S&W mod. 28 Highway Patrolman trigger seized

[Vtgw938]

Have you unscrewed the thumb latch nut? You need to try and get the bolt out, which is the piece you have stuck in the forward position. There is a bolt plunger and spring in the rear of the bolt and that can go flying when you remove it. In the attached diagram, the plunger and spring are not labeled but you can see them.

I just stripped a gun that functioned fine but someone had applied Loctite to the thumb latch nut, both on the threads and on the outside. Who knows what you will find if you can get it apart.

 

[jrog100]

The center pin, the barrel under lug tooth that mates to the ejector rod or the thumb piece and its slide are gummed up and the center pin isn't pressing the thumb piece back, which means the hammer can't move. Lazy fix is take off the grips and spray lots of brake cleaner inside on rod, lug etc while operating it all,

Best is tear down, clean with brake cleaner use a Q tip barely damp with synthetic motor oil to touch pivot and slide surfaces and areas

And never ever put WD40 on it again

WD-40 is fine on guns and I highly recommend it on REVOLVERS only. I've been using it for 40 years and never an issue. Probably use something different on autos though - like fp10

 

[jrog100]

Thanks for the reply. I took off the side plate, -it didnt look gummed up, nothing looked obviously broken, either. I think the problem is in the cylinder release/ ejector rod. I cant release the cylinder. I tried tightening the ejector rod, which was a bit loose, but apparently not enough to prevent it allowing the cylinder to swing open.
The cylinder release is stuck in the " forward position"? There is spring tension when I try pulling it rearward- or back to the normal closed position.

Your problem is likely a BENT ejector rod. Post a few pictures so we can have a look. check youtube for fixes. I could give you more tips but I'm concerned that you might damage that fine S&W revolver. So check youtube . . .

 

[Bad_karma101]

jrog100, Thanks for the advice. Sometime today I will take another crack at it, and I'll post some pics of what I find.

 

[Bad_karma101]

Now I need to figure out how to just go about opening that cylinder, since everything is currently "locked up" ?

 

[Vtgw938]

OP:

How did you check the extractor rod for tightness if you didn't get the cylinder open? Anyway usual way is to use a small flat screw driver or better yet a brass tool of similar shape and push it between the end of the extractor rod and the locking bolt. If that doesn't work I think you will need to remove the side plate and remove the the hammer etc to get to the bolt and get that out.

 

[gwpercle]

Good Luck !

I would advise you to take it to a gunsmith who has the proper tools and parts to repair it ... but will not bother ... I too thougt fixing Double Action S&W's was not beyond my abilities .

When you get done , put all the parts in a shoe box and find a good Gunsmith ... they love to see us coming in with a shoe box ...
they know good and well we not coming in for shoe repairs .

My Gunsmith told me to simply bring them in when I had a problem ...
I did more damage because I had no idea what I was doing ...
I made the job harder on him and more expensive for me .
I'm no Gunsmith and will never be one .
Good Luck ,
Gary

 

[Muley Gil]

Good Luck !

I would advise you to take it to a gunsmith who has the proper tools and parts to repair it ... but will not bother ... I too thougt fixing Double Action S&W's was not beyond my abilities .

When you get done , put all the parts in a shoe box and find a good Gunsmith ... they love to see us coming in with a shoe box ...
they know good and well we not coming in for shoe repairs .

My Gunsmith told me to simply bring them in when I had a problem ...
I did more damage because I had no idea what I was doing ...
I made the job harder on him and more expensive for me .
I'm no Gunsmith and will never be one .
Good Luck ,
Gary

I held a gunsmithing FFL for 20 years. I used to cringe when someone would walk up to me holding a shoebox or a cigar box. I never knew what would be inside and/or what pieces were broken or missing.

 

[Bad_karma101]

Youtube. lol. I watched a video there about how to (possibly) open a stuck cylinder that was closed. Basically "jam/ stop" the cyl. ejection rod with a piece of leather covered flat screwdriver tip to keep it from turning about, while you tighten the knurled end counter-clockwise to tighten it up.
The theory is the ejector rod can sometimes loosen from firing, and lengthen/ (unscrew) while the cyl. is closed, and could lengthen just enough to a point where you cannot open the cylinder because the knurled end of the ejector rod catchs on the frame while in its closed position.
I'm not a gunsmith, but that makes sense. I tried it, and the rod was pretty loose, and I was able to tighten it with my fingers a few spins til it stopped. But... that did Not solve my problem. Cylinder is still stuck closed. Something in the cylinder thumb release . Its remains pushed forward( as if pushed in to open the cyl.).
When I push back on the release ( into its normal resting position), there's what feels like normal spring tension, and I have to remain holding it- abouf half-way, at which point I can operate the trigger, cycle the cilinder.
It just won't release the cylinder and open it.

 

[DETROIT]

Post pics of the stuck cylinder, and of the side plate off.

 

[Bad_karma101]

Pics of my Mod. 28

OK, I figured how to resize my pics, so.. here are a few of ejector rod side and removed plate.
Thanks!

 

[DETROIT]

The pic with the plate removed is hard to see. Also can you get a pic of the loading side of the cylinder? Can you rock the cylinder left / right?

 

[Vtgw938]

Here is your bolt and plunger. With the cylinder closed that should be to the rear. Take the main spring out and see what moves. To remove the trigger that bolt has to go reward to get the firing pin nose out from the frame. Maybe the step down on the plunger is caught on the edge of the hole it goes into on the plunger.

Here is what it should look like:

 

[steelslaver]

If you stick a very thin piece of steel in front of the rod, that will release the front lug, Your bolt being forward enough to stop the hammer from moving INDICATES that the center pin is far enough back to hold back the bolt. I am wondering if your front lug tooth is stuck and not quite moving enough to allow the end of the ejector rod to move out. Spray it repeatedly with brake cleaner then penetrating oil and then if it is still not releasing try gently prying it back with tiny fine tipped screw drive like they use to fix glasses

 

[steelslaver]

I guess that the tip of the bolt could have somehow got broke off, which would allow the bolt to move forward yet keep the center pin locked in the recoil shield, That would require removing the thumb piece, (be careful of the spring and plunger in the rear of it flying out) then uses a small piece of 3/32 welding rod with the flux remove to press into the hole for its nose piece to press the center pin forward

 

[Bad_karma101]

Pics of my Mod. 28

Here's a clearer pic w/o the plate on.

 

[Bad_karma101]

Also, I see that I initially posted this thread incorrectly. My M28 should be under the pre-1961 ( its a 5 screw), if that makes any difference?

 

[Oldshot]

The hammer is clearly blocked by the cylinder release "tab". If you can somehow move the "tab" rearward & hold it there, the cylinder should be able to be moved out, to the left with a push of your thumb. If not, then IMHO the cause & fix is well beyond what us Bubbas are capable of, & biting the bullet either send it back to S&W or to a skilled local smith.This fine revolver deserves it.

 

[Vtgw938]

 

[Bad_karma101]

Pics of my Mod. 28

I managed to get the cyl. open, used a jewelers screwdriver to depress the ejector rod pin in the frame, at the knurled end, then I pressed the cyl. thumb release back about 1/2 way, and opened the cylinder.
The rod looks OK, not bent or damaged. My problem looks to be in the Cylinder release. There is spring tension pushing if forward/ ( open) constantly. There is not any spring tension to push it back to its resting( rebound) position? Isn't there a spring in this component that is supposed to return the thumb release "back" to its resting position?