22/45 Help!

[SniperStraz]

Hi Folks,
I finally decided that it was time to clean my 22/45. I’ve done some minor gunsmithing and repair so I didn’t think it would be a problem. Man was I wrong! After hours of trying to get the mainspring house back into the pistol I finally got it in. I racked the slide to do a function check and the gun is not cocking. The problem is that now I can’t get the mainspring housing back out again. When I try to get it out, it comes out partially and then gets stuck. I’m super frustrated! Any help I can get with this issue would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

 

[LocoGringo]

Youtube

 

[Blue68f100]

Go here for your help. https://guntalk-online.com/service.html A gunsmith put these guides together to help those who get lost in the confusing breakdown/assembly problems.

Sounds like you have the hammer strut out of place. Make sure the mag is removed.

 

[Kp321]

+1 on YouTube. Your problem is the reason the Mk IV is selling so well!

 

[SniperStraz]

Thanks for all the replies. I had spent a while on YouTube prior to posting. I did a little more digging and found this neat trick.

It worked!

 

[792mauser]

A eternal pox on the Mk3 ruger.
I have a Mk 2 now and looking for a Mk4.

Judicious amounts of profanity, jiggling and beating are how you reassemble Mk1-2-3 pistols.

 

[Alex Clayton]

I bricked my III like this. I was going to send it back to Ruger after buying a MKIV. Some gal there walked me through the kind of fix that is now shown in video. I LOVE the Ruger MK's but the MKIII was always a huge PITA. The MkII is easy, the MKIV is a dream. Someone who wanted the top end bought my MKIII and I was glad to see it gone. For those with one who get tired of that damn mag safety they sell a bushing that does away with that. Makes it far easier.

 

[SniperStraz]

Cool. I didn’t know about the bushing replacement. That’s a pretty easy fix. I’ll have to install one.

 

[1KPerDay]

FYI any MKII hammer bushing will work.

 

[748]

I would try youtube. Or find a gun smith who reassembles guns from bags of parts.

I talked to my mechanical engineer friend who is familiar with theses guns and he said "pay the extra $100 and get the 22/45 takedown. You will be glad you did".

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I am not a mechanical engineer, but am very familiar with the MK guns. Nine outta ten guys having trouble aren't schooled on the angle of the dangle of the hammer strut. Once you understand that, you should have no trouble.

I recently had a friend bring me one totally stripped and in a gallon ziplock bag. It took me less than 20 minutes put it back together

 

[Alex Clayton]

I am not a mechanical engineer, but am very familiar with the MK guns. Nine outta ten guys having trouble aren't schooled on the angle of the dangle of the hammer strut. Once you understand that, you should have no trouble.

I recently had a friend bring me one totally stripped and in a gallon ziplock bag. It took me less than 20 minutes put it back together

When the MKII first hit Al had not yet invented the net and the book Ruger was sending out left a LOT to be desired to put it mildly. It did not take long till Ruger started getting several of the pistols back in pieces from very angry owners
They re did the instructions and made it far more clear what the problem was.
Now when the MKIII came out with the anti lawyer mag safety is when it got real fun. The new frame design along with the mag safety lead to many ending up with a bricked pistol, like the OP's. When it happens the pistol can not be taken apart and will not function. It has become a paper weight. It's why the guy who came up with the design of the MKIV should have make a good chunk of change for the idea. He certainly deserved to. My old MKII has never "bricked" like the MKIII is famous for. Every now and then when I put it back together I still "miss" with that hammer strut but on the MKII it's just take it back out and try again. With the MKIII once you brick it you are dead in the water until you find out how to pound it back out like that video shows. When the lady at Ruger walked me through that on the phone she was saying she spends a lot of time every day walking others through just this fix.

 

[alfsauve]

There's always some gatcha it seems with Ruger. With the MKIV (at least the 22/45Lite) the elevation adjustment uses Allen wrench and the windage a slotted screwdriver. At least it's not as bad as the reassembly of the Mk I, II, & III.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Items that are not simple enough for mere mortals to do basic maintenance on need not exist but $250 was too low to pass up on for my MK II.

 

[crestoncowboy]

When the MKII first hit Al had not yet invented the net and the book Ruger was sending out left a LOT to be desired to put it mildly.

Not to mention those of us who bought them used with no book at all.

I try to tell my kids that all the time. I screwed up a lot of stuff because I couldn't just go online and learn from others who had already screwed theirs up.

At least that's my excuse.

 

[Alex Clayton]

Not to mention those of us who bought them used with no book at all.

I try to tell my kids that all the time. I screwed up a lot of stuff because I couldn't just go online and learn from others who had already screwed theirs up.

At least that's my excuse.

Damn is that ever true. People who grew up with the net often have no idea what it was like before it came along. When only way was to go try to find a book, or person who could help out. When I bought the MKII we still have because I was dating the Wife and she wanted to learn to shoot it came with the early instruction book. I almost ended up taking it to a Smith. If I had not had at least that early manual there would have been no way in hell I would ever got it back together and working. It would have been to a shop in pieces

 

[Alex Clayton]

There's always some gatcha it seems with Ruger. With the MKIV (at least the 22/45Lite) the elevation adjustment uses Allen wrench and the windage a slotted screwdriver. At least it's not as bad as the reassembly of the Mk I, II, & III.

Now that is an interesting one. Mine is not like that. When did you buy it and did you buy it new? If new was it by chance pre the great recall? I ordered mine just after the great recall so still fairly early in the production. The local shops were telling me a year to get one so ordered it online from a large Distributor. Mine uses slotted for both. Elevation is much larger but both slotted. I wonder if during that mad rush to get the ones that were out back, and try to fill the pipe line again they were grabbing up parts like rear sights from different vendors??

 

[Alex Clayton]

Items that are not simple enough for mere mortals to do basic maintenance on need not exist but $250 was too low to pass up on for my MK II.

That price would be REAL hard for me to pass one too even though I do not need another. My MKII is all steel from late 80's production. While it was a PITA until I found out what the "thing" was I was never able to brick it like the III. So I don't know if the reason this is happening on the MKIII is the polymer frame on many of them allowing enough flex in there??? Or if there is some other change. I had never heard of this turning them into a paper weight thing until the MKIII came out. Has anyone ever "bricked one" with the metal frame?

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

If/when the hammer strut ever gets stuck behind the sear leg pin, it's a simple matter to just drift the sear leg pin out of the grip frame. The mainspring housing assembly will then come freely out.
There are several things to keep in mind when reassembling the Ruger Mark pistols. Make sure that the upper is in perfect alignment with the lower so that the bolt stop pin can go right in from the bottom up. Here's a simple method to achieve that. Insert the pin first from the top:

Make sure that the hammer is pushed as far forward in the receiver as it will go, using anything handy (even a pencil) to do that. This action will cause the hammer strut to swing freely above the sear leg pin. Next, insert the bolt stop pin on the mainspring housing assembly up and into place, tip the muzzle end up at around 45°. This will cause the strut to swing back and over the mainspring housing spring plunger. Then slowly push the mainspring housing body into the grip frame until you can feel that very last 1/8 inch of slight resistance. That will show you that the hammer strut is on top of that plunger and the resistance is from the spring. Push the housing all the way in and send the latch forward.

As far as replacing the Mark III hammer bushing with an aftermarket replacement, to shed the magazine disconnect parts, and in the event you'd like to use the perfectly GOOD Mark III hammer, here's what the hammer bushings look like:

Some will also change to the Mark II hammer, which works very well, but costs a bit more. Some will use the factory, or Clark, hammer bushing that has a pitifully small contact area on the hammers side. The better choice is the bushing that Sam Lam and I collaborated on from an initially poor design by another person. The hammer bushing bore is not a one size fits all situation, so what we came up with is a range of sizes on the bushing that goes into the Ruger Mark III hammer as a slight press fit. That way, there is no wobble or side to side movement of the bushing as it fits and works like a one-piece part in action.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

There's always some gatcha it seems with Ruger. With the MKIV (at least the 22/45Lite) the elevation adjustment uses Allen wrench and the windage a slotted screwdriver. At least it's not as bad as the reassembly of the Mk I, II, & III.

That situation has once again changed:

This is a Ruger Mark IV upper that I recently received from Volquartsen's closeout area. Cost $40.00 with the case and $15.00 shipping. Note the **NEW** style rear sight. It's called the "Blackout" version and is quite a bit slimmer in width than the Mark I, II, & III rear adjustable sights:

The windage and elevations screws are back to the slotted type on this version, but the two screws that touch the floor in the dovetail and thus push the sight up for tightening, are indeed hex socket screws. The back face of these new adjustable sights do not use the rear blade as the previous sights did. It is integral with the pivot arm. the back face is serrated to thwart any glare. I ordered a couple of those from Ruger and they are a very nice rear sight.

 

[alfsauve]

My 22/45 Lite was bought new-in-box from a local dealer, 9/1/2018.
But I find this typical Ruger. There always seems to be something, just a minor nit, for which there's no rhyme or reason.

 

[BBBBill]

The better choice is the bushing that Sam Lam and I collaborated on

And where may this be aquired?

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

My 22/45 Lite was bought new-in-box from a local dealer, 9/1/2018.
But I find this typical Ruger. There always seems to be something, just a minor nit, for which there's no rhyme or reason.

Ruger doesn't actually make these sights. They're outsourced to another entity. Seems though that Ruger does succumb to customers wishes, thus the Ruger Mark IV, and easy take-down.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

And where may this be aquired?

Sent you a message.