Reassembly problem with Shield - HELP!

[LA toolman]

Will the slide release if you slam a loaded mag in like on the fs m&p?
I haven't tried this yet on my shield.

 

[nickel plate]

Will the slide release if you slam a loaded mag in like on the fs m&p?
I haven't tried this yet on my shield.

My 9mm Shield won't.

 

[G33IWB]

Sorry to bring this thread back but I have a question.

So I just picked up a new Shield (9mm) and I too had the problem of the RSA hanging up and making things difficult to reassemble, when I finally did get it to free up not only did the slide go back into home position but the take down lever clicked into the locked position.

I assume that this is not normal and that the RSA was hung up on the take down lug ?

I did try rotating the RSA a few times and made sure it was not off center however it was still a pain in the arse.

This is my first m&p pistol however far from my first handgun (mostly Glocks,Sigs and XD's) and have never had a issue like this before.

 

[Armanius]

Sounds like at the very least a few people have had issues with the recoil spring at the time of re-assembly. I don't think it's getting hung up on anything. I'm going to speculate that the spring may have been manufactured poorly, so it'll only fully compress when placed at a certain angle. back into the slide above the barrel. Almost as if there's a certain "side" of the spring that needs to face a fixed direction every time you put the spring back.

I never had this issue with my other pistols, but have it with my Shield 9.

 

[snakeye]

Sounds like at the very least a few people have had issues with the recoil spring at the time of re-assembly. I don't think it's getting hung up on anything. I'm going to speculate that the spring may have been manufactured poorly, so it'll only fully compress when placed at a certain angle. back into the slide above the barrel. Almost as if there's a certain "side" of the spring that needs to face a fixed direction every time you put the spring back.

Exactly what happens to mine. The spring is not consistent and has to be installed so there is no bow or misshaping of the spring. Have been thinking about marking mine with a white stripe so it can be reinstalled back the same way each time..

May even talk to S&W about this.

 

[Robotech]

Exactly what happens to mine. The spring is not consistent and has to be installed so there is no bow or misshaping of the spring. Have been thinking about marking mine with a white stripe so it can be reinstalled back the same way each time..

May even talk to S&W about this.

I did talk with S&W Customer Service about this, and they sent me a new recoil spring assembly, but it has exactly the same problem. If you can, try to reach someone higher up on the manufacturing side.

You might want to try marking the spring itself. It looks like my spring is "walking" around the guide rod as the Shield cycles, which may explain why the slide failed to lock back a couple of times at the end of the magazine.

 

[bearfoot]

i see no mention that the seemly spring hard to pull the slide back might be why the recoil is not bad. snappy yes on the 40. but nothing that someone who wants the 40 energy/ stopping power considers. i have friends that change the recoil springs to a larger weight to change the recoil on their pistols. like on rifles to reduce recoil. to protect the frame/ slide. there is noticeable hardness chargeing a pistol, but there is less recoil. personnel option. a suggestion, empty chamber, safety on, pistol grip, thumb and fingers of left hand front of slide, lock slide back. insert mag. pull slide back, charge pistol. maybe a suggestion until strength is built up to pull the slide w/ out trouble. also maybe buy the spring grips to build up strength in the hands.

 

[S&WForty]

a suggestion, empty chamber, safety on, pistol grip, thumb and fingers of left hand front of slide, lock slide back. insert mag. pull slide back, charge pistol. maybe a suggestion until strength is built up to pull the slide w/ out trouble. also maybe buy the spring grips to build up strength in the hands.

Some aren't used to such a strong spring, but some, me included, clearly have a spring that is binding for some reason.

My biggest concern is whether or not this binding will result in a premature spring failure down the road.

 

[jdubpro]

I brought my new Shield home last week and immediately disassembled it to install an Apex USB and do a thorough cleaning. When trying to get the slide back on, it stopped just short of the notch for the slide stop. I struggled with it for a couple minutes. My hands got all slippery from the lube. The slide slipped out of my hands and shot into our new stainless steel refrigerator leaving a nice dent. Needless to say, my wife was not very happy. At least the slide was not damaged. I rotated the recoil spring and eventually got the slide back on.

 

[snakeye]

I brought my new Shield home last week and immediately disassembled it to install an Apex USB and do a thorough cleaning. When trying to get the slide back on, it stopped just short of the notch for the slide stop. I struggled with it for a couple minutes. My hands got all slippery from the lube. The slide slipped out of my hands and shot into our new stainless steel refrigerator leaving a nice dent. Needless to say, my wife was not very happy. At least the slide was not damaged. I rotated the recoil spring and eventually got the slide back on.

Oh man glad to hear the Shield is OK.....but as far as the refer......it sucks to be you...

 

[Stratajema]

Yup, I have the exact same problem as the original poster with my recently purchased Shield. (I also had the yellow sear deactivation lever pulled down during reassembly.) And I was very, very careful to line up the recoil spring assembly both vertically and horizontally. To get the slide fully retracted I had to increase the force needed by about 3 or 4 times.

For my gun, the problem is definitely the recoil spring since the slide moves freely without the spring installed.

 

[Armanius]

LOL!! My slide slipped too and flew across the room. Fortunately, it did not hit anything other than the floor.

I brought my new Shield home last week and immediately disassembled it to install an Apex USB and do a thorough cleaning. When trying to get the slide back on, it stopped just short of the notch for the slide stop. I struggled with it for a couple minutes. My hands got all slippery from the lube. The slide slipped out of my hands and shot into our new stainless steel refrigerator leaving a nice dent. Needless to say, my wife was not very happy. At least the slide was not damaged. I rotated the recoil spring and eventually got the slide back on.

 

[Cokeman]

If the slide doesn't go all the way back to slide lock position easily, you need to take the slide back off and twist the spring until it does.

 

[S&WForty]

If the slide doesn't go all the way back to slide lock position easily, you need to take the slide back off and twist the spring until it does.

I cleaned mine again tonight, and it was the first time I was able to reassemble without fidgeting with the spring! 1 out of 5 isn't too bad. LOL

 

[pvq]

My slide flew off too but thankfully didn't damage anything.

I fired my Shield 9 for the first time yesterday. 214 rounds and nearly flawless operation, just one failure to eject at about the 125 round mark. One would think that 214 rounds would sufficiently soften up the recoil spring. After cleaning, it still took me several tries, spinning and centering the recoil spring assembly, before I was able to pull the slide far enough to the rear to engage the slide stop upon reassembly (and move the locking lever back into place). I'm really at a loss with this issue. Once the slide is reinstalled and the locking lever is back in place, the slide retracts far enough to easily engage the slide stop perfectly without binding. It really doesn't make any sense that it should be so difficult to reassemble. I cannot visualize what might be causing the problem.

 

[MichiganScott]

I've dropped a few slides over the years, but never had one fly out of my hands because it was slippery. You guys are using way too much lube.

 

[beartd]

Good evening, I am new to this forum and I found it by a search for this very issue on my new Shield .40. I am going to try to attach some photos of what I found and fixed. The main recoil springs edges were sharp enough to cut, and some edges where the spring has to pass with very little clearance were sharp as well. Polish the spring edges enough to make it feel like a round wire spring and orient its install in the slide as shown. Break leading edge on recoil lug and most importantly the underside of the slide rails. It now goes together smoothly with no issues every time. It seems spring orientation is important. This may be because it is not like a normal spring with flat ground ends. I hope the pics load and and this helps.,,,,GaryShield Photos by gw_bucket | Photobucket

 

[kodiakpb]

For all those having issues. Reassemble with this part of the spring facing as shown, and see if it still gives you any trouble.

 

[nickel plate]

For all those having issues. Reassemble with this part of the spring facing as shown, and see if it still gives you any trouble.

Good catch kodiakpb, look on page 24 of the manual, figure 34 "SPRING CORRECTLY ALIGNED" and it shows the spring end in the exact same upward position as your posted photo!
Coincidence or are you really that good?
I'm going with the latter.

 

[kodiakpb]

Thanks nickle plate...funny coincidence. I actually experienced the same issue when I bought my Shields until I took a closer look at the RSA. I did not realize that the owners manual also specified this orientation.