This is a model 640 hammerless 357 magnum I just purchased, and this is what it looks like under the sideplate. It may be a little extra dirty because I shot 50 rounds each of 38 and 357 through it.

Has anyone else seen anything like this? It appears to be maybe dry lube paste, or maybe it's polishing compound from when they buffed it.

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I don't know what it is, but it don't look good.

If I were to GUESS I would say that somebody overlubricated it seriously, then thought better of it and tried to remove most of the gunk by physical cleaning. I hope Gun Scrubber gets rid of it. (I have seen one or two revolvers with what appeared to be wheel bearing grease inside of them and a couple of department revolvers with fungus growing inside.)

This gun is brand new and came from the factory this way. I have no doubt that it could be disassembled and cleaned by a qualified person, but if this is lubricant then it may be better left alone. I will reach out to S&W.

Looks like corrosion to me, looking at the pin
Area. scrape it with a toothpick and see how hard it is

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Romans5:8

Contact Smith with these photos. I suspect they will send you a shipping label and fix it for you.

If not, you have a great project to keep you occupied for a day or two.

Can’t see much with those thumbnails pictures

Looks ok to me with the exception of the brown stuff that might go away with a couple of aerosol blasts.

This is my M640 after the first 125 rounds, 75 of which were .357. I wiped it down, but when I opened up the side plate it basically looked exactly like this. I was mad at myself for even bothering to open it up when it was so new. It was remarkably clean inside form the factory.

First thing I do when I buy a revolver used or new is pop the sideplate off, strip it, clean and lubricate it. It always amazes me that from the factory they are dry as a bone inside. The difference is night and day, instant action job!

3rdgeargrinder, the brown stuff does clean up if you lightly scrape with a wooden toothpick

Scruffy, yours looks a lot cleaner than mine. I am thinking maybe mine wasn't cleaned properly after milling / machining the inside of the frame.

I have a couple other issues with mine too, I already emailed S&W about sending it in for repairs. It shoots great and accurate, I love the feel of it, but I think it needs some TLC which I feel got skipped over on mine before it left the factory.

If anyone cares to know, the sear doesn't reset if you are applying slight sideways pressure when pulling the trigger (and this is when the sideplate is on, I never dry fired it with the sideplate off), so the trigger stays locked forward as if you have the safety lock turned on. You have to remove your finger completely from trigger and sometimes wiggle the trigger till you hear a little click which is the sear resetting. Also, the cylinder seems to be slightly misaligned with the barrel, I think most of the cylinder stop notches were machined a little off; this may be normal, but I would expect better precision these days

Send it back, wishing the best for you with that gun

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Romans5:8

Just purchased, meaning you purchased new from FFL?
Sure doesn't look right. Factory has some explaining to do.
That blue rebound spring is different then my three. But they are not new in box.

After sittin' and starin' for a spell, my knee-jerk reaction is to inquire as to the EXACT contents of the box when you first opened it. Without knowing what the EXACT contents are in a current product----and without knowing how such things as the tools are currently packaged---and placed in the box---and without knowing pretty much any and everything else to allow me to jump to my next knee-jerk reaction, it is this appears to be something other than a new gun.

Period, Paragraph, End of Discussion!

Ralph Tremaine

I lied! This is not the end of discussion. The next thing I reckon is the response from S&W (having been given the opportunity to examine your photos) will be along the lines of "No way, no how is this how your gun left our factory!" Now, it's not even remotely likely they will speak ill of the folks you bought it from, but consider that done-----by ME!

You obviously know how to remove the side plate. I’m surprised folks want it to go back to S&W for that. I’d clean it and be done with it.

I strip every new or used gun I get and clean, lube and inspect everything. You would be surprised how many look that way or worse.

It is not supposed to be like that by the way.

You got the sideplate off, krazykuul. Keep on going and take it down to the part level and clean it up properly. I suggest you buy a Kuhnhausen book unless you're already experienced with disassembling an S&W. You don't really need any special tools, although a couple can make the job easier.

Someone lied about it being fresh from the factory, I do believe...

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Pisgah

Read many stories here as to internals of our S&W revolvers with interest and wonder. Not heard or seen pics til joined this great forum. My first revolver in '68 til now have had many both new & used. Never have i pulled side plate or disassembled? Clean with Hoppes wipe down then lightly lube moving parts can see. This to say not have experienced (fortunately) any function concerns & i shoot'em. Know metal on metal causes wear but how many cycles does it take. Thinkin' i'll wear out before my revolver internals but may be wrong...like the posts tho. All food for thought.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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And so it goes...

"Just purchased" doesn't mean it's a factory fresh, new gun
It could mean "just purchased" from a pawnshop, gun shop, or Bubba.
Maybe send it to the Mother Ship, but I don't believe it's a S&W issue.
Easier to solvent soak and go from there.

I bought a new 66-8 a couple of years ago and it had the same reddish-brown stuff under the side plate. Cleaned up with no issues and I believe it was either some kind of polishing compound, though it did not seem "gritty". Or a SS break in lube?

A word or two about lubrication of a S&W hand ejector revolver action:

Word One: Start with a CLEAN/DRY (and stripped) gun. That would be something other than one that's been hosed down by the contents of a spray can----which are made to sell to people who don't know any better---not made to clean guns!! (It's kind of like fishing tackle, which a lot of folks will tell you is made to catch fish. The fact of the matter is fishing tackle is made to sell to fishermen!!)

Word Two: Use 4 drops (DROPS) of good (GOOD) gun oil (Ultimal-Lube Universal from Wilson Combat would be my choice.)---maybe 5 if you suffer from an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like me. The drops go on the hammer stud, trigger stud, rebound slide (1 on the bottom-1 on the back side), and that's it. The OCD folks put 1 little-bity drop on the cylinder stop stud. All of these drops are applied before the several items are replaced.

Ralph Tremaine

One more word---about wear this time: It strikes me wear is something to be concerned about within an assembly of parts moving at high speed---the parts inside the engine of your car for example. I don't care how fast you shoot, you can't shoot fast enough to wear anything inside a S&W hand ejector revolver. (That said, you most certainly can shoot fast enough to wear the parts of a dirty revolver----but it ain't the speed that causes the wear---it's the dirt.) (I've been inside of something on the order of 200 S&W hand ejector revolvers (not counting those belonging to other folks) since the late 1950's. I've never seen one with any appreciable wear.)

This post got me to thinking. I have owned a Model 638 for five years and the sideplate had never been off until today. I was glad to see everything looked fairly clean. I put a drop or two of oil in a couple of places and closed it back up. It was kind of tough to get the transfer bar in the right place during reassembly. The revolver is so small. After a couple of tries, I managed to get it right. Of course with the 640 you don't have to worry about a transfer bar.

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I guess I have to prove myself.

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pics of cylinder misalignment. I first noticed it when looking at the back of the revolver, the bullets to the left and right seemed tilted slightly instead of being level like they should.

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Given you are convinced it came to you as a NEW gun, STOP messing with it; and call S&W regarding the procedure for sending it back---and do it now!!

The longer you wait and the more you mess with it, the more hassle and resistance you'll get from S&W--------or anybody else with any other product---guarandamnteed!!

Ralph Tremaine

OH!!-----and let us know what happens---good or not so good.

Yep, I am sending it to S&W for warranty repairs. I agree that it shouldnt be touched by anyone other than them within those 30 days. I will keep yall posted with lead times and how things work out.

In looking at the pictures, I'm wondering if it is a new revolver, but was in contact with a significant amount of water at some point. Perhaps it was sitting in a display case and there was a burst pipe or flood? So it could be new, as in not sold to an individual before you, but has suffered flood damage.

I know that shining a light to check chamber and bore alignment is not the most precise method, but that one does look like there is an alignment issue. I agree, that one needs to go back to S&W.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

A friend was recently grumbling about his Crimson Trace Grips. Said they quit working even after he took them off and cleaned the inside and changed the batteries. I asked him how they looked inside. He went on to tell me how they had been swimming in his hot tub twice in the last week. What the hell---did you pull the side cover too? Huh---yes I pulled both sides. Not the grips bozo---did you pull the side cover off the 637. Well no---just the grips.
Soaking in the hot tub at night, with a cocktail in your hand, is not really the best place to take your carry piece, let alone twice in a week.
As far as I know he stil has not opened the revolver. DOH!!!

__________________
"Tastes just like chicken"

Could be worse. This 686 was as-delivered to a friend's shop a couple of years ago; supposedly new:

S&W took it back without questions.

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That revolver looks like it was in water for some time. Terrible. They don't make them like they used to.

I would not be able to live with receiving a gun like that, especially if it had been sold as a new gun. I'd definitely send it back too.

Several years ago I bought a model 640 no dash. It wasn't represented as new but was about as close to new as one could imagine in the original box with all papers and tools.

As I always do when I get a new to me gun, I decided to remove the sideplate to inspect, clean and lube. The first issue was when I tried to remove the factory Uncle Mikes grips.The right side panel was stuck to the gun. When I got it loose there was a purple colored sticky dried syrupy liquid that looked like it had dripped down between the frame and the grip. WTH ? I smelled it and I swear it smelled like grape soda. Luckily it cleaned off easily and didn't leave a trace on the gun nor the grip.

Somebody spilled grape soda on the gun, wiped off the excess but didn't remove the grips ???? Anyway, the gun was very clean inside and some fresh lubricant made the action feel quite acceptable for a DAO J frame.

I just sent it off to S&W today. I was told it will take 6-8 weeks. They sent me a prepaid label, so that's nice they don't expect me to pay for any shipping. I will hope for the best that they address all my concerns.

S&W’s turnaround is too long. A few years ago, I sent a Glock 19 back to Glock for an overhaul. 28 year old gun. Sent it in 12/20. They called me on 12/22. I had it back in my hands on 12/24. From PA to GA and back.

Ruger completely rebuilt a 30 year old Security Six that my friend inherited from his dad when his dad died. They had it about 2 weeks and returned it looking brand new. Even re-blued it and installed new grips.

I take the sideplate off every revolver I buy. New or used. Seen Some nasty stuff in there. Full cleaning and a soak in automatic transmission fluid for a few days. Works wonders.

It occurs to me perhaps S&W's service time requirements might stem from a significant overload on their capabilities--whereas (in this case) the Glock and Ruger folks might have been sitting around twiddling their thumbs waiting for something to do. Back in the day (1960) I sent a Satin Blue gun back to S&W to be refinished in Bright Blue. Out, there, and back was less than 2 weeks-----and the work was FLAWLESS!!

Maybe that has to do with "the good old days".

Ralph Tremaine

I can remember the days when you could rest assured the problem would be fixed and fixed properly. Unfortunately, those days at S&W, like most other places, are gone. One of the guns I had to send back was during May or June, and I seem to remember them telling me the time was so long because they had a two-week shutdown in there and it would take a while to catch up.

That looks like buffing compound to me also. It’s not machining coolant. The first picture also looks like the top threaded hole has either red Loctite or thread locker in it. I’d never use Loctite on a firearm, and I don’t know why they would feel they need to use thread locker??

Are they having you ship it to Springfield? Hopefully you will have good luck and can give us a good report on your experience.

Yeah that red stuff is some low strength threadlocker the screws had on them from factory, that was the first time I took sideplate off.

Yes, it's going to Springfield. I agree that's a long wait time, they are probably backlogged. I am keeping my fingers crossed they make it right, I will post updated pics when I get it back.

That really sucks regardless of what it is.

I love my S&W revolvers and semi-autos but I would not buy a brand new
S&W nor would I ever send one back to the "Mothership" for repairs.





About 15 minutes ago was the first time I've ever taken the side plate off of it. I've only fired 125 gr .357 Magnum rounds, not one .38.

I guess in S&Ws defense, have you tried to hire good help over the last couple of years??

__________________
Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Mine had that on the threads too.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

I edited this one too.

__________________
Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

FINALLY, here's my update. Got it back right at the 6-week mark and I am happy to report that I am pleased with the results.

I can still duplicate the sear problem, where if I apply too much sideways force on the trigger while pulling it (always with the sideplate on), it doesn't reset properly, but this is with considerable force, and it resets right when I take the force away. I will have to try it at the range where it was happening when I was trying to shoot it normally. It is definitely better than before.

Cylinder alignment appears to have been corrected, and the insides under the sideplate look perfect!

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Good to see! As for the corrosion, it is a stainless steel frame and after machining it most likely went into the passivation tank. This process will remove (eat away) at any metal particles (non stainless) left behind from the machining processes and or cutters used. It was not rinsed and dried properly thereby leaving some of the nitric or citric acid behind to fester.

Looks like the coolant from the CNC machine wasn't cleaned off. Or coffee was spilled in there after assembly. Not sure.
AA