Series 80

[45auto]

For anyone with a series 80 1911 or "knowledge" of , do you notice the hammer touching or pressing down on the FP plunger as the slide moves back?

Meaning, if you were to turn the gun upside down and slowly rack the slide, do you see the hammer bearing down on the plunger a bit?

I had an earlier problem and thought I had taken care of this...but!

Thanks

 

[HSMITH]

I only have a couple series 80 guns that are intact, and the hammer does not touch the FP plunger.

Clear the gun, double check it, put a pencil in the bore eraser toward the firing pin. Tilt up and pull the trigger (beware the pencil can come out with a lot of force, enough to ding the ceiling even).

Did the pencil go sailing? If so your series 80 parts are 99% sure in correctly. If it din't fly something is wrong.

 

[45auto]

That's what I was afraid of.

My gun does fire and pass the pencil test.

Had the same "problem" before and thought I corrected it with a new plunger tube and a higher lift lever. Eventually, the FP plunger tube will probably hang up on the hammer and become damaged like before.

Thanks for checking.

 

[HSMITH]

Your extractor should set the static height of the plunger. Sounds to me like you need a new extractor if the plunger is hanging that low.

 

[45auto]

It could be, but the interesting thing is it didn't start out that way. This time around it took only about 2-3,000 rounds. Last time it took 10 times that amount before a complete failure, which is where I think this is going...just don't know how many rounds it will take.
And, I have one of those extractors, about 35,000, that just keeps going...a bit reluctant to switch. But, may try it.

The FP plunger hole looks to be oval now to me, not round anymore.
I'm wondering if too much "slop" in the hole might contribute to the problem.
Perhaps a combination of that, the extractor, etc may contribute to this problem.

Thanks

 

[Old Fuff]

The shoulder on the extractor that positions the safety plunger shouldn't wear, so if it's off it must have been this way from git-go.

I would strip the slide, and then insert the largest drill shank that will enter the plunder hole in the slide. Then inspect it with a good glass to see if there is any indication that the hole oval - obviously it shouldn't be.

Use a small square to be sure the hammer isn't angled at the top, or you can use a wide felt-tip pen to mark the face and top of the hammer and then cycle the slide to see if there is even bearing between the slide, firing pin stop and hammer.

If you don't find any answers it may be time to return the pistol to Colt and have them inspect it. They have gauges and fixtures that you don't.

 

[45auto]

The hammer appears to be correct although the slide/frame fit is not tight. So I can twist/move it a bit to one side or another when manually racking the slide.

The hole itself has some "flanging"(raised metal) from the previous beating the plunger tube and hammer gave it. It actually stopped the slide at one point. It doesn't appear the entire depth of the hole is that way, just the top edge. I used a 3/16" drill bit.

Some observations: The FP stop is loose. Not enough to fall out, but I can move it side to side and up and down a bit...very little but!
If I remove the FP stop and push down on the extractor keeping the plunger tube in, the hammer does not touch the plunger when racking. When I put the FP stop in, it raises the extractor slightly, lowers the plunger tube a tad, and then the the plunger and hammer can touch.

Perhaps the sloppy FP stop, extractor impacting each other a bit, after 35,000 rounds caused tolerance problems, i,e, not holding the plunger at the right level? Add a sloppy frame/slide to make it worse!

Colt already saw this gun about this and other issues. I won't bring up old and bad news, but they said it was within tolerance. Of course, it didn't work when they sent it back .

Thanks

 

[Jim Watson]

I have never had a moment's trouble out of the S80 firing pin block.
The superfluous parts just sit there in their box on the shelf while I shoot the gun.

 

[45auto]

"I have never had a moment's trouble out of the S80 firing pin block.
The superfluous parts just sit there in their box on the shelf while I shoot the gun."

It may come to that. I already have the "spacer plate" ready.

 

[HSMITH]

Interesting that it didn't start that way. Well, you found the source of the problem, the sloppy FP stop combined with the extractor. Both must be off for the extractor to clock enough to cause your problem, and if it is clocking that much I am surprised that the gun runs so well. The notch in the extractor that the FP stop engages must be a little deep as well if the FP stop isn't sloppy loose.

If the slide hole for the plunger is egg shaped I would ditch the S80 parts, put in the spacers and a Series 70 extractor. A new FP stop fitted to the slide too. You can swage the metal back where it belongs and ream the plunger hole if you want to retain the S80 parts, then fit everything up correctly too.

 

[45auto]

"I am surprised that the gun runs so well"

That's always been my reluctance to "mess" with the gun, very reliable feeding and extraction. Trigger is good also.

I can fit the slide stop and extractor, but redoing the plunger hole would probably be beyond my abilities.

Or, take the easy way out and ditch the series 80.

Thanks

 

[1911Tuner]

Plunger

Check to see if the thin section of the center rail....right beside the plunger...is wallowed out. If it is, it may be because the hammer is rebounding too far forward after cocking. The hammer overcocks and strikes the grip safety tang, then rebounds and hits the slide...still slightly overcocked. If the mainspring is weak, the hammer "hangs" a fraction of a second longer than it should, and often hits the center rail in the area of the firing pin plunger instead of closer to the rear. Rarely noticed on non-Series 80 slides, unless it's been going on for a long time...it shows up on S-80
slides quickly because the thin section peens quickly.

 

[Old Fuff]

The Old Fuff is a bit lost on this one too. The firing pin stop should be snug, and Colt makes 2 sizes for the Series 80 pistols, with #1 being the larger. If the pistol in question has a #2 stop I would replace it with a fitted #1, and see if there was any improvement.

At this point the damage to the slide may be so bad that the hole can't be fixed. If that was the case I would rebuild the pistol into a standard 1911A1 configuration, without the safety.

I am so glad my personal guns don't have this feature. This kind of safety could get somebody killed. :banghead:

 

[45auto]

Tuner: Slight peening on that side where the plunger hole is "cut" into the track.

Old Fuff: Already have a #1 slide stop in.

So, any opinions on whether a new slide stop and extractor may keep the plunger tube at the right height? Or, don't bother and toss the series 80 parts because the plunger hole is out of round?

The gun works fine now, but since my last experience I have to assume the plunger tube will get "mashed" again with constant contact from the hammer.

Thanks