Taurus PT-145 -- are they fixed?

Blackhawk

New member
I'm ready for another go at the Taurus PT-145.

Does anybody know if any of them with serial numbers higher than NUGxxxx and numbered above 65xxx have suffered the frame cracking problem?
 
Haven't heard of any problems of newer guns. I sold mine right when I got it back. Here is a link that someone sent me from my pt145.com site. It is from shooters.

http://talk.shooters.com/room_30/23220.cfm

Some of these guys seem to be having luck with the repaired PT-145.

Also, my serial was NUG72995 and it started to develop a crack.
 
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I had one of the newer ones with the "NUG..." serial numbers, and no problems through 200 rounds. Regardless, I've heard more than I care to hear. As far as I'm concerned, Taurus should have acknowledged the problem and issued a factory recall. Instead, they hush hush the problem. I liked the gun, but the potential for problems scared me, and Taurus hiding the problem scared me. I traded the PT-145 in on a Para-Ordnance LDA 6.45.
 
Some of the recent information I've been reading is encouraging. I really like these guns and had my eye on them until I started reading about the cracks (in fact I was about to buy one but decided to wait until payday, then I started reading about the cracks). I have been hoping that Taurus would fix the problem. Now it looks like they might have. Even if they didn't it sounds like (from the shooters.com thread posted here that they post-crack returned and fixed guns are strengthened and don't have problems.

I will not be buying any Taurus guns, or any other guns that will or do have built in locks (with one or two exceptions) until I have all the CZs I want. I just got my 1st and love it and when I picked it up I found out that CZ isn't putting in built in locks and as a result will not be legal to be sold in Maryland after Jan 1. So it may be as much as 10 months before I buy any Taurus guns (with one or two exceptions) so by then I think I'll be fine buying a PT145:D .
 
StratfordHoldings,

Thanks for that link! It was most illuminating, and it dispelled most of my concerns about the issue. It seems that:

1. The cracking is innocuous albeit disconcerting.
2. NUL (December 2001) serial number pistols are in the pipeline.
3. Some contacts at Taurus admit to the problem, which is unlikely if it had not been acknowledged internally.

My own musings:

The injection molded polymer resin wouldn't vary from batch to batch, but the filler might. Mixing fiberglass into the resin before molding makes an unbelievably strong and crack-resistant part, but the process introduces a variable that requires production skill and extensive monitoring.

I doubt if the molds have changed dimensionally, but a glass filled polymer part will be more rigid than one without the filler.
 
Mac,

The third letter of Taurus serial numbers denotes the month of manufacture, and they're A-L. Your NUG serial numbered pistol was manufactured in in July, 2001, so it probably sat around in the distributor's or dealer's inventory until you bought it.

Since serial numbers are an issue the authorities are really uptight about, I wouldn't be surprised if Taurus doesn't do what Kel-Tec does. When they have to replace a frame (which has the serial number on it), they mark the new frame with the old serial number.

I think when you get your PT-145 back, it will have the "fixed" frame with your old serial number.

I recommend reading the thread StratfordHoldings posted the link to.
 
Actually, when the frame is replaced, you will have the same serial. The serial is actually apart of the metal frame and only the polymer is replaced.
 
Now, that's interesting! I was under the impression that the Taurus Millenium pistols had polymer frames! Are they aluminum or steel?

I like the Kel-Tec plastic fantastics because they have metal frames instead of polymer, and I'm hesitant about the Kahr P series because they use polymer frames with steel inserts for the slide rails.

That Bull's sneaking up on my gun case...! ;-)
 
Maybe I should clarify. The "frame" is polymer. But set in the polymer is the slide and a "skeleton-frame" for the slide to fit into. The "skeleton-frame" us the part that contains the serial number. THis skeleton-frame and slide get moved over to a new polymer "Frame."

THis picture shows the slide and the "skeleton-frame" that is exposed. This was someone else's picture but hopefully will make it clear.

http://pt145.com/images/pt 145 lt sd break 4.jpg
 
That seems to be analogous to the Kel-Tec construction. The frame and the grip are distinct, and the "frame cracking problem" is really a grip cracking problem. Semantics aside, do you know what the "skeleton" frame is made of?

The picture you linked to shows a really ugly slide failure hole. Any idea what that was about?
 
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