5906 parts needed

Long time no log on. Bought a 5906 to replace my sigma 9mm and so far I really enjoy it but i have a problem. It's missing the right side safety switch lever. There is also a tiny spring and plunger that hold it on. Need those too.

I've checked Browell's, Midway USA, and Numrich and can not find them. If you look at this schematic here, they are numbers 2 (lever), 3 (spring), and 4 (plunger).


Numrich Gun Parts Corp. - The World's Largest Supplier of Firearms Parts and Accessories

The manual safety lever itself is going to be the most costly part, running just over $36/retail from S&W last time I checked a parts list. The ambi lever plunger and spring were running about $.78 & $.51 (all applicable taxes & shipping).

Depending on the vintage of the 5906, you can get the wrong plunger & lever combination, BTW.

The early 3rd gen 9/.40 ambi lever plunger was "shouldered" and had a head that looked like the body plunger's round head, except it wasn't. It actually had a small flat spot at the top of the head, whereas the body plunger was fully rounded (so it could run inside the machined surface of the slide during lever manipulation for decocking). The corresponding ambi lever of that vintage was machined to accept that shouldered ambi lever plunger.

The "new style" 9/.40 ambi plunger had a flat head and was cylindrical, lacking the stepped "shoulder", or narrower head of the plunger. Naturally, the ambi levers had to be machined to accept this differently shaped & proportioned plunger head.

The ambi lever also has a caliber variation, with the .45 lever having an extra bit of metal forming a tab on the inner surface (acting as a spacer surface). The following picture shows the standard 9 lever on the left and the .45 on the right, with the pin punch pointing to the extra "tab" material.


This .45 lever is also needed on the 9/.40 slides if the optional spring-loaded, decock-only assembly is installed. The standard 9/.40 ambi lever lacks the extra bit of "spacer" metal and could allow the decocking assembly to shift laterally inside the slide, potentially interfering with the firing pin's freedom of movement.

Naturally, the ambi lever spring is unique among the other springs in the guns, standard for all caliber 3rd gen models, and is painted a light blue. It SHOULD NOT be mixed up with the decocker body spring! Ever.

If you're really interested in seeing a couple more pictures of the plunger differences, use my listed email and I'll email you some more pictures.

Why not just order them from S&W?

Mine looks exactly like this one but with stock grip.

Widener's Reloading and Shooting Supply INC


What phone number do I need to call to order parts? I've never contacted them before and their website doesn't want to load up for me.

It's not a HUGE deal to get this done but it does hurt the index finger when pulling the slide back and the pointy ends where the lever goes digs into the skin.

Rangerscott said:

Mine looks exactly like this one but with stock grip.

What phone number do I need to call to order parts? I've never contacted them before and their website doesn't want to load up for me.

Click to expand...

Can't tell which lever & plunger are in a gun without looking at them.

800 331-0852, press 1 (to enter an ext), then press 2904#. Wait for a customer service person to pick up the call and then ask them to look up the part numbers for your 5906 to make the order. The current 'new style' parts ought to work together (meaning plunger style & ambi lever machining to accept the plunger) in your 5906, along with the ambi lever spring. As long as you're using old style parts together or new style parts together, and not mixing them, they ought to work together normally in the 3rd gen guns.

After many calls and giving up waiting I was finally able to get through with some one. Got the last curved grip, 2x ejector springs, AND the big surprise is they don't make/sell the right safety level kit (lever/spring/plunger), but the guy had one on his desk. When I told him my pistol was missing it he had a dumbfounded reaction to it so he is sending it to me free of charge. YEA!

Glad to hear it.

Yeah, from what I've been told, due to having to invest some significant money in other current projects, like getting the manufacturing equipment from TC moved and setup in Springfield, they've been holding off on spending money on replenishing their 3rd gen parts inventory. They've sold some to outside companies (converting unused parts to cash?), and kept some in reserve for repairs, but haven't been keeping enough parts on hand for retail sales (or even armorers, in some few instances, depending on the parts).

Hopefully, they'll free up the money to make a significant parts order sometime soon so they can replenish some parts that are presently out-of-stock.

A few years ago, I bought some factory S&W 5906 parts from a place called B&H GunRack in Merritt Island, Florida. I think they bought out a PD's inventory & parts when they changed their service guns. Give 'em a call.

Fastbolt said:

The manual safety lever itself is going to be the most costly part, running just over $36/retail from S&W last time I checked a parts list. The ambi lever plunger and spring were running about $.78 & $.51 (all applicable taxes & shipping).

Depending on the vintage of the 5906, you can get the wrong plunger & lever combination, BTW.

The early 3rd gen 9/.40 ambi lever plunger was "shouldered" and had a head that looked like the body plunger's round head, except it wasn't. It actually had a small flat spot at the top of the head, whereas the body plunger was fully rounded (so it could run inside the machined surface of the slide during lever manipulation for decocking). The corresponding ambi lever of that vintage was machined to accept that shouldered ambi lever plunger.

The "new style" 9/.40 ambi plunger had a flat head and was cylindrical, lacking the stepped "shoulder", or narrower head of the plunger. Naturally, the ambi levers had to be machined to accept this differently shaped & proportioned plunger head.

The ambi lever also has a caliber variation, with the .45 lever having an extra bit of metal forming a tab on the inner surface (acting as a spacer surface). The following picture shows the standard 9 lever on the left and the .45 on the right, with the pin punch pointing to the extra "tab" material.

This .45 lever is also needed on the 9/.40 slides if the optional spring-loaded, decock-only assembly is installed. The standard 9/.40 ambi lever lacks the extra bit of "spacer" metal and could allow the decocking assembly to shift laterally inside the slide, potentially interfering with the firing pin's freedom of movement.

Naturally, the ambi lever spring is unique among the other springs in the guns, standard for all caliber 3rd gen models, and is painted a light blue. It SHOULD NOT be mixed up with the decocker body spring! Ever.

If you're really interested in seeing a couple more pictures of the plunger differences, use my listed email and I'll email you some more pictures.

Why not just order them from S&W?

Click to expand...

When I installed adjustable sights on my 5906 this week, the springs got mixed up and I'm not sure if I placed the correct one in the body plunger or ambi plunger. neither spring was blue, however, one was blackish and very stiff with imperceptible compression, while the other is brown and also seems to be a little softer and has more compression travel.

The firearm cycles good, however, it seems that the decocker is now moe difficult to engage and disengage, but it is smoothing out.

The firearm does not have the older type stepped ambi plunger.

Any thoughts as to whether I have them switched? And should I order new ones and replace them?
Thanks,
Frank

The ambi lever spring is a much lighter gauge (thinner) wire than the body (decocker) plunger spring. The body plunger spring can't be compressed between your fingers, as it's very stout.

This pic of some new parts shows the thinner wire of the ambi lever spring compared to the body plunger spring. I PM'd you a better pic, and hope it comes through in a PM format.



You definitely don't want the springs mixed up because the ambi lever spring is too lightly tensioned to resist recoil & inertia forces, and will typically let the manual safety assembly twist when the slide hits the end of the rearward motion.

This means the gun can easily end up "decocking" itself, with the levers rotated downward to the On-Safe position when the gun is fired and the slide slams to the rear of its movement.

This is something armorers are specifically warned about in armorer classes. You can imagine it being annoying to have happen on a range, but dangerous to have happen in an actual defensive situation.

I knew a senior instructor/armorer for an agency where this happened. One of the new armorers apparently made the mistake of mixing up and switching the ambi lever & decocker body springs in many of the guns.

Fortunately, it was discovered on the range during qualifications, as a lot of the guns started decocking themselves and remaining On-Safe when fired. Pucker power, as you might imagine.

Unfortunately, those guns had all been carried around in the holsters of the officers for some months after the mistake had occurred during an inspection, before it came time for qualifications.


This sort of mistake can happen unless an armorer is paying attention, and you can imagine it would be much easier for it to happen if a private owner/hobbyist was attempting a full disassembly/reassembly without having the advantage of armorer training & knowledge, as well as the armorer manual which contains similar warnings.

I've known of other armorers making the same mistake, so even with training and a manual, it requires attention to what you're doing.

One time I was called to the bench by one of our other armorers, because he was having a fit trying to install an ambi lever. He couldn't compress the spring far enough to slip the ambi lever into the safety body. It only took a moment to check the spring he was using under the ambi lever and see that it was a decocker body plunger spring, not the proper ambi lever spring. It wasn't intended to be compressed enough - easily, anyway - to fit in the ambi lever spring hole with the lever installed over it. That was a hint he wasn't getting.