jhb said:
Years ago I seem to remember a real problem with swapping the plastic to a steel one in aluminum framed cz pistols. I can't remember what went wrong but it was either bulged frame areas from the steel or cracks. Either way all bad.
I don't think it was bulged frames or cracks. (The bulged frames problem occurred with some polymer-framed RAMIs and the earliest P-07s. The P-07 was slightly redesigned, and they discontinued the polymer RAMI. I don't think either of those problem caused functional issues, but just didn't look right. I've only heard of ONE cracked frame with a CZ, and that was years ago, in an 85 Combat with a steel frame.)
Years back, when I was one of the moderators on the original CZ Forum, I was told by one of the senior gunsmiths at CZ-USA that using the steel guide rod with alloy-framed guns could cause "receiver stop" wear, and such wear was not covered under warranty. (They had begun to see that wear on guns sent in for warranty work, and it was a problem.)
CZ-USA had always refused to sell steel guide rods to folks when they were told they were to be used in an alloy-framed gun.
The
receiver stop is where the base of the guide rod rests when the slide is on the frame and the slide stop is installed.
When the slide starts to move back, the bottom of the base of the guide rod engages the frame and stays put as the barrel continues to move back and disconnects from the guide rod. (The guide rod base is positioned against the base of the barrel underlug when it is first installed in the gun.) Because the compact guns are shorter, and because their guide rods are full-length and the slides move just about as far, their guide rods tend to
tilt MORE than the shorter (or full-length) guide rods in some of the fullsize and SA models. (The guide rod tilts more in a compact CZ than in a full-size CZ with a full-length guide rod.)
I no longer participate on the CZ Forum and I'm sure they'll have better info, but I've heard other responses more recently, supposedly from "official sources," that a steel guide rod in an alloy-framed gun is not a concern. If you have an alloy CZ compact, It might be good to check with CZ-USA to see if it IS or IS NOT something to be worried about. It was never a problem with the steel-framed guns.
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