The cylinder of my 327pc is far stiffer opening/closing than any of my other Smith revolvers. I practice weak-hand reload, opening the cylinder with right hand only--releasing the catch with my thumb and opening the cylinder with the index finger of my right hand. This is impossible with the 327pc. I've exercised the opening/closing a great deal with no noticeable improvement. Any suggestions?

If the crane is tight and does not swing easily, check to make sure that the correct crane retaining screw is in place. It may have gotten swapped with another sideplate screw.

If the cylinder release is awkward or sticky, it may be the extractor rod and centerpin are not correctly fitted. If the end of the extractor rod overhangs the center pin even a few thousandths of an inch, it will snag on the forward locking bolt.

Either condition is quick to check, and at the most, a few strokes with a fine file is the fix.

They're harder to open because of the ball detent lock-up on the yoke. Try putting a drop of oil on it.

If you think that's stiff, try opening a Dan Wesson.

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And don't "check to make sure that the correct crane retaining screw is in place. It may have gotten swapped with another sideplate screw"
The yoke retaining screw has a spring loaded plunger (to retain the yoke) and is a larger diameter than the other screws and can't be in the "wrong place".

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

The problem seems to be that the ball detent at the front of the yoke, and the centerpin that engages the frame at the rear are under very high spring tension. The Wolff kits dont seem to include these. Any ideas? I suppose I could order stock springs from Smith and clip a coil or 2....keep a set of unaltered springs in case I screw up?

Changing the center pin won't help with your issue. You can't change the ball detent spring because the yoke is staked to retain the ball bearing. You'll probably destroy the yoke and void the warranty trying to get the ball bearing out. It needs to be stiff because the ball detent is your only front lock-up. I suggest that you either learn to live with it as is, or sell the gun and buy a S&W with a conventional lock-up.

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I shoot both a 627PC and 327PC JM version. The 327 takes a bit more pressure to open than the 627. I believe it is due to the softer aluminum alloy frame of the 329 and/or it's surface coating since both have identical ball detent lockups. I still shoot faster with the 327 than the 627 since it comes back on target faster. I use loads at 38 Special velocities for the pistol games in which I compete.