Loose Colt Barrel Link Pins

[GaryK]

I have a Colt Series 70 Government Model. The barrel link pin is not sloppy but does not fit tight. It will fall out when you remove the barrel and lay it on it's side. The gun has had a fair amount of use so I suspected wear. I had thought about buying an oversized pin, since the pins are tight in my other 1911s, until I bought a near new mid 70s vintage Combat Commander this weekend and found the link pin fits loose exactly like my government model does. Is this just how Colt does it or do I need to fit oversized pins?

 

[Azrael256]

It should be a press-fit. There's actually a bench block made just for pressing in that pin. It should not just fall out.

 

[BBBBill]

Pretty common if not desireable. Just stake it in place. Use a small prick punch to displace a tiny bit of metal on either side. Don't go beating the hell out of it. You want to massage or coax the barrel lug metal to move slightly, trapping the pin in place.

 

[rcmodel]

Yep!

It's quite common to stake them in lightly on each side.
I usually use a Starrett automatic center-punch, and one whack on each side keeps them in until you want them out.


rcmodel

 

[triguy]

Amen on the punch remedy ! Just "tightened" up a pin on a bargin Llama.

 

[1911Tuner]

Might wanna determine what loosened it up in the first place...

 

[rcmodel]

Sometimes they just come out that way!

We always lightly staked new links in new National Match barrels when I was building guns for Unkle Sam's Army AMU.

Course, part of that was to keep the grunts shooting them from swapping out fitted links with their buddy's gun to see if it upped their scores!


rcmodel

 

[1911Tuner]

Sometimes they just come out that way!

And sometimes they get that way because of the barrel riding the link and wallowing out the hole. If that's the cause, then it'll just keep wallowing out until the hole can't be reamed to the next size for a properly pressed fit.

And sometimes they get that way because the link is stopping the barrel...and wallowing out the hole.

And even if the hole is nice and round, and just has an undersized pin...and the barrel is stopped by the VIS...and the barrel isn't riding the link...sometimes they'll eventually wallow out because of the slack and repeated linkdown.

Staking a loose link pin is an expedient repair at best. Somethin' that'll hold it together until it can be fixed.

 

[GaryK]

Tuner, this is happening on two guns that I own, both mid 70s Colts. Neither gun seems to be riding the link. One of them, the Commander, shows little if any evidence of being shot. I suspect that Colt ust sent them out that way. How much larger should the oversized link be? .001?

 

[1911Tuner]

Gary...No need to have it so tight that an arbor press is needed to move it.
.0015 over hole diameter is good as long as the hole is round. Check to see if the link is stopping the barrel after the oversized pin is in. .156 is the largest commercially available, but .157 drill rod can be used to make one.
If it's egg-shaped...Ream the hole to .155 for the .157 pin and chamfer the end to give it an easy start. Otherwise, check the hole to see that it's round to within .0005 and install an oversized pin.

A few factory guns come with .153 pins. Mic yours to see what it is. You may be able to use a .154 pin, available from Brownells.

 

[crankshop1000]

Red Loctite will also hold the pin in place.