Is it only me that has this issue?

[Switchblade]

Looking to see if anyone else has the same issue with their polymer frames.

I bought two Performance Center M&P, one 9mm one 40 S&W. I put them both in my gun safe and never really looked them over very carefully. A short time ago I took the 40 out and put couple of hundred rounds down range without issue. When I was cleaning it I noticed what I would call a "crack" below and above the roll pin near the slide release lever. I went to look at the 9mm and it had the same issue, this one has never been fired. I have other S&W polymer guns that do not have this crack. It looks like the pin was slightly too big for the hole or the hole too small for the pin. So when the pin was pressed in it cracked the frame. OK so here is where the "fun" started, I contacted customer service and they ask me to send pictures which I did they replied no crack was visible, it was hard to see in the pictures I sent. I sent them what I called the thousand word pictures, which I have included.
The two Exacto blades had to be balanced to get the picture the cracks were a bit wider. OK send us the guns which I had to ship separately, they paid shipping to and from. After about four weeks I get the 40 back with two word reply "no cracks". Two weeks after I get the 9 back with no explanation at all! I wasn't looking for new replacements may be new frames. At the very least acknowledging the cracks and stating that this will have no effect on performance and safety of the firearm! Was it because they would of been libel if anything went wrong? I have other S&W, been a customer for years, I was ready to buy their new 9MM Competitor, that's not going to happen. Sorry for the long winded post. Let me know what you think!

 

[ThomTell]

absolute zero experience outside of a SW Compact .22 -

but the 'OMG a crack' is the precise reason I shy away from polymer frames.


sounds good, is good, most of the time . . . .

 

[Pisgah]

I think there are... no cracks.

 

[Farmer17]

I don't see a crack either.

 

[hardluk1]

Hey tom You would be surprised at the number of metal frames that stress crack . Some can be welded up if caught early on but some poly frame may run for years with small cracks around a pin hole . I see the handgun in the photo is a earlier model some call 1.0 series so what do you carry .

Switchblade Removing the slide release from the frame and remove the knife blades as they cover what ever you want some one to see . As it is your photos show nothing except those two blades along with bad angles and lighting .

OH the 2.0 use a smaller solid pin the set with more clear area around it. So don't be afraid but remember the competitor is alloy frame too but I'm sure your know that !! .

Theres a lot of glocks with cracks too not related to bad ammo .

 

[ImDrRich]

I'll add another voice of not seeing a crack.

My concerns were that the roll pins were working their way out of the holes. I got the proper size punch and put them back in.

They're still in.

Shoot them. If they work, terrific - or find a macro lens and display any crack you see that way.

 

[Equus]

I see no crack either.

 

[Maddog 521]

How about a couple more pictures looking straight down without the blades. Thanks

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I don’t see the cracks either. Could it possibly be marks from the molding process?

 

[Switchblade]

OK, I get it most repliers can't see the crack. I did try numerous pictures but it didn't show up well it looked more like a shadow. Thus the reason for the blades they are not stuck in the polymer they sit at the bottom of the crack or should I call it a split. I wasn't looking for affirmation of the split I should of been more specific in my question. Am I the only one with this issue? My theory is that many 1.0s had this issue an S&W were aware of it and shipped them out anyway. This may of caused a redesign of the 2.0, the ones I have do not have a split. Agree or not there is a separation in the polymer above and below the roll pin that goes the thickness of the frame. Does this make the gun unsafe? I don't think so but it would of been nice to have S&W say so. I do appreciate all comments and do understand you can't see what I am seeing. I guess I should of called it a split from the beginning because that is what happen when the pin was pressed in!

 

[Saudade]

There are dozens of threads asking about that "crack". The response has been the same. That's not a crack.

Since you now refer to it as a split and know it's not a crack in the frame, what specifically is your issue?

Here's my 1.0 Full without the takedown lever so you can see the details. Current round count around 1600-ish.

 

[blfuller]

It could be a knit line. A knit line is any line, visible or not, where two resin flows meet. Depending on the design of the mold and the material being injected, a knit line may: present no problem at all, be a cosmetic issue, or cause a potentially serious structural problem. One of the deciding factors is the resin being injected, since resins vary in their tendency to form knit lines. In many cases, a knit line in polymer is solid enough that it will not significantly weaken the part, but it may appear to be a crack in the finished part.

 

[rbuzz]

Every S&W M&P polymer pistol that I own has this mark. IMO it's not a crack, although it does look like one at some angles.

I think what it is is the line created by the creation of that slight depression below the take down lever. That depression is there to allow the take down lever to rotate when you disassemble the pistol. The line of that depressed area just happens to go through that roll pin hole and it can look like a crack.

Like I said, all of my M&Ps have that mark and I'm not concerned. There is no way that S&W could have missed that defect on the millions of M&Ps that they have built over the years and it isn't something that S&W is trying to hide. It is simply a mark in the polymer for that depressed area that just happens to go through a roll pin hole and gives the impression of a crack.

 

[hardluk1]

No one can see's a crack in your photo's . So again you could show photos with out the slide hold open under better light taken a bit closer and more on top of the roll pin with nothing blocking our view since we know where to look we could tell if any crack shows up!!

I never considered that roll pin to be tight on the frame and only snug on the locking block inside the frame but with production handguns I guess anything is possible .

I would shoot the heck out of them and if ths mystery "crack" grows then let s&w deal with it .

So you have some 2.0 models now yet your holding back on buying a metal frame model over some concerns over something ? Got it , good luck .

 

[Echo40]

It's nothing to worry about, all M&P 1.0s have that. It's not a crack or a split, it's a relief cut for the takedown lever to fit into when it's in the downward position.

 

[Switchblade]

There are dozens of threads asking about that "crack". The response has been the same. That's not a crack.

Since you now refer to it as a split and know it's not a crack in the frame, what specifically is your issue?

Here's my 1.0 Full without the takedown lever so you can see the details. Current round count around 1600-ish.

View attachment 634211

Mine looks nothing like the one in the picture, it is split. I will tear down further and try to get a better picture.

 

[Switchblade]

It's nothing to worry about, all M&P 1.0s have that. It's not a crack or a split, it's a relief cut for the takedown lever to fit into when it's in the downward position.

My Shield and my M&P2.0's look just like this, it's a relief cut. My Performance Center have splits

 

[Switchblade]

Every S&W M&P polymer pistol that I own has this mark. IMO it's not a crack, although it does look like one at some angles.

I think what it is is the line created by the creation of that slight depression below the take down lever. That depression is there to allow the take down lever to rotate when you disassemble the pistol. The line of that depressed area just happens to go through that roll pin hole and it can look like a crack.

Like I said, all of my M&Ps have that mark and I'm not concerned. There is no way that S&W could have missed that defect on the millions of M&Ps that they have built over the years and it isn't something that S&W is trying to hide. It is simply a mark in the polymer for that depressed area that just happens to go through a roll pin hole and gives the impression of a crack.

Can you put a blade in the "mark" probably not!

 

[Switchblade]

No one can see's a crack in your photo's . So again you could show photos with out the slide hold open under better light taken a bit closer and more on top of the roll pin with nothing blocking our view since we know where to look we could tell if any crack shows up!!

I never considered that roll pin to be tight on the frame and only snug on the locking block inside the frame but with production handguns I guess anything is possible .

I would shoot the heck out of them and if ths mystery "crack" grows then let s&w deal with it .

So you have some 2.0 models now yet your holding back on buying a metal frame model over some concerns over something ? Got it , good luck .

Not holding back on metal frame, it just won't be an S&W!

 

[Switchblade]

Crow for dinner

As I sit here eating crow, I also need to apologize to everyone who I disagreed with! After removing the slide release lever (I didn't realize it could be removed without removing the trigger mechanism) I did get a close look at what I thought was a split, it's not. I drove the roll pin in a bit to make it flush with the other side which gave me an even better look.

I still have a bit of an issue with S&W they had the guns in their hands and could of given me the same explanation most of you gave me. All I got on the 40 was "no cracks" and nothing at all on the 9 which came in two weeks later.

I hope I didn't offend anyone with my comebacks. If I did I am sorry, I assure that was never my intention. Goes to show you are never too old to learn something new! I did today!