Unfortunately, I found this thread after I already purchased the 21# galloway guide rod for my sd40 ve. Of course the photos and first hand accounts of the steel rods breaking off the frame tabs was worrisome but then also read that Galloway had slightly tweeked the design/spring to fix the problem. Still felt uneasy.....

so I sent an email to galloway to check on 2 things.

1. was the rod I purchased from amazon(to get free ship) guaranteed to be one of the "fixed" design rods directly from GP.

Yes they assured me only the new rods were shipping directly from them, even on amazon orders.

2. Was the problem taken seriously and specifically addressed so that SD40 owners can safely use the product without risking damage to the tabs. Here was the response on that...

"The problem wasn't with the guide rod, it was an anomaly in the pistol itself. We addressed the issue with the pistols themselves and changed the design of the guide rod to
accommodate any other tolerance anomalies in the pistol frame in the future."

I don't like parts of that answer to be honest. IMO the original problem WAS with the GP guide rod/spring assembly. If it wasnt, then even sd40ve's with stock guide rods would be experiencing damage/breakage of the frame tabs that are chipping or breaking off. However, he did mention the change in design to the guide rod which i see in [@]TS7424 's photo for sd9 guide rods.

When i get home I'm going to find a comparison pic for the sd40 rods to see if my supposedly new design rod is visibly different and then Ill try the test racking the slide with the stock spring and the 21# GP spring. If i understand right, the slide should stop in the exact same position for both correct? and if not then that's definitely a problem still?

I still decided to test the GP rod at the range and put about 80 rounds through the gun. Upon disassembly, I couldn't see any visual damage to the tabs although they're small to see but I am pretty convinced that I did find 2 very small shavings of black polymer on the steel butt of the guide rod so it worries me that it could have been hitting the frame/tabs but I cant be sure. I'm going test it at the range one more time with 50 rounds but this time get a magnifying glass and see if I can notice any evidence on the tabs or shavings on the rod end with the magnifying glass. I will take some before and after pics.

If anyone has any better feedback or proof that the sd40 rods have successfully been fixed please let me know as I want to like this product but definitely not with risk of frame breakage.