying to politely talk you out of damaging your gun. I was attempting the same with less pussyfooting.
I have no doubt that you have found the method by which the rod assembly is put together. But there really are ways to make parts like this that crush the threads together as they are tightened to make a permanent bond, and if you get it apart that will be it. Even if it goes back together, you won't know for sure what the parts are doing during firing, and if they separate inside you gun the damage could be regrettable.
There a guy named Michael Zeleny who posts as Lavartus on various forums. He knows more about these guns than anyone in the US. I'd ask him before you proceed.
Just a couple of notes. First, I am not trying to be rude to anyone, only to keep the OP from breaking an expensive gun part.
Perhaps he has experience with the Star Model 30, which uses much the same system and which has a guide rod and recoil spring assembly that does come apart. But most captive assemblies like that are not made to be disassembled.
But the SIG 210 has no such arrangement; the guide is solid. It appears that the spring and disc were put on, and then the front end expanded and shaped (upset), a fairly common technique used in captive assemblies that are not intended for dis-assembly.
I have searched for more information, thinking I might have overlooked something. It is rather interesting that almost every reply to replacing or cleaning the SIG P210 recoil spring starts with "I don't know about the 210, but the 1911..." It should be obvious, but they are different pistols. It is also of note that Wolff does not list a recoil spring for the 210 since it cannot be replaced
I have also checked parts catalogs; those that show the recoil spring and guide show an assembly, with no parts indicated.
Last, but not least, I am not going by pictures or web postings. I have a P210, and I have tried disassembling that guide every way I can think of without doing serious damage to it. I have examined it under magnification and nothing indicates it is anything but solid.
If anyone knows different, I would be happy to hear from him.
Jim
Perhaps he has experience with the Star Model 30, which uses much the same system and which has a guide rod and recoil spring assembly that does come apart. But most captive assemblies like that are not made to be disassembled.
But the SIG 210 has no such arrangement; the guide is solid. It appears that the spring and disc were put on, and then the front end expanded and shaped (upset), a fairly common technique used in captive assemblies that are not intended for dis-assembly.
I have searched for more information, thinking I might have overlooked something. It is rather interesting that almost every reply to replacing or cleaning the SIG P210 recoil spring starts with "I don't know about the 210, but the 1911..." It should be obvious, but they are different pistols. It is also of note that Wolff does not list a recoil spring for the 210 since it cannot be replaced
I have also checked parts catalogs; those that show the recoil spring and guide show an assembly, with no parts indicated.
Last, but not least, I am not going by pictures or web postings. I have a P210, and I have tried disassembling that guide every way I can think of without doing serious damage to it. I have examined it under magnification and nothing indicates it is anything but solid.
If anyone knows different, I would be happy to hear from him.
Jim
Peter M. Eick
New member
I just looked at my spare 210 recoil spring assembly and it looks peened over to me. I don't see how it could be taken apart by unscrewing.
This is why I ordered a few spare years ago when you could still easily get parts. Maybe with the new legends we can get parts again?
This is why I ordered a few spare years ago when you could still easily get parts. Maybe with the new legends we can get parts again?
The Legend is not made in the old plant, but in Germany. I have one Legend mag I adapted to my M/49, and it is functionally the same, but is built differently.
When the Sauer guys got the blueprints, they may have made other small changes to suit the machinery they are working with. The OP pointed out what sounds like wrench flats on his spring guide.
When the Sauer guys got the blueprints, they may have made other small changes to suit the machinery they are working with. The OP pointed out what sounds like wrench flats on his spring guide.
stephen426
New member
Who here has both the original P210 and the new P210 Legend? While I love how my P210 shoots, I am not crazy about the hammer bite. I am very conscious about how I grip the gun and don't have fat hands, but I still get bit. I also prefer the "American" thumb mag release compared to the "European" heel mag release. I don't know... I may get the new P210 eventually, but I will most probably keep my original P210 as well.
This is the Legend recoil spring assembly (now slightly dirty after 150 rounds). There is what appears to be a torque value stamped into the end:
Awesome gun by the way. Very smooth and easy to shoot, I can put rounds within the 10 zone all day a 25 yards, with most within a 3" group, and it's all one hole at 7 yards. The gun can do better of course, I have the bench test target to prove it, but pretty good for handheld and out of the box. I did get quite a few feed failures though, have to look into that.
Awesome gun by the way. Very smooth and easy to shoot, I can put rounds within the 10 zone all day a 25 yards, with most within a 3" group, and it's all one hole at 7 yards. The gun can do better of course, I have the bench test target to prove it, but pretty good for handheld and out of the box. I did get quite a few feed failures though, have to look into that.
Your rod, as you said from the beginning, is indeed different than the originals.
That said, everything stated so far about it not necessarily being something you should take apart stands. 5nM is not particularly tight, so there is likely a secondary means (red loctite, solder, one way threads) holding it together that you might not want to screw with - especially considering that everything you want to clean is right there on the surface, and no one sells springs on their own.
That said, everything stated so far about it not necessarily being something you should take apart stands. 5nM is not particularly tight, so there is likely a secondary means (red loctite, solder, one way threads) holding it together that you might not want to screw with - especially considering that everything you want to clean is right there on the surface, and no one sells springs on their own.