Can anyone tell me if the Stainless steel guide rod from an M&P will work on the SD40VE.And would the conversion be worth the effort?? thanks Steve

No - the M&P uses a longer length rod that will not fit the SD series.

If you want, Wolff makes a non-captured steel rod for use with their recoil springs.

As to worth the effort - meh. Really depends. For the most part, polymer rods aren't likely to fail within their replacement schedule (the spring should be replaced every ~5000 rounds and since S&W sells the spring and rod as a unit, then both are replaced at once). If you just like the thought of the steel rod though then by all means go for it.

Thanks MG..guess i'll stick with the polymer and get a spare from S/W

I'm not sure if they are the same or not, but I have and sell stainless steel guide rods for the sd40ve & sd9ve for only $25.00 each plus shipping. You can order yours from [email protected].

I just bought a stainless steel guide rod assembly from Galloway Precision. They offer the complete assembly, and you can choose from several spring rates (I got the OEM rate.) I haven't shot the gun since putting it in (just got it yesterday) but it cycles smoothly...may be my imagination, but it feels different, and better, than the OEM.

Whatever you get, be sure to use the flat wound spring instead of the old piano wire type. The stainless steel rods last forever, but the piano wire fails faster than the flat wound springs. I see these problems in competition: it is the modified assembly that fails.

I have used the Sigmas for loaners and trainers for over a decade, and the stock rod/spring assemblies have never failed. I do change them every 10,000 rounds.

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Science plus Art

glock 19 is what iv read will work if this is true im unsure but would like to know. i have the sd40ve im very happy with it other than the trigger

Go to Galloway Precision and get the S&W SD40VE 20lb Assembled Guide Rod Spring and just drop it right in and you'll be good to go for a very,very long time! M&P guide rods will not work. I replace all plastic guide rods in any gun that I can with steel due to bad experiences with plastic guide rods warping and bending out of shape and causing cycling issues way to soon in my opinion.

Some recent posts have reported erosion of the slide by the front end of the guide rod where the rod goes into it.

Is this typical or just some isolated incidents, possibly just one brand of metal rod?

Check Midway USA . The part for the SW40 is the same part and $7.49

I have had my Galloway Stainless Steel Guide Rods in my SD9 and SD40 for thousands of rounds and no signs of wear on my guns, M&P's come with steel guide rods and so do other guns as well, so why would it hurt the stainless steel slide of the SD guns? It has not on my guns. And I can only go by my own experience and as such I prefer to have a stainless steel guides in my SD guns as the M&P'S and other guns have in them. It has to be isolated incidents and they could be using to heavy of a spring weight in there guns with the steel rods as well thinking there going to soften recoil I don't know, I will only use the factory weight that's preferred by S&W. 17lb for the SD9 and 20lb for the SD40 and I have only used the Galloway brands of rods, so I don't know what other brands of rods would do but I can't see how they would be any different than Galloways if the weights of the springs are the same.