Ruger Mark III Reassembly - Can't Get Bolt Stop Pin In

[heili]

I took my Mark III apart to clean, and I'm now at a standstill on the reassembly. This is the first time I've taken the pistol apart, so it wasn't exactly easy (as the Ruger videos will tell you, sometimes you need to tap the bolt stop pin out) to do.

Well, what came out must go back in, only I cannot get it to go back in. I have made sure that the hammer is forward and the dangly bit is down. The holes line up, but I just can't get the bolt stop pin to go in. The Ruger Videos show it going back in with ease. I didn't expect it to be that easy, since it was tight to get out, but it won't go at all.

Googling tells me that at first things will be 'very tight' but that it should loosen up over time. I'm sure that's the case, but I've got to actually get it back together before there can be a next time.

There will be eternal gratitude for any tips that help get the mainspring assembly back into the pistol.

[mookinator1313]

hmm convenient, i just bought one of these on Friday, mine has around 1k through it already, i love it

as for getting the pin back in, with the hammer all the way forward, and the strut down, remove the magazine. i rest it on the muzzle, while sliding in the pin i press on the back of the bolt so it sits flush against the receiver. while holding the bolt in, i just push the pin up and wiggle/jiggle it and it pops in. after some finagling it will drop into place nicely

[TheF00L]

http://www.youtube.com/results?aq=ht...=w1&authuser=0

Also, check utube and type in your exact PAFOA title if above link does not get you there.

[edritchey]

I don't know what video you're refering to but this is the one I used before and it worked for me..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeY9s2TYAOk

[heili]

hmm convenient, i just bought one of these on Friday, mine has around 1k through it already, i love it

as for getting the pin back in, with the hammer all the way forward, and the strut down, remove the magazine. i rest it on the muzzle, while sliding in the pin i press on the back of the bolt so it sits flush against the receiver. while holding the bolt in, i just push the pin up and wiggle/jiggle it and it pops in. after some finagling it will drop into place nicely

I've been trying to get this thing in for 3 days. It won't wiggle, it won't jiggle, it won't move at all. I've tried holding the muzzle against the table, I've had it upside down with the top of the barrel on the table. The pin just will not even begin going into the hole.

After about a dozen Youtube videos, I have determined that the hammer and the strut are not my problem. The pin just will not go into the hole. It was ridiculously tight to get out (had to use the dowel and hammer method) and now it is just as bad trying to put it back in.

I don't know what video you're refering to but this is the one I used before and it worked for me..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeY9s2TYAOk

That's one of the many that I watched. I watched it about a dozen times before starting reassembly. Every step went easily until I had to get that bolt stop pin in.

[mookinator1313]

if you can, take a couple pictures in a macro setting, i might be able to get a better idea as to whats going on, and holding you up. im assuming the pin is most of the way through, but the top is hitting against the recoil assembly?

the first... id say 5 times i stripped mine it was damn near impossible to move that pin around, it was very tight. i literally sat there for 2 or 3 hours just stripping it and putting it back together. its still a little tight but nothing like what it was

[heili]

if you can, take a couple pictures in a macro setting, i might be able to get a better idea as to whats going on, and holding you up. im assuming the pin is most of the way through, but the top is hitting against the recoil assembly?

It's not even going through at all. I'm trying to get it to start going into the holes and it won't.

Here's the hammer and hammer strut:


(The spot that looks like rust is some weird artifact of the lighting - there's nothing there.)

And this is as far as I can get with the mainspring assembly:


Which as you can see is not very far. The pin starts lining up with the hole, but no matter what I do, it won't go in even a millimeter.

the first... id say 5 times i stripped mine it was damn near impossible to move that pin around, it was very tight. i literally sat there for 2 or 3 hours just stripping it and putting it back together. its still a little tight but nothing like what it was

It's gotten to the point where I'm very frustrated. I have never had so much difficulty assembling anything in my life - and that includes surface mounting chips on PCBs.

[-JD-]

When I first got my Mark III it was also a PITA to remove/install the bolt stop pin (still isn't "easy") so I installed the Majestic Speed Strip kit (http://www.majesticarms.com/id10.html - mine is not the new style one with the Mark II style hammer and conversion bushing but the older Mark III style hammer) and it was notably easier to deal with.

I have since removed it to install a Mark II Volquartsen Trigger/sear/Bolt Release/Grip and a Mark II hammer bushing, removing the magazine disconnect and it has loosened up a bit - enough that stripping/assembling has fallen from "a trial" to "an annoyance".

IIRC, I might have worked-over the tip of the recoil spring guide rod where it protrudes into the "C" which wraps around the bolt stop pin. if you look from the top of the receiver into the bolt stop pin hole, you will see that the recoil spring guide rod has to be pushed a bit forward for the tip of the bolt stop pin to clear and enter the top of the receiver. If the tip of the guide rod is rough or poorly contoured, it will make assembly/disassembly more challenging.


ETA: OK, I was typing while you posted ...

So you can't even get it through the bottom guides? Did you remove the receiver from the grip housing?

Remove the the pin/mainspring assembly and the bolt assembly and then look to see if the receiver is fully seated onto the grip housing. Mine simply slips together, but I have worked on several which do not budge without resorting to decisive blows with a soft face hammer.

[heili]

IIRC, I might have worked-over the tip of the recoil spring guide rod where it protrudes into the "C" which wraps around the bolt stop pin. if you look from the top of the receiver into the bolt stop pin hole, you will see that the recoil spring guide rod has to be pushed a bit forward for the tip of the bolt stop pin to clear and enter the top of the receiver. If the tip of the guide rod is rough or poorly contoured, it will make assembly/disassembly more challenging.

It's not getting anywhere near the recoil spring guide rod, as I cannot even get the bolt stop pin to go through the hole on the bottom of the receiver. It will go so far as the taper part of the bolt stop pin being in the lower part of the receiver hole, and no further. This thing, seriously, is a nightmare. It's a great shooting gun, but this part is less fun than jaw surgery.

[-JD-]

[snip]
ETA: OK, I was typing while you posted ...

So you can't even get it through the bottom guides? Did you remove the receiver from the grip housing?

Remove the the pin/mainspring assembly and the bolt assembly and then look to see if the receiver is fully seated onto the grip housing. Mine simply slips together, but I have worked on several which do not budge without resorting to decisive blows with a soft face hammer.

Damn, crossed again. See above