S&W 986 problem

**Brick** · July 17th, 2020, 06:28 PM

Had some difficulty with this revolver. It seems that the ejector rod would loosen as the piece was fired, sometimes to extent that the cylinder wouldn't open. So I got some Loctite Blue and took the ejector and star apart cleaned all the threads with acetone dribbled some of the goo on the threads and put it back together. I tightened the rods as much as possible and let the piece sit for a few days. Tried it out a few days ago and all seemed good. The rod stayed tight and the revolver ran fine through a dozen moonclips full.

I chose blue because occasionally I opt to disassemble the cylinder to clean its face and I want to be able to do it with ordinary tools and without having to get a b;ow-torch out. I'm actually becoming pretty fond of this revolver. The action is very nice since Mark Hartshorne worked it over and I like the stubby 9mm Luger cartridges in the 7 shot moonclips. Their shorter length makes reloads very easy. I know one guy that shoots an 8 shot 627 in competition but uses 38 S&W instead of .38 Spec. or .357 Mag. He meets the req'd power factor so all is good. I fI could ask for an improvement on 986 they could start producing it as an N frame and give us 8 an 8 shot cylinder cut for moonclips.

**abner13** · July 17th, 2020, 08:42 PM

Ejector rods have been coming loose forever. The knob on old Colts always fell off. S&W went to left-hand threads because theoretically , they would not necessarily tighten , but not unscrew with cylinder rotation. They still come loose though.

When using Loctite , be sure to clean the threads with alcohol or acetone (FNP remover). Purple Loctite (222MS) is especially for small fine threads.

Actually , FNP (finger nail polish) has worked in a pinch.

**Gunsnwater** · July 18th, 2020, 12:43 AM

Yeah I don't think the blue is going to be hassle free. Those are very small threads.

**imashooter2** · July 18th, 2020, 12:57 AM

Originally Posted by Brick

Had some difficulty with this revolver. It seems that the ejector rod would loosen as the piece was fired, sometimes to extent that the cylinder wouldn't open. So I got some Loctite Blue and took the ejector and star apart cleaned all the threads with acetone dribbled some of the goo on the threads and put it back together. I tightened the rods as much as possible and let the piece sit for a few days. Tried it out a few days ago and all seemed good. The rod stayed tight and the revolver ran fine through a dozen moonclips full.

I chose blue because occasionally I opt to disassemble the cylinder to clean its face and I want to be able to do it with ordinary tools and without having to get a b;ow-torch out. I'm actually becoming pretty fond of this revolver. The action is very nice since Mark Hartshorne worked it over and I like the stubby 9mm Luger cartridges in the 7 shot moonclips. Their shorter length makes reloads very easy. I know one guy that shoots an 8 shot 627 in competition but uses 38 S&W instead of .38 Spec. or .357 Mag. He meets the req'd power factor so all is good. I fI could ask for an improvement on 986 they could start producing it as an N frame and give us 8 an 8 shot cylinder cut for moonclips.

That would be the 929.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms...nter-model-929

**Pizza Bob** · July 18th, 2020, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Brick

I know one guy that shoots an 8 shot 627 in competition but uses 38 S&W instead of .38 Spec. or .357 Mag. He meets the req'd power factor so all is good. I fI could ask for an improvement on 986 they could start producing it as an N frame and give us 8 an 8 shot cylinder cut for moonclips.

As was pointed out - an 8-shot N-frame in 9mm would be the 929. But also, the fellow shooting the 627 would not have been using .38 S&W (too fat), they would have been using either .38 Short or Long Colt.