686-2 Cracked Yoke

[GoldenEagle]

I got a great deal online for a 686-2 a few weeks ago. It had a few issues when I bought it, but the price was low enough that I took a chance on it.

The cylinder rubs when opening and closing and there is odd wear on the recoil shield at about 4 o'clock as you look at the shield from the barrel end towards the butt end. I suspected that the yoke and/or ejector rod might be bent so I disassembled the yoke and discovered an approximately 2 cm crack along the length of the hollow cylinder of the yoke that rotates within the frame of the revolver. Is it safe to say this crack is the source of my mal-alignment, rubbing, and excessive wear?

Do I have any options at this point besides replacing the yoke? Obviously if I go this route, the replacement yoke will have a different ID number than the rest of the gun. I don't think this gun will ever have great monetary value but I imagine mismatched ID numbers will affect the value.

Are there different versions of yoke on the 686 over the years?

Thanks.

[markyboy57]

Check your private messages, good luck.

Last week I walked in a favorite gun shop and found a beautiful 686-4 2.5" barrel for $529. The gun appeared barely fired. In a hurry I checked it over quickly, all seemed good. But as I said I was in a hurry. So I did not have them pull the Houge rubber grips off like I normally would, besides I frequent this shop often and trust them. Later that night when I got home and pulled the grips while disassembling for cleaning, everywhere under the grips was rust. My heart sank, I should have checked it thoroughly. Now I know why the price was so good. Luckily for me the "rust" turned out to be dried grime and all came off. Guess the shop should have checked better too!

It can be tough buying when you can physically check the gun, a craap shoot when you can' t.

[hemiram]

I've had a couple of guns that appeared at first glance to have rust in or on them, but one had some sort of polishing compound that was kind of an orange color, and the other was old funky lube. Both guns were in almost new conditions and were real bargains.

[Zipdog]

A good TIG man could repair that crack. Then realign and good to go. I doubt many Gunsmiths could TIG it but more skills can. Just find the right guy.

[H Richard]

I'm thinking this may be covered under the Warranty at S&W. They still make 686, I don't know what dimension differences there may be with a -2.

[StakeOut]

I see yokes for the 686 on ebay for $15

Take a look at the photos and see if it matches yours

SMITH & WESSON | 681, 681-1, 681-2, 686, 686-1, 686-2 use old style yoke sku #1516600 on Numrich

SMITH & WESSON | 681-3, 686-3, 686-4, 686-5 use newer style yoke sku #1588060 on Numrich

[OldChief]

Unless you know what you're doing, go to the factory then you'll get the proper yoke with a proper fit. Remember, the yoke holds the cylinder in, now you've got to consider end shake and correct clearance between the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone on the barrel and the proper clearance between the back of the cylinder and the frame. With the new yoke the sideplate screw holding the yoke in may be too long or too short. Contact Smith customer service and if they have what you need, they'll send you a shipping label to ship your revolver and the yoke is probably covered under warrantee.

[StakeOut]

Originally Posted by OldChief

Unless you know what you're doing, go to the factory then you'll get the proper yoke with a proper fit. Remember, the yoke holds the cylinder in, now you've got to consider end shake and correct clearance between the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone on the barrel and the proper clearance between the back of the cylinder and the frame. With the new yoke the sideplate screw holding the yoke in may be too long or too short. Contact Smith customer service and if they have what you need, they'll send you a shipping label to ship your revolver and the yoke is probably covered under warrantee.

You forgot to mention that the world will come to an end also.

Yikes!

[GoldenEagle]

I bought the #1516600 replacement yoke from Numrich and it actually just arrived today. I switched it out and now the cylinder won't close at all. It might have closed if I really leaned on it, but I didn't want to do any more damage. I test fit the cylinder on the new yoke off the gun and it was really tight there as well. It would only spin about a quarter turn before stopping. On the old yoke, it would spin for a good 2-3 seconds before stopping.

I think I will just call S&W on Monday and see about sending it in for repair.

[Zipdog]

A lot of the armchair experts that always seem to suggest Numrich for replacement parts don't know many of the parts they have are factory rejects or are unfinished parts. They don't even know what they don't know, yet they can give you advice on any question.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by Zipdog

A lot of the armchair experts that always seem to suggest Numrich for replacement parts don't know many of the parts they have are factory rejects or are unfinished parts. They don't even know what they don't know, yet they can give you advice on any question.

Well the nice thing is that they have a no questions asked return policy so it didn't cost me a dime to try it.

[Muss Muggins]

Originally Posted by StakeOut

You forgot to mention that the world will come to an end also.

Yikes!

It's not a drop in part. Very few S & W revolver parts are drop in parts. That's the main reason that people end up with used revolvers that aren't within spec. Somebody thinks they know better than the factory and start bubbasmithing their revolver, and when it doesn't work like they want, they sell it . . .

[Muss Muggins]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I bought the #1516600 replacement yoke from Numrich and it actually just arrived today. I switched it out and now the cylinder won't close at all. It might have closed if I really leaned on it, but I didn't want to do any more damage. I test fit the cylinder on the new yoke off the gun and it was really tight there as well. It would only spin about a quarter turn before stopping. On the old yoke, it would spin for a good 2-3 seconds before stopping.

I think I will just call S&W on Monday and see about sending it in for repair.

See my post above . . .

[sodacan]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I got a great deal online for a 686-2 a few weeks ago. It had a few issues when I bought it, but the price was low enough that I took a chance on it.

The cylinder rubs when opening and closing and there is odd wear on the recoil shield at about 4 o'clock as you look at the shield from the barrel end towards the butt end. I suspected that the yoke and/or ejector rod might be bent so I disassembled the yoke and discovered an approximately 2 cm crack along the length of the hollow cylinder of the yoke that rotates within the frame of the revolver. Is it safe to say this crack is the source of my mal-alignment, rubbing, and excessive wear?

Do I have any options at this point besides replacing the yoke? Obviously if I go this route, the replacement yoke will have a different ID number than the rest of the gun. I don't think this gun will ever have great monetary value but I imagine mismatched ID numbers will affect the value.

Are there different versions of yoke on the 686 over the years?

Thanks.

You must have wanted it really badly to buy it in that condition, at any price. Good luck with it.

[Kernel Crittenden]

On all S&W revolvers made today three parts have an identical "assembly number" inscribed on them. These are: the frame, the side plate, and the yoke.

These three parts are matched, fitted, and mated together very early in the manufacturing process. The number is there so the three parts do not become separated as they each proceed thru the various stages of manufacturing.

These three parts are literally "made" to go together. For this reason there is only a small chance a replacement yoke or side plate will mate up to an existing frame without some issues - cosmetic, functional or both. It's possible a new part might "drop-in", but it's more likely some fitting will be required.

[GoldenEagle]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Called S&W today. They told me that the lifetime warranty did not start until 1989 and since my 686-2 was built in 1988, there is no chance the repairs will be covered under warranty. Of course the service rep would not give a cost estimate over the phone but he did email me a shipping label.

If I was to send in the revolver, does anyone have a guess what it would cost to get the yoke replaced and refitted? Will the new yoke get stamped with the same number as the old yoke so it continues to match the frame and side plate?

Another option would be to use the yoke that I already bought from Numrich for about $65 and send it to my local gunsmith to be fitted. I imagine that would be a cheaper option, but then I'll have mismatched assembly numbers and potentially sub-par work (compared to factory work). But, it would save the 2-3 months lead time for repairs that the rep quoted today.

Thoughts?

[75Vette]

I wouldn't sweat the mismatched assembly numbers as much as I would having a gun gathering dust that won't shoot.
Good luck.

[ken158]

Originally Posted by Zipdog

A lot of the armchair experts that always seem to suggest Numrich for replacement parts don't know many of the parts they have are factory rejects or are unfinished parts. They don't even know what they don't know, yet they can give you advice on any question.

Numrich may be fine for a replacement part (new or used) but it still usually has to be fitted... IF you don't have the skills to do this and your gun is still factory supported then why would you not let they guys that built it, repair it? I would think a factory replacement part will not have an assembly number on it.

[Zipdog]

Looks like you are ignoring post #4. Why? Never seen a skilled craftsman?

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by Zipdog

Looks like you are ignoring post #4. Why? Never seen a skilled craftsman?

Not worth it to me to pursue such an obscure solution when I can send it back to S&W for a guaranteed fix for probably the same (or cheaper) price.

[Zipdog]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

Not worth it to me to pursue such an obscure solution when I can send it back to S&W for a guaranteed fix for probably the same (or cheaper) price.

You asked on your original post for a possible solution other than replacing the yoke. I gave you one. Sorry to have waisted your time with a response.

[old bear]

Sorry to have waisted your time with a response.

Zip, not a waste of time. You never know who else may have read and filed your information, away if ever needed. The O/P just chose to go a different rout. For whatever it's worth, as I'm all thumbs I would have chosen the factory rework option.

[StakeOut]

In 55 years of gun ownership I've never sent any firearm I owned back to the factory,even when they had good gunsmiths working there.

With so many reports of badly made guns leaving the factory I'd certainly return a new one or more likely never buy the new stuff.

You can't always have someone else do everything for you.

Take the time to lean about the things you own and how to repair them.

A few days ago I fitted a new hand.Before that it was a yoke and cylinder.

You won't know what you can do until you try.

[steelslaver]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I bought the #1516600 replacement yoke from Numrich and it actually just arrived today. I switched it out and now the cylinder won't close at all. It might have closed if I really leaned on it, but I didn't want to do any more damage. I test fit the cylinder on the new yoke off the gun and it was really tight there as well. It would only spin about a quarter turn before stopping. On the old yoke, it would spin for a good 2-3 seconds before stopping.

I think I will just call S&W on Monday and see about sending it in for repair.

Reason it probably doesn't close up is the yoke tube that fits in the cylinder is probably a little long. Few yoke cylinder combos match perfect. I made a small jig for filing them and keeping end square, short tubes cause end shake which is easy to fix with shims. Never ran into one that was OD tight myself. Would use mic to check new one against old one and adjust by honing cylinder or more likely polishing yoke. No tools or skills? Sent to S&W of course..

[Kernel Crittenden]

Originally Posted by Zipdog

A good TIG man could repair that crack. Then realign and good to go. I doubt many Gunsmiths could TIG it but more skills can. Just find the right guy.

If you repair firearms, other than your own, the BATF requires you to have a certain type of FFL. The Feds can get kinda nit picky about that stuff (e.g. Waco and Ruby Ridge were both instigated, in part, by accusations of unlicensed gunsmithing).

I guy might be able to find a local fab shop, TIG welder, or machinist willing to repair firearms as a favor or on the side, but to do so without a FFL they might get into some "gray areas" with the Federales.