52-2 questions

Hello,
I recently acquired a 52-2. I've done some reading on this forum and there seems to be some experts here. Here is my question. The barrel bushing seems to be screwed in so tight it wont budge. I've order a bushing wrench. The problem is, the plunger that sticks out between the teeth is fully depressed and does not stick out at all. There seems to be no spring tension on it. It doesn't move. I'm thinking maybe the spring is gone but the bushing is screwed in too tight move anything.

Yep, looks like you got a problem... there is a retired S&W guy here that built the 52's and hopefully he should come along soon.

Logangrimnar said:

Hello,
I recently acquired a 52-2. I've done some reading on this forum and there seems to be some experts here. Here is my question. The barrel bushing seems to be screwed in so tight it wont budge. I've order a bushing wrench. The problem is, the plunger that sticks out between the teeth is fully depressed and does not stick out at all. There seems to be no spring tension on it. It doesn't move. I'm thinking maybe the spring is gone but the bushing is screwed in too tight move anything.

Click to expand...

I would be very much surprised if the Barrel Bushing Plunger Spring was broken. I believe that the previous owner has put the Barrel Bushing on so tight that it has caught the very edge of the plunger preventing it from popping out into it's proper position. Be careful when you use the wrench that you don't scratch the Slide.

Dont get excited! Many of us have seen this before. Be patient. Pls. no pliers. Just wait for the wrench. A soak with some juice would be a good idea. The spring and plunger issue will be solved later. Keep us posted.

gmborkovic said:

Dont get excited! Many of us have seen this before. Be patient. Pls. no pliers. Just wait for the wrench. A soak with some juice would be a good idea. The spring and plunger issue will be solved later. Keep us posted.

Click to expand...

Use a penetrating oil such as Kroil. Put it around the perimeter of the bushing and leave the gun with the muzzle pointed up & let it set for a day or two.
If that's not a fix. Wipe down the bushing area and apply a soldering gun to it in several places - let the heat soak in. You could also try a leather hammer and give it a couple of smacks trying to shake things up in the threads.

Not a big problem. It looks a though the plunger might be below the bushing plate. It's hard to see in that photo. You could remove the slide and recoil guide and spring, Make sure chamber is empty, push barrel forward so barrel bulge is out of the bushing. Use a hard plastic hammer, If you tap the plate so it will turn the bushing counter clockwise a little at a time, make sure plunger stays below plate. It should loosen the bushing enough to remove. When reassembling the bushing does not need to be tight! Just snug and use the closest scallop cut. I would always keep the plate over the plunger while screwing bushing in and out.

Once the bushing is off, if the plunger is stuck in the best thing to do is lubricate WD40 or something with less viscosity and tap at the plunger hole. blow out once free.

Hello Donk, you be the 52 man to go to.

Thanks for all the replies. Donk, I have enjoyed reading your responses to others on the forum and I'm so glad you choose to help people with your knowledge. I removed the slide and spring and the plate moved slightly by hand but the bushing stayed tight. I'll try a little persuasion. I'm on a work trip but will be home Friday and my wrench should be there by then. I plan to never tighten it close to what it is. It was a little gummed up but seems to function well. I'll load up some wadcutters and try it out within the next week. Here's what the rest of it looks like

Here's a tip that I picked up a couple years ago on this forum. Anybody who reads, please do not discount this UNTIL you have tried it for yourself:

12-point, SAE 3/4" socket
No ratched connected to the socket, the simple socket in your hand is more than enough leverage.

Rant mode, with no apologies:
The "wrench" that was shipped with the Model 52 is a travesty of justice, an abomination. How and why would you design, build and ship such a masterpiece, and include a specific tool that is a sheet metal piece of dreck is beyond my comprehension. For decades, Smith & Wesson shipped a slick little screwdriver for simple sight adjustment but when they build the semi-auto pistol that everyone knew S&W could build, they shipped a 15-cent piece of sharp scrap metal as an included tool.

That wrench, in my opinion, is much similar to an automotive oil filter wrench. That wrench is a "Bubba or un-Bubba" tool, like an oil filter wrench. If you change the filter on a car, do you tighten up that filter gorilla tight with a wrench? No, because that's a terrible idea. Only Bubba does that. You only need a wrench when you change a filter that Bubba put in place.

You only need a wrench on a S&W 52 bushing when some monkey before you over tightened the bushing. That sharp scrap metal junker works, but there's nothing nice about it.

A 12-point SAE 3/4" socket with no extension, no ratchet or anything is a far better tool for pushing in the pin and moving the bushing.

Never over tighten a 52 bushing.

Sevens, I agree.I never used that wrench unless I HAD to.

Thanks for the help everyone. The wrench I ordered did nothing but moving the plate did the trick.

Logangrimnar said:

Thanks for the help everyone. The wrench I ordered did nothing but moving the plate did the trick.

Click to expand...

If you still can't get the bushing out, it may be cracked from a previous owner over tightening. If so, you have problems.

Nope. Got it out fixed the plunger put it back together. Cant wait to get it to the range

Woo hoo. Cant wait

There is an online video that describes the completely wrong way to disassemble and re-assemble the Model 52. The actual instructions that came with the gun are far better, along with some other on-line videos, and the description up above is exactly what I do now, with one tiny change.

I found that if I push in the pin with a fingernail, I can loosen the bushing effortlessly, and screw it out. Similarly, if I push in the pin with a fingernail, I can tighten the bushing until it "just" gets snug, then remove my fingernail from the pin, and rotate the bushing the other way until the pin snaps out.


The incorrect online video says to do all this stuff while the rest of the gun is still assembled, so you're fighting against the spring pressure. Disassembly as described above, the spring and other components are out, and the bushing is so easy to work with.



Not knowing all the proper answers, as described above by Don and others, I followed my gut - that's a very fine thread, and damaging it would be a disaster, so removing the spring and so on left the bushing free to turn with no resistance.


Yeah, the socket is a MUCH better idea than the wrench. S&W should have included the socket, but with no way to use a "driver" to turn the socket, as just hand pressure is all that's needed. Long ago I thought the special wrench was essential, no more.


Final thought - there are so many things about this gun I thought were way over my ability to even attempt, but with Don's guidance, all of it turned out to be effortless. I used to worry about springs and plungers flying off into my work area, never to be found again, so I'd put the gun in a "turkey cooking plastic bag", so if they did go flying, they would be trapped - but time after time, everything stayed in place. The gun is a dream to work on (but I'm not sure I would think that but for Donk!!!!!)

Sevens said:

Here's a tip that I picked up a couple years ago on this forum. Anybody who reads, please do not discount this UNTIL you have tried it for yourself:

12-point, SAE 3/4" socket
No ratched connected to the socket, the simple socket in your hand is more than enough leverage.

Rant mode, with no apologies:
The "wrench" that was shipped with the Model 52 is a travesty of justice, an abomination. How and why would you design, build and ship such a masterpiece, and include a specific tool that is a sheet metal piece of dreck is beyond my comprehension. For decades, Smith & Wesson shipped a slick little screwdriver for simple sight adjustment but when they build the semi-auto pistol that everyone knew S&W could build, they shipped a 15-cent piece of sharp scrap metal as an included tool.

That wrench, in my opinion, is much similar to an automotive oil filter wrench. That wrench is a "Bubba or un-Bubba" tool, like an oil filter wrench. If you change the filter on a car, do you tighten up that filter gorilla tight with a wrench? No, because that's a terrible idea. Only Bubba does that. You only need a wrench when you change a filter that Bubba put in place.

You only need a wrench on a S&W 52 bushing when some monkey before you over tightened the bushing. That sharp scrap metal junker works, but there's nothing nice about it.

A 12-point SAE 3/4" socket with no extension, no ratchet or anything is a far better tool for pushing in the pin and moving the bushing.

Never over tighten a 52 bushing.

Click to expand...

thanks for the suggestion on 3\4 socket, tried it today and put a smile on my face, much easier tear down

Logangrimnar said:

Woo hoo. Cant wait

Click to expand...

Curious - assuming you've been there, how did it work out at the range?

First time out I was not as impressed as I'd hoped. It shot and functioned properly but wasn't the most accurate pistol I've shot. I went from 2.6 to 2.7 grains of bullseye, lowered the sight slightly and shot another 50 rounds. I'm pretty happy with it now. I feel the more I shoot it the better I'll get with it.

10 shots at 50 yards. In happy to be at 8" Those 3"circles are hard to see and obviously not ideal. I didn't know I'd get the chance to shoot that far today

Eight inch grouping at 50 yards.... Doesn't sound bad, especially for just starting out with the gun. People struggle to shoot the 52 that far. One of your holes has a "tear" at the bottom - maybe the bullet had turned sideways a little?

In three weeks I'll get to try this, still out of the country. Something that might help you is reading Dave Salyer's write-up on "Area Aiming" which I posted for him on the Bullseye Forum.

Suggestion - instead of the 3" targets, get some of the official NRA targets designed for 50 yards. You can get some repair centers as well, so you can patch it up as needed.