Info and/or advice on replacing a 1911 plunger tube

[Detritus]

Well, 9 years and more rounds than most owners will fire in a lifetime before the first significant parts failure, is a decent record for a $500 1911...

Background: took my Metro AC2 out of the case for some dryfire about an hour ago, and when I did the chamber check the slide and safety acted odd for second and then the plunger tube dropped off.... the two legs/frame pins broke off of the tube pretty much at the joint with the tube. based on the appearance of face(s) of the two stubs left behind in the frame I'm just about certain that

1. the plunger tubes that Metro uses are MIM
2. at least one pin (the front one), had a void at the join with the tube

So since I'm going to have to replace the dang thing, and have never had to do so before, what can those that have tell me about this particular repair task. what all is actually involved. any advice on technique, replacement sources/options, tricks to make it go smoother, etc. is welcome. TIA

 

[nettlle]

Plunger tubes are one of the few weak points of a 1911 and I have replaced a couple.

Before the new plunger tube is installed the inside of the frame will need to be chamfered so the pins have somewhere to flare when the staking tool flares the plunger tube pins. I used this to chamfer the pin holes:

http://www.lascodiamond.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LDPI&Product_Code


Something to turn the the diamond bur to chamfer the holes:

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...sories/pin-vises/no-90-pin-vise-prod6694.aspx


And a staking tool:

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...-tube-staking-tool-accessories-prod79068.aspx

There are cheaper staking tools out there but with this set up I can replace easily a 1911 plunger tube in about 15 minutes.

 

[Detritus]

Plunger tubes are one of the few weak points of a 1911 and I have replaced a couple.

Before the new plunger tube is installed the inside of the frame will need to be chamfered so the pins have somewhere to flare when the staking tool flares the plunger tube pins. I used this to chamfer the pin holes:

http://www.lascodiamond.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LDPI&Product_Code


Something to turn the the diamond bur to chamfer the holes:

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...sories/pin-vises/no-90-pin-vise-prod6694.aspx


And a staking tool:

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...-tube-staking-tool-accessories-prod79068.aspx

There are cheaper staking tools out there but with this set up I can replace easily a 1911 plunger tube in about 15 minutes.

thanks

the first link (for the burr) isn't working btw, at least for me. Looks like the end of the link may have been bobbed off when it was copy-pasted, as it goes to a page with a "Product code not found" message.

 

[nettlle]

A screen shot:

 

[Detritus]

A screen shot:

View attachment 859064

that works thanks.

 

[Detritus]

Well had a chance to take the gun out to the workshop this after noon, the leg stumps are now out of the frame. what I found was shall we say instructive. Upon closer examination of the two "stumps" it would appear that the plunger tube is in fact MIM, and that both legs suffered from voids to varying degree and location. the front leg looks to have only been connected with the body of the tube in one small spot, the rear leg was connected in a continuous strip front to back comprising about a third of the width of that "face" as well as having a serious conical void on it's opposite face that was deep enough to make that leg looks recessed in the frame (in appearance not unlike the pits from shrinkage found on the ends of an injection mold sprue) .

gun is now detail stripped in a "project bin" in my workshop. I'm thinking that I'll do a few other minor upgrades while i's at it, including (I hope) removing and replacing the last of the crappy factory grip bushings (one out of four bushings was actually properly staked, but has gotten buggered up and i'm hoping I don't have to drill the blasted thing out)

 

[nettlle]

After replacing the plunger tubes with the tools I have described one of these 1911's has gone 20k + additional rounds with the new plunger tube. The replacements ere a Wilson Bullet Proof plunger tube.

As far as replacement grip bushings the Challis grip bushings and o-rings are well worth the money. http://www.challisgrips.com/pg/33-Bushings-and-Accessories.aspx

 

[Detritus]

I've been thinking real hard about those challis bushings for awhile now.

On a side note, this gun was originally bought as a project. at the time I wanted to learn how to service and build 1911s, and in mid 2010 I couldn't find a reputable bare frame and slide for the $500 that this complete NIB and factory warrantied gun cost.
So I bought a whole dang gun with the intention of shooting it while I gathered the parts and tools I thought I'd need to rebuild it how I'd want it. pretty much "for this price I can refamiliarize myself with the platform, shoot it till it pukes/something breaks, and then rebuild it and be out not much more total than a new Dan Wesson".
Well something finally broke. but obviously that took a WHOLE lot longer than expected. seriously, except for some minor spring related teeth trouble during the break-in period (factory recoil spring was a unit meant for a 4-1/2" not 5" gun, and I put a clark 4-leaf sear spring in to stop intermittent trigger bounce), this thing has been like the energizer bunny for 9 freaking years! and shot well enough that I couldn't (possibly still can't) justify a frame up rebuild.

 

[bersaguy]

The first true 1911 I bought was a Sistema (Argentine) Colt made in the mid '50's. When the plunger popped off a year or so into owning it I read about the correct way to repair it with the chamfering, and the staking tool. And I agree, that's the way to do it right...but what I did...as funds were limited at the time...was to reassemble it with loc-tite. Now, the legs of the plunger had not snapped off, just the flare on the backside had deformed a bit, so I carefully clamped the tube to the frame, with the loc-tite and restaked with a scratch awl and some judicious application of force (tappy tap.... tap) While I couldn't recommend this approach wholesale to others, it's been 6 or 7 years, thousands of rounds later, and she's still rock solid.