Taking a Colt WALKER apart

[Jason Mack]

Ive got a 2nd hand Colt WALKER (repo) i undid the triger guard it was very dirty inside, i felt the main spring pushing the guard out ,if i remove the guard is it easy to put back together?

 

[pohill]

The Walker mainspring has some, well, spring to it. Be careful. When my Walker was new I used a mainspring vise to put the spring back in, but over time it weakened a little and now I can do it by hand.
The first pic shows how to use a mainspring vise, the second shows how the original Walker nipple wrench/vise was used:

 

[Tommygunn]

I bought a "C clamp" for use on mine.

 

[scrat]

Brute strength for me.

 

[Snaggletooth]

What they all didnt tell you that you must hit the right word.

 

[Hellgate]

One thing to remember is to pad the grip frame with a thin sheet of cardboard (tablet backing or cereal box) to prevent marring the brass.

 

[Jason Mack]

thanks for the advice i wont strip down till i have the tool

 

[pohill]

You can use visegrips - just remember to do as Hellgate said and protect the metal.

 

[rcflint]

If you place a drift pin or other rod in the Vee of the spring and smack it downward with a small mallet, it will release the spring from the hook it is under. Do not have it cocked as shown using that method, you only cock it to collapse the spring if you use a clamp.

For that method, cock it, clamp it then decock it to remove the pressure so you can remove the triggerguard.

I tap the spring out, downward with the hammer down. Replace by squeezing the spring under the hammer and tapping it upward back under the hook, or replace the spring before installing the triggerguard and use the triggerguard screws to jack it back into tension. This is hard on the screw slots...

 

[Foto Joe]

Here's a simple fix.

Mine has a tendency to spit the hand spring our once in a while. Use a zip tie to hold the spring down after cocking the hammer.

I actually keep a zip tie in my box that I have used for quite some time. It's pre-sized since I pulled it down when the hammer was cocked. Once yer done, just slip it off the end of the grip strap. No scratches, much lighter than vise grips, can be adjusted for any Colt and guess what, they're CHEAP!!!