Installing a p229 extractor

[General Disarray]

I had what probably should have been a catastrophic failure on my Sig P229, but luckily it's built like a friggin tank and the only thing that I lost was my extractor and pin/spring. It was a case head failure from my reloads. It was my own fault as a few were made with 6 grains of powder instead of 5 by mistake, and I thought I removed them all from the batch. I'm guessing the one in station 4 didn't get removed and was the culprit in my explosion.

Anyways I've got an extractor, spring, and pin coming from Brownells and in examining the slide assembly I can't figure out how it's to be installed. I apologize if this has already been covered, but the search function here yielded no results for this. Can't someone point me in the right direction to find instructions on reinstalling my new extractor.

BTW, I already am aware that being a dumbass like I was qualifies me for a Darwin award, so lets skip past that and get to fixing my gun.

 

[a5werkes]

It's easy to remove. Harder to remove without scratching your gun.

1. Place the slide on its side in a padded vise.

2. Insert a small strong screwdriver between the back edge of the extractor and the extractor plunger.

3. Pull the screwdriver directly rearward, compressing the plunger sufficiently to release a ledge on the back of the extractor out from underneath the front end of the extractor plunger. When done well, the extractor will usually just rotate forward and fall out....might need to nudge it with your finger.

4. Slowly release the compression tension on the screwdriver or your plunger will fly a long distance !

5. The plunger will fall out, and you might have to reach inside a 1/16" - 1/8" to pull the extractor spring out of its recess as well.

Insertion is just the opposite sequence.....but, compressing the plunger while positioning the extractor can be a bit of circus act....it may take a time or two .....why ?.....the screwdriver will probably slip off the plunger, which will then allow the plunger to FLY a long distance...so, make sure you do it somewhere that finding the plunger is easy.

The problem is that the space to insert the screwdriver is narrow in width, obviously the screwdriver must be narrow in width....so the shaft of most small screwdrivers are not very strong and can easily bend when you try to exert force to compress the spring. By the time you find one with the right width, you will notice that the slotted screwdriver is also wedged shape (tip narrower than where it joins the shaft)...that limits the depth you can effectively insert the screwdriver without gouging your work. finally, the small screwdrivers have sharp free edges which can scratch your blueing and make it look like a flinstone job.... I modified a small craftsman screwdriver with a dremel....to shape the end into a coke bottle waistline shape and polished the all sharp edges smooth so the tip glides into insertion and no sharp edges when you pull on the screwdriver. If you need photos send me a PM.

 

[General Disarray]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I really appreciate it. I actually "removed" the extractor already when it blow out and away from the pistol during the case head failure. I never found the extractor, pin, or spring. I'm not exactly sure how to reassemble them once they come from brownells. It sounds like it goes spring first, then pin, then circus act/extractor placement?

 

[a5werkes]

Affirmative on the assembling sequence.

Plan B for the assembly could be as follows:
Notice that the end of the extractor slot is circular, like it was designed to accommodate a punch !.....it will allow a 3/16" punch to fit, but it's too big for the job....the rectangular slot will allow a 5/32" punch to fit, but too big for the job....look all the way in the circular recess and you will see a similar sized recess that the firing pin is visible thru.

Use a 3/32" punch and place the tip all the way into the deep recess.....then use the handle of the punch like a lever to pull rearward which will compress the plunger and move it completely out of the way while you place the extractor into position....slowly lift the punch out, while holding the extractor down in its correct position, then when the punch clears the ledge on the extractor, the plunger will move forward and secure the extractor in place.

Also, forgot to mention that you might want to consider the old clear sandwich bag "trick" for reassembly....just cover your slide in the vise with a sandwich bag, make a small hole to insert your punch / finger tip etc...then if parts go flying they are contained before your eyes.