Ruger 22/45 issues

[Jesse H]

I've got a Mark II 22/45 that's got approximately 15K rounds. It started developing extraction issues. It would also fail to lock the last round open. At the time I had Winchester Wildcats so I was attributing some of the issues to poor ammo. Then it started doing it more frequently, to the point it couldn't go through a magazine without an FTE.

Naturally I replaced the extractor with one from Tandemkross. I also replaced the bolt stop with a factory Ruger. The old bolt stop lever did look worn out when comparing to the new one. Same with the extractor.

Today is the first time I got to test the pistol with the new parts; I'm getting positive extractions but now I'm not sure what's going on. It's somewhat of a stovepipe, where the extracted case and the fresh round is meeting somewhere in the breech. It does have failures much less frequently though, probably every other magazine with Federal. This occurs with both factory Ruger mags.

The feed ramp doesn't feel like it has any burrs or imperfections.

My next thoughts are recoil spring and mag springs? I did a good field strip and cleaning of the gun and magazines before the range today. I've read about 22/45's with many more rounds on the original recoil spring with no issues.

Thanks!

 

[g.willikers]

Bolt stop and extractor look worn out?
What are they making them out of these days.
We have one that's over twenty years and untold thousands of rounds old, and all the parts are original still.
Other than an occassional typical rimfire hicup, it runs and runs.
Are you sure it's a Ruger?

 

[Jesse H]

It's a mark II so it's about 16 years old. I'll admit the bolt stop wear was likely accelerated by my improper use of it as a bolt release.

 

[Urban_Redneck]

Change out the mag springs and give the tubes a good cleaning.

YMMV

 

[243winxb]

Ruger Mark I, II, III, 22lr

Recoil Spring Assembly may need adjustment so its not binding or rubbing the receiver. Rotate the piece on the left front to a different position, see if it makes a difference. It needs to sit low in the bolt. http://www.midwayusa.com/product/913977/ruger-recoil-spring-assembly-ruger-mark-i-ii-iii-22-45-stainless-steel

 

[Jesse H]

With the safety on, I tried hand cycling the bolt with ammo and noted that occasionally the round that's getting pulled out completely misses the ejector and barely falls off the extractor.

I know it's not designed to be hand cycled but maybe it's a clue?

 

[1KPerDay]

Clean your mags well.

 

[Jesse H]

Bingo, the ejector is wobbly.

 

[1KPerDay]

Glad you figured it out.

 

[Kp321]

+1 on wobbly ejector. It is riveted to the bottom of the tubular receiver and will eventually get loose enough to cause failure to eject. You could tighten the rivet with a punch or buy a new, fully machined replacement from Brownells which attaches with a screw.

 

[Jesse H]

You could tighten the rivet with a punch or buy a new, fully machined replacement from Brownells which attaches with a screw.

Just looked up the Brownells part. This looks like an excellent option! I was about to call Ruger and was confident they'd take care of me, but I'd rather not go through the trouble of sending them the upper assembly and wait for it to be repaired and shipped back.

 

[Jesse H]

Got around to installing the Brownells ejector for the pistol. It's advertised for the Mark I - III including 22/45's.

http://www.brownells.com/handgun-pa...i-iii-22-45-heavy-duty-ejector-prod42109.aspx

The new ejector looks exactly as pictured on the website. Unfortunately it is wider than the factory piece. This means it wouldn't sit flush against the bottom/inside of the upper which is round; preventing the screw from reaching the ejector (more on this later). I had to grind off the base of the ejector to allow it to sit flush against the upper.

Once that was done, I realized the mounting hole on the ejector didn't even line up to the hole on the upper. More grinding on the little tab fixed that. Now that everything looks good to go, I put a little dab of blue Loctite on the provided screw, and figured I was about done.

I reassembled the pistol and manually cycled the pistol to function test and realized the ejector was loose. Took the gun apart and realized the provided screw is too short and only several threads were screwed into the ejector. Just manually cycling the gun easily loosened the screw.

A trip to Home Depot I was able to source a longer stainless steel screw. It seems to cycle fine by hand although I haven't had a chance to actually shoot it and see if the ejection problems have been solved.

If it doesn't work, it was a $20, half an hour of playing with the Dremel, and a trip to Home Depot lesson learned.

 

[g.willikers]

Eghads.
Are you positively without a doubt sure you actually have a real Ruger?
Check the name again.
Make sure it doesn't say something like "Ed's It's Almost a Ruger Gun Makers."
Patent Pending.

 

[Jesse H]

Why wouldn't it be a real Ruger? It hasn't had any catastrophic failures, just parts wearing out that need replacing.