Smith & Wesson Model 36 Jamming Problem
Neil
did notice, however, when I initially got the gun that the action felt
a little "rough". It looked almost unfired, so I just assumed this was
why it felt rough, it just hadn't been broken in. I tried to shoot it
as soon as I got home and after the first shot, the gun jammed. It
would fire one shot and the cylinder would come loose just like I had
pushed the cylinder release forward. When I got inside and inspected
it, I noticed that there was some type of grease inside the action. It
looked like the white lithium grease that you can purchase in a spray
can was inside the action of the gun. I took the side plate off and
sure enough it was literally full of this grease that by now had cured
into a really gummy white powder. I used a ton of spray cleaner (Hoppes
bore blaster as well as some carb cleaner) to blast as much of this
stuff as I could out of all the little parts of the action. I only
removed the side plate, I did not take out all the little pieces of the
action. I then let the gun dry and liberally sprayed gun oil into the
action. I put the side plate back on and finished reassembling the
gun. The next time I was able to take it out back and shoot it some, I
noticed a world of improvement. The action and trigger felt smooth
like a smith is supposed to, but it still jams occasionally. During
the very first 5 shot round, it jammed twice. The next time it jammed
once and then I was able to squeeze off about 3 subsequent rounds with
no jams. Seeing as how this gun is meant to be my ccw piece, I wanted
to fire it some more to see if it would be reliable enough to server
the purpose, so today I decided to really give it a workout. I took
the gun out again and just like before, the first round of five shots
jammed after the second shot. Then, I shot about 15 more 5 shot
sequences and had only one more jam. It's almost as if the gun has to
have a few rounds through it before it "warms up". I'm stumped. I
removed the side plate again and cannot see any more "white gunk", but
again I didn't fully disassemble it. My questions are these: What
parts in particular are making the gun jam this way, what suggestions
does anyone have about fixing this problem and should I keep trying to
get it to function reliably or pass it on down the line? Thanks in
advance for any help you can give me.
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sta...@prolynx.com
Neil wrote:
# I recently traded for a S&W Model 36 that is in excellent condition.
I
# did notice, however, when I initially got the gun that the action
felt
# a little "rough". It looked almost unfired, so I just assumed this
was
# why it felt rough, it just hadn't been broken in. I tried to shoot
it
# as soon as I got home and after the first shot, the gun jammed. It
# would fire one shot and the cylinder would come loose just like I had
# pushed the cylinder release forward. When I got inside and inspected
# it, I noticed that there was some type of grease inside the action.
It
# looked like the white lithium grease that you can purchase in a spray
# can was inside the action of the gun. I took the side plate off and
# sure enough it was literally full of this grease that by now had
cured
# into a really gummy white powder. I used a ton of spray cleaner
(Hoppes
# bore blaster as well as some carb cleaner) to blast as much of this
# stuff as I could out of all the little parts of the action. I only
# removed the side plate, I did not take out all the little pieces of
the
# action. I then let the gun dry and liberally sprayed gun oil into
the
# action. I put the side plate back on and finished reassembling the
# gun. The next time I was able to take it out back and shoot it some,
I
# noticed a world of improvement. The action and trigger felt smooth
# like a smith is supposed to, but it still jams occasionally. During
# the very first 5 shot round, it jammed twice. The next time it
jammed
# once and then I was able to squeeze off about 3 subsequent rounds
with
# no jams. Seeing as how this gun is meant to be my ccw piece, I
wanted
# to fire it some more to see if it would be reliable enough to server
# the purpose, so today I decided to really give it a workout. I took
# the gun out again and just like before, the first round of five shots
# jammed after the second shot. Then, I shot about 15 more 5 shot
# sequences and had only one more jam. It's almost as if the gun has
to
# have a few rounds through it before it "warms up". I'm stumped. I
# removed the side plate again and cannot see any more "white gunk",
but
# again I didn't fully disassemble it. My questions are these: What
# parts in particular are making the gun jam this way, what suggestions
# does anyone have about fixing this problem and should I keep trying
to
# get it to function reliably or pass it on down the line? Thanks in
# advance for any help you can give me.
#
When you say "jam", after you flushed it, is the cylinder still coming
open? Or is the cylinder just locked and won't rotate? The only
things I can think of that would cause the cylinder to pop open are
either you've still got gunk in the action and it's blocking the
cylinder latch from coming back completely(outside chance, it would
have to be messed up a couple of other ways, too), or the ejector rod
is coming unscrewed. Depending on the vintage of the gun, this could
be either left-hand or right-hand threaded, the later versions being
left-hand threaded. They make a special tool for loosening/tightening
on these, don't use pliers on the ejector rod head! It really sounds
like it needs a detail strip, cleaning and examination by a good S&W
'smith. If you really want to/have to work on it yourself, at least
get Jerry Kuhnhausen's S&W bench manual, Brownell's carries it as well
as the special tools for proper disassembly/reassembly.
It just occurred to me that your mad spray-can artist might have shot
some goo down into the extractor rod area and it might be gumming up
the center rod that's used for locking the cylinder. Something else to
look at. If there's enough gum in there to keep the cylinder latch
from coming forward and the locking rod in the extractor rod from
coming rearward, I suppose the piece could be fired without having the
cylinder locked in place. Normally, the cylinder latch would block the
hammer from firing a round if the cylinder isn't latched in place.
I've never run across one that gummed up, though. The locking pin
should stick out of the center of the extractor when you look at the
back end of the cylinder and should move freely when you press on it
and spring back easily. An easy check to see if it's gummed up.
The only thing I've found to really clean off white lithium grease is
the chlorinated-type of brake cleaner. I've never seen it in the
condition you describe, though.
Let us know what you mean by "jam".
Stan
EmailF...@yahoo.com
likely has gotten inside some of the smaller pieces, springs and
what-not. Only way to ensure that is right is to have it fully
disassembled. That said, it sounds like you haven't done that before
so I wouldn't recommend trying it. Most gunsmiths will do a detailed
cleaning and inspection for under $50. Have one give it the once-over
and check the timing as well. It's doubtful that a very clean gun is
out of time, but it is possible. May have been why it was never
shot...
If you want to get really fancy, send it back to Smith for an overhaul.
$125 and it will be better than new.
http://performancecenter.smith-wesson.com/pages/gunsmithing
professorpaul
removing the grips and soaking it in a can of naptha or kerosene for a
couple of days? Blow out what you can, and give it another try.
An even more interesting question is why it was all filled up with
grease.
Samuel W. Heywood
# I recently traded for a S&W Model 36 that is in excellent condition. I
# did notice, however, when I initially got the gun that the action felt
# a little "rough". It looked almost unfired, so I just assumed this was
# why it felt rough, it just hadn't been broken in. I tried to shoot it
# as soon as I got home and after the first shot, the gun jammed. It
# would fire one shot and the cylinder would come loose just like I had
# pushed the cylinder release forward. When I got inside and inspected
# it, I noticed that there was some type of grease inside the action. It
# looked like the white lithium grease that you can purchase in a spray
# can was inside the action of the gun. I took the side plate off and
# sure enough it was literally full of this grease that by now had cured
# into a really gummy white powder. I used a ton of spray cleaner (Hoppes
# bore blaster as well as some carb cleaner) to blast as much of this
# stuff as I could out of all the little parts of the action. I only
# removed the side plate, I did not take out all the little pieces of the
# action. I then let the gun dry and liberally sprayed gun oil into the
# action. I put the side plate back on and finished reassembling the
# gun. The next time I was able to take it out back and shoot it some, I
# noticed a world of improvement. The action and trigger felt smooth
# like a smith is supposed to, but it still jams occasionally. During
# the very first 5 shot round, it jammed twice. The next time it jammed
# once and then I was able to squeeze off about 3 subsequent rounds with
# no jams. Seeing as how this gun is meant to be my ccw piece, I wanted
# to fire it some more to see if it would be reliable enough to server
# the purpose, so today I decided to really give it a workout. I took
# the gun out again and just like before, the first round of five shots
# jammed after the second shot. Then, I shot about 15 more 5 shot
# sequences and had only one more jam. It's almost as if the gun has to
# have a few rounds through it before it "warms up". I'm stumped. I
# removed the side plate again and cannot see any more "white gunk", but
# again I didn't fully disassemble it. My questions are these: What
# parts in particular are making the gun jam this way, what suggestions
# does anyone have about fixing this problem and should I keep trying to
# get it to function reliably or pass it on down the line? Thanks in
# advance for any help you can give me.
Carefully inspect under the star extractor/ejector for dirt and grime
or any other condition, such as a bent or burred or cracked part, that
could cause the extractor/ejector to fail to fully seat itself into its
recess in the rear of the cylinder.
There are also some other things that can cause a revolver to bind up or
"jam". Dirt and grime under the star extractor/ejector is one of the most
common causes of this problem.
Sam Heywood
-- Message handled by Pine, Version 4.61
none
"It
would fire one shot and the cylinder would come loose just l虹ke I had
pushed the cylinder release forward. "
The spring loaded pin inside the ejector rod is supposed to protrude
into the hole in the frame to lock the cylinder in place. Try taking
out the cylinder and unscrewing the ejector rod assembly. Maybe some
of that white gunk is in there preventing it from travelling as far as
it should. Then make sure the cylinder latch button is free to slide
back and forth as far as it is supposed to.
If that doesn't improve matters, get to a gunsmith. You do not want to
depend on that gun as you ccw piece until all issues of dependability
are resolved.
Doug Chandler
GLC1173
#If that doesn't improve matters, get to a >gunsmith. You do not want to
#depend on that gun as you ccw piece >until all issues of dependability are
#resolved.
He also needs to check for reliable ejection of empties. That short ejector
rod on S&W snubbies makes ejection often troublesome.
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Bruce Green
possibility that your ammo may be a little warm for that gun. You may
be experiencing primers backing out some. Are you shooting plus P's or
handloads? Just a thought. If is happening sporadically and not in the
same position on the rotation of the cylinder then I would look at the
primers.
bdGreen
Neil wrote:
> ...
GLC1173
#After having gone through all you have I >would really examine the
#possibility that your ammo may be a little >warm for that gun.
Having had major problems with factory range ammo in recent S&W snubbies -
like very poor ejection - I can tell you that the ejector rod is just too
short.
The same ammo works fine in Taurus snubbies.
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none
GLC1173:
# He also needs to check for reliable ejection of empties. That short
ejector
# rod on S&W snubbies makes ejection often troublesome.
That is not a malfunction; it is inherent in the design of the gun.
Hot loads of .38 Special will expand the brass enough to stick in the
cylinder, since the ejector rod is too short to push them all the way
out. The only ammo that will eject easily is target wadcutter soft
loads. If you practice with that kind of cheap stuff, you become
accustomed to tapping the ejector rod and watching the empties fall
out. Then, if you put in hot loads for business purposes and actually
have an emergency requiring more than 5 rounds, you will not be
prepared to pick out the brass and reload efficiently. That is one
more reason why it is important to practice firing with the same ammo
you will carry.
Doug Chandler
sta...@prolynx.com
none wrote:
# GLC1173:
#
# # He also needs to check for reliable ejection of empties. That
short
# ejector
# # rod on S&W snubbies makes ejection often troublesome.
#
# That is not a malfunction; it is inherent in the design of the gun.
#
# Hot loads of .38 Special will expand the brass enough to stick in the
# cylinder, since the ejector rod is too short to push them all the way
# out. The only ammo that will eject easily is target wadcutter soft
# loads. If you practice with that kind of cheap stuff, you become
# accustomed to tapping the ejector rod and watching the empties fall
# out. Then, if you put in hot loads for business purposes and
actually
# have an emergency requiring more than 5 rounds, you will not be
# prepared to pick out the brass and reload efficiently. That is one
# more reason why it is important to practice firing with the same ammo
# you will carry.
#
# Doug Chandler
#
The most reliable way of extracting empties and avoiding crap under the
extractor is to point the barrel directly up, then punch that short rod
sharply. Haven't had a +P fail to extract yet. Pointing the barrel
down or horizontally while trying to eject empties is a sure recipe for
getting a case trapped and/or getting unburned powder under the
extractor star. It's more a training and handling problem than anything
else. Keep the chambers clean, too, particularly if it's a .357 that's
had .38s fired in it. Quite right about practicing with the ammo that
you carry.
Stan
GLC1173
#The most reliable way of extracting >empties and avoiding crap under the
#extractor is to point the barrel directly up, >then punch that short rod
sharply.
Recent S&W snubbies I tested didn't even reliably eject that way, either.
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