general maintenance question for Glock pistol

[alpineman]

First, I must fess up - I am using my husband's login. He won't generally stay off these boards long enough for me to create my own. Tonight, I got lucky!

Second, I don't want to diss his baby, but it brings up a good question that may help prevent the same unfortunate issue with my pistol.

That said... Hubby's mistress is a Kimber .45 ACP Ultra Carry. He has owned it for about 5 years and has put many thousand rounds through it. In the past 2 years, the guide rod head has broken twice. There is apparently a maintenance schedule recommended by Kimber, but it wasn't listed in his original owner's manual. They recommend to replace the guide rod every 1800 rounds. The only replacement he has done is when the guide rod head broke (however, now that he is aware of the maintenance schedule, that will change). So...

Does anyone know if Glock recommends any kind of maintenance schedule? I have owned my Glock 19 for about 5 years and put less rounds through it than my husband put through his Kimber, however I have still put several thousand rounds through it. I read through my owner's manual again, searched the Glock website, and other sites on the web. I only find phrases like "maintenance free" and "perfection". While I know that Glock is perfection , I would like to make sure that it is, indeed, maintenance free. Or, if not, what needs to be done on what timeline. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

alpineman's wife

 

[Rob1035]

The 9mm glocks are about as close to maintenance free as you can get in an autoloader IMHO, but nothing is perfect. I'd inspect the guide rod since its plastic and might get some wear. Also make sure your magazines are up to spec, since thats a big cause of malfunctions for these pistols (particularly the 10rd Klinton mags). You can basically keep spares for all of the pistols parts for pretty cheap, might be good insurance if you're worried.

I'd say shoot it, clean it occasionally and don't over-lubricate it, and you should be fine.

 

[sm]

pax - one of our Staff can be of assistance here. She will be along shortly.

I don't own a Glock personally, I have used them and assited with CCW folks that used them.

1) hand to gunsmith buddy, let him deal with it and I go shoot something else.

2) If'n I have to do this myself, Clean Chamber, pipe clean extraction and bolt face, drop of ATF ( Auto Trans Fluid) on rails, and "lever thingy". Back together and done.

Mags , take apart and use Zippo Lighter fluid to clean, re-assemble and done.

Still think method #1 is best...

 

[rudolf]

The only maintanance a Glock needs is lots of ammunition.
And maybe two or thre drops of oil every few hundred rounds.

 

[scott.cr]

Glock's a low-maintenance firearm. Personally I would keep a log to count the number and type of rounds fired, and replace the "critical" parts every 3,000 rounds or however many you feel like. I figure you'd do well changing the striker, extractor and springs at this interval. If the striker or extractor fail, you're out of the fight.

FWIW, the guide rod on the compact Kimbers is an awful design. As your husband discovered, the head snaps off very easily. I made a new one for my Ultra CDP II (which uses the same guide rod) on a lathe with a more generous radius in the shoulder to eliminate the stress riser.

 

[William P.]

Personally I would keep a log to count the number and type of rounds fired, and replace the "critical" parts every 30,000 rounds or however many you feel like.

I fixed it for you.

It's not a 1911 there is no good reason in the entire world for replacing GLOCK parts that often.

 

[1557]

I have had a 2nd gen G19 for 11 years that I have fired thousands of rounds from. Never replaced anything(yet).
Just shoot it and keep enjoying it.

 

[Bix]

There are three components of a stock Glock that one ought to consider servicing as preventative maintainence, if the pistol is used for defensive purposes: the recoil assembly, the magazine spring, and the coiled trigger spring.

Each of these components can fatigue and cause reliability issues in the gun. How often you need to replace these items is subject to some debate

The folks over at CGR recommed something in the 20,000 round neighborhood:

http://www.custom-glock.com/maint.html

I've heard defensive firearms instructors recommend replacing critical parts annually, regardless of round count. IMO, each of these parts is exceptionally inexpensive - so a more aggressive PM schedule (on a defensive gun) makes sense.

 

[WT]

You did not mention the age of the pistol. Not knowing that I would suggest you check to see if it was part of The Great Glock Recall of 1992 or the more recent 3rd Generation "E" Recall. Several hundred thousand Glocks were affected. Glock repair services are great. They've had lots of practice.

Also check for Clinton 10 round magazines. Those with the 2183-1 follower have been known to cause grief. With the reappearance of 15 round mags, I would toss any 10 in inventory. Magazines are cheap. Life is expensive.

If equipped with a plastic front sight, you might consider replacing it with steel. Chuck Taylor noted that the plastic front sight wears down from holster drawing. Additionally, Glocks carried in plastic holsters have a tendency to shear off plastic front sights.

Like most machines, it runs better if kept clean. 5 drops of oil should provide adequate lubrication - hood, barrel, crucifix bar and each slide groove.

You also might want to consider replacing the grooved trigger with a smooth trigger. Easier on the trigger finger.

Hope this helps.

 

[Beethoven]

First, anyone that tells you that you either never or rarely need to clean a Glock should not be listened to. Period.

All guns should always be field stripped & cleaned after every shooting.

Next, I'd recommend you detail strip & clean your Glock's slide at least once a year, more often if you shoot a lot. It is fun and easy to do.

Personally, I would also detail strip & clean the frame at this time too. That is also an easy and fun process.

You should also remember to replace your springs on a regular basis; age does not matter as much as number of rounds shot with a particular spring in place.

I'm sorry but I don't know the exact numbers for Glocks, but I'm sure www.glocktalk.com has the answer.

You should probably replace the recoil spring about every 5,000 rounds or so, but again, I'm not 100% sure of that number. You should also replace the firing pin spring at that time too.

It is an extremely cheap part to replace and can adversely affect reliability if not functioning properly.

Mag springs & followers should be replaced regularly too, though I'm not sure what is recommended for those either.

Other than that, don't forget that Glocks do not require a lot of lubrication.

Hope this helped.

 

[Beethoven]

Glock's a low-maintenance firearm. Personally I would keep a log to count the number and type of rounds fired, and replace the "critical" parts every 3,000 rounds or however many you feel like. I figure you'd do well changing the striker, extractor and springs at this interval. If the striker or extractor fail, you're out of the fight.

You suggest replacing the actual firing pin and extractor every 3,000 rounds?

While it isn't a bad idea to replace these parts periodically, I think every 3,000 rounds is definitely overkill.

 

[Ken Rainey]

Glock Pistols do not have a set maintenance/ parts replacement schedule. They recommend cleaning and oiling the field stripped pistol after a firing session and monthly. They recommend a detailed cleaning/oiling/inspection once a year. Glock pistols are easy to detail strip but of course, Glock only recommends that this be done by a Glock Armorer - for liability purposes I'm sure.

To test the recoil spring, First make sure the pistol is properly cleaned and lubricated. Remove the magazine and make sure the pistol is EMPTY. Point the pistol upward and pull and hold the trigger. While holding the trigger pulled to the rear and the pistol pointing upward, pull the slide back an inch or so and let the slide ease itself upward, if the recoil spring can pull the slide back completely closed, your good to go, if not, replace the recoil spring. Making sure that the recoil spring guide rod is in it's proper place (pushed completely down and parallel with the slide when you look at it) every time before putting the slide on the frame will ensure it has a long life.

To test the magazine spring and follower, EMPTY the pistol and magazine. Insert the EMPTY magazine into the pistol and hold the pistol firmly in one hand and take the other hand and grab the slide on the top rear with an overhanded hold and pull the slide to the rear as quick as you can - to simulate recoil - this works well if holding the pistol in front of you and pointing it to one side. If the slide locks back, it "should" be good to go, if it don't then replace the magazine spring, if it still doesn't lock back, replace the follower also (if the follower looks worn, I'd just replace both at the same time). Of course, the magazine should be cleaned prior to testing - do not oil the magazine. Disassembly and cleaning should be included with the pistol. Wipe all components of the magazine clean with something like WD-40 on a cloth.

I recommend having magazines for practice and mags for carry - Your carry mags can be kept in pristine condition with no worry of a weak mag spring causing a problem in a time of need. If a practice mag develops a problem, it will be on the range. I also don't recommend keeping the mags fully loaded - especially the one in the pistol - for extreme reliability.

To check the firing pin channel for crude build up, take the slide off of the frame and hold the firing pin safety depressed and shake the slide back and forth - you should be able to hear the firing pin moving freely - and see the tip of it come out of the breech face - if not then the slide needs to be detail stripped and cleaned. Do not oil the firing pin channel or the extractor. It is recommend to let the muzzle end of the slide be pointed downward while cleaning/scrubbing this area so that debris and cleaner won't enter the firing pin channel.

Hope this helps,
Ken

 

[Kruzr]

BTW, your husband's Kimber does not need the guide rod replaced every 1800 rounds, it needs the springs replaced. It is an assembly but the guide rod head screws off with a little muscle (it is loctited on.) You can heat it up, unscrew it, replace the springs (you can get them from Wolff) and loctite and screw the guide rod head back on. When the springs get weak, the guide rod head takes a beating and that's when it breaks.

 

[alpineman]

Alpineman's wife again...

Thank you all for your advice... I really appreciate it! I'm not sure that it matters, but I'll address a few concerns mentioned among these replies.

I do clean my pistol after every shooting - er, firing session. Luckily, I've never had to be involved in a shooting.

I mentioned that I've owned my pistol for around 5 years, but failed to mention that I bought it new. I hope that it is safe to assume that it would not be a part of the Great Recall since it was purchased in 2000.

I will check out the CGR and GlockTalk links you provided... any additional education is always great!

Again, thank you all for your comments. You all have been very helpful!