I have a 4026 I picked up a few months ago that fails to extract 3 or 4 times per mag. I have replaced extractor springs in a couple of 3rd gen guns but the problem with this one is the pin is stuck. I have ruined 2 punches trying to get the pin out. I have a new spring (and extractor if needed) but can't get the pin out. Anyone have any suggestions? Any armorers that can help? Thanks!

The older extractor pins can be really tight. Really tight. I've sometimes really had to whack away on them in order to break them free and start them moving.

A narrow tipped nail set punch is often used as a "starter" punch to break the extractor pin loose (removed downward, from top to bottom). The tip needs to be short and straight, to avoid peening/wallowing the top of the pin hole.

Yes, you can go through some "starter" punches if you regularly work on older 3rd gen guns and replace a few extractors. After a while the 2oz ball peen hammers that used to come in the armorer kits were replaced with 4oz ball peen hammers.

Once the extractor pin has been "broken free" and barely starts to move, then a 1/16" straight drift pin punch can be used to push the pin downward and release the extractor. The extractor must be held in the slide, as the spring is going to push the extractor outward once the pin drops below the extractor, and this is often where a thin 1/16" drift punch gets bent.

I eventually started only moving the pin low enough to free the extractor & spring.

If you remove the pin from the slide all the way, though, in the older guns it's often helpful to remember the orientation of the extractor pin, as they were usually narrower at the top. It's helpful (easier) to reinstall the pin in the same orientation.

The older pin holes were a little tapered, which is why the older armorer kits came with a very thin tapered needle reamer, which could be used to lightly remove any burrs in the pin holes. They don't put those in the later kits, though. (Probably because enthusiastic, heavy handed armorers enlarged pin holes by grinding away with the reamers? )

Drifting the pin back in (upward, from the bottom) requires making sure it's completely seated, so the base is flush. In newer guns there's a relieved area in the bottom of the slide around the base of the pin, allowing the use of a wider flat end drift punch to seat the pin higher. We used to be taught how to use an offset revolver file to dress the bottom of the slide, inside the slide rail (because the offset head was thin enough to fit), to remove any burrs raised when the pins were drifted out at the bottom. Some of the older guns had some burrs. Such burrs could rub against the top of the frame rails, which is really a no-no if the gun has an aluminum alloy frame.

You do realize that the extractors are typically required to be filed to be fitted to any particular slide, right? This requires the use of factory bar gauge (older kits came with a bar gauge and a flag gauge, but it was eventually decided that the flag gauge wasn't needed by armorers if they used the bar gauge correctly, or so we were told).

The extractor spring tension is checked with a rather expensive Wagner force dial gage (meaning $150).

The original 4026 extractor spring was part #063310000, but the revised spring (R4) is part #100870000, which became the "standard" production spring in later .40's (although there are 2 optional springs, if needed to get the tension up in the required range in any particular gun ... hence, the need for the force dial gage).

Replacing an extractor isn't typically a "drop in" task, as the adjustment pad usually requires some filing to get the hook's reach within spec.

If the extractor edge isn't chipped or broken, a new spring might correct a failure-to-extract issue.

If restoring normal tension eventually causes the old extractor to chip/break, then it's time to let a factory repair tech, or a local smith or armorer (if you can find one) who is familiar with working on 3rd gen's and has the bar & force dial gauges. If that happens, I'd install the newer revised extractor, and the revised ejector, if it were me, because the ejector and extractor are 2 halves of a hard working "pair", and if the extractor gets worn out (brittle edge from being work-hardened over the years), the ejector may not be far behind.

FWIW, the newer, revised .40 extractors also got a nice bevel behind the bottom of the hook, to help with feeding in the fast-cycling .40's The revised ejector for the .40 has a longer tip, for faster ejection in the fast-cycling .40's, and the bottom received a curved angle instead of the original sharp corner, to help prevent a stress riser from forming (which could result in tip breakage).

Just some thoughts.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Gunsmith...

Short version.

I was rather hoping my comments might inspire the owner to go that route.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

Thanks. I have already considered that option and the only problem I have with that is that there is only one real gunsmith in this area and he stays very busy. I will talk with him this week and see what he says.

If you know any local LE agencies who used/used to use 3rd gen S&W's, you might ask to find out if they still have someone on-staff who is a factory-trained armorer for 3rd gen's. More than few of them around, and they might have their old kits and some spare parts.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer