Rock Island 1911 recoil spring kinking

S

Slowpoke Rodriguez

Inactive
I recently purchased a Rock Island M1911 A1 - FS and have put about 300 rounds through it. The factory mag was crappy, but it has operated flawlessly with good-quality 7-rd mags and hardball.

The problem is with recoil spring kinking. After the initial range session, I noticed the slide was binding slightly and I think there were also issues with the slide stop not locking.

I found the recoil spring was kinked, so I replaced it with a new Wolff spring (I think it was an 18.5 lb; I did not keep kinked factory spring).

I shot it a couple more times, and again noticed slight binding. I found the recoil spring again showing some kinking, and also some marks on the lip of the recoil spring plug.

Before shooting on both occasions, I had disassembled the weapon and lubed with CLP (and grease on the rails). The recoil spring was assembled with the closed end on the guide.

I performed the recoil spring binding test, and the slide fully retracted with spring compression.

Having replaced the recoil spring, I'm thinking there's another cause:

-incorrect assembly of the weapon?

-Is this a problem with Rock Island (I've noticed some of their parts are not G.I.-spec., e.g., a "tight" recoil plug or "tight" recoil spring guide)?

-perhaps the spring weight needs to be changed?

-is spring deformation just a 1911 thing?
 
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I found the recoil spring was kinked
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How so?
Kinking during operation?
If so, how was that determined?
Permanent kink visible after disassembly?
Something else?
Like you say, it might be something other than the spring, especially with a new one doing the same thing.
 
Wild guess: Might be an issue with the recoil spring guide and/or the mating surface on the frame. Perhaps one or the other is machined slightly off square causing the spring to cant/tilt which would surely cause the spring to fail prematurely.
 
I am going to assume that you have a RIA full-size GI model with the short GI style recoil spring guide rod and closed recoil spring plug. The full-size "Rock" (previously called the Tactical) has a full-length guide rod with an open ended recoil spring plug and it is hard to imagine a spring kinking on a full-length guide rod.

I too suspect the recoil spring guide rod as being the culprit. These are not terribly expensive, and you can buy a good one probably cheaper than shipping the pistol back.
 
If a 1911 (or any other) recoil spring has "kinked," it will be permanently deformed and the kink will be visible and obvious when the spring is removed from the firearm. I would like to see a photo of the kinked spring from the OP's pistol. I very much doubt it is kinked.

In fact, IMHO it's not possible for a recoil spring in a 1911 to be kinked, short of taking it out of the pistol and bending it by hand or with pliers. Look at where the spring is and how the gun goes together. The recoil spring is constrained in all four axes -- vertically up and down, and laterally left and right. It can't move in any of those directions more than a fraction of an inch, and that fraction is NOT anywhere near sufficient to kink the spring.
 
Honestly have never heard of a kinked recoil spring in a 1911, let alone two. Would like to pics. Not saying it's not happening but I don't think you will get a lot of responses from people who have seen it. If it has a flgr it would be even more curious. I use flgrs in all my 1911s but frankly I don't believe you need to. This may be the first case that proves you do.
 
I will post a photo, but I've never done it here, don't have a camera and need to figure it out.

Yes, it is the Rock Island version of the full sized G.I.-type weapon with the short recoil spring guide and closed plug.

I did a search and couldn't find much, so I guess it isn't a common problem.

Kinking during operation? If so, how was that determined? Permanent kink visible after disassembly?
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Binding in the action, then disassembled to find a permanent bend in the spring. As stated previously, I didn't keep the first spring, but will post a photo when I am able.
 
A bend is not a "kink."
I also doubt the spring is kinked, as it's not possible, unless there is something in the space occupied by the spring that isn't supposed to be there.
What do you mean by "binding?"
 
Even with the original, short GI style recoil spring guide rod, the length of spring that is not constrained either on the guide rod, or within the recoil spring plug is really fairly short with the slide and barrel in battery.

Have you carefully examined the plug? Take a good look at the rear edge of the plug and the inside to see if there is something that could be catching the coils of the spring as it gets compressed within the plug.

I too have never heard of a 1911 recoil spring getting kinked. But you learn something new every day, as the saying goes.
 
I can't figure out how to load the photo...sorry, I'm a dinosaur.

"Bend" may indeed be the correct terminology, rather than "kink". It is causing slight binding in the action.

The first spring, which I did not save, was really bad. This one has about a 15 degree bend not quite halfway. I took the weapon apart and did not note the direction of the bend.
 
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Might be an issue with the recoil spring guide and/or the mating surface on the frame. Perhaps one or the other is machined slightly off square
Click to expand...

I've seen the off-square machining of the frame's mating surface for the spring guide in RIA before. My father's RIA tactical is that way.
 
The only cast-frame 1911 I've owned had the seat for the spring guide not concentric to the rest of the frame, so there was always a bit of binding when racking the slide, until I installed a FLGR.
A better solution would be to square-up the offending area, but I have never shot that gun very much, so haven't pursued the better fix.
 
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