Replacing Plastic Mainspring Housing on 1911

O

Oscar

New member
How easy is it to replace a plastic mainspring housing on a 1911 with a steel one? Is this necessary or advisable? Is this a job that I should bring to a smith? Is this just a drop-in change, or does it have to be fitted? I've heard that taking the mainspring housing off can be tricky. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Not hard and, no, it doesn't have to be done by a gunsmith. The difficult problem is if the leaf-spring falls out. You then have to know how it fits back in. Other than that, it's just a matter of having a proper-sized punch and tapping the pin on the bottom out. Make sure that the gun is unloaded and decocked first, of course. Once the pin is out, the mainspring housing drops out through the bottom.

As far as changing it, there is no real reason to. No wear is experienced in this area so durability is not a concern. If you are doing it for peace of mind or to change the shape, then steel is fine, I guess.

[This message has been edited by badgerarms (edited October 09, 2000).]
 
Taking it off is easy. The hard part is getting everything back together again. Not real hard if you get some instructions, in the form of a book or video from Brownells. All it takes to remove is a hammer and punch, as described above.

You will spend more on the book and/or video than a gunsmith would charge you (it would only take a practiced smith a couple minutes to swap it out), but you might consider that an investment.

No, you don't need to swap it out. The only real reason to do so is if you want to change the grip angle or if you don't like the look or feel of the one you have.

M1911
 
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