Stripped 1911 grip bushing

[rjm6120]

Well today, what I thought was a stripped grip screw on my 1911 turned out to be a stripped screw bushing. It happened a couple weeks ago when I was changing grips from wood to rubber on my RIA.

I have no way of telling if the threads on the bushing itself are stripped, or if I stripped the threads in the frame. I know I could have taken out another bushing to find out, but I declined, deciding I'd better quit while I was ahead.

The two options of a fix I have read through my research are using the brownell's fix kit for this problem, or using loctite blue. I would rather use the loctite, but I want to do it right without potentially screwing up the gun.

I seek the forum's opinions and guidance on this matter---I always appreciate the helpful feedback I get here. I couldn't find a like thread in the forum search. Thanks in advance everyone.

Ray

 

[arjay]

Ive used the Brownells kit,very easy to do.

 

[Pre 29]

It's a fairly common to have the bushings come out with the screws. What usually works for me is to tighten the screws up which tightens the bushings up in the frame and then give the screws a good quick turn (with a proper gun screwdriver) and they will break away from the bushing. After the grips are off I will remove the loose bushing and locktite it in place. If your bushing is stripped then you may be able to locktite it in place enough to get the screw out and then replace with an over sized bushing. If not then you will have to separate the screw from the old bushing while it is on the grip. Good Luck!!

 

[wewaslim]

Another vote for the Brownell's kit. Install the new bushings with Loc Tite and you'll be good to go

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

Same thing happened to my RIA. I used red loctite. It worked.

 

[rjm6120]

Thank you so far for the responses...Patriot, did you have to do anything with the threads on either the bushing or the frame first, or did you just put the loctite on and it set up fine and fixed the problem?

 

[Laketime]

It's a fairly common to have the bushings come out with the screws. What usually works for me is to tighten the screws up which tightens the bushings up in the frame and then give the screws a good quick turn (with a proper gun screwdriver) and they will break away from the bushing. After the grips are off I will remove the loose bushing and locktite it in place. If your bushing is stripped then you may be able to locktite it in place enough to get the screw out and then replace with an over sized bushing. If not then you will have to separate the screw from the old bushing while it is on the grip. Good Luck!!

Exactly right.

 

[Philadelphia Patriot]

Thank you so far for the responses...Patriot, did you have to do anything with the threads on either the bushing or the frame first, or did you just put the loctite on and it set up fine and fixed the problem?

For me, I forget if the grip bushing would no longer stay in the gun's frame or if they stayed there but just spun in a circle and didn't loosen or tighten when I tried to remove them. I do know I eventually got all of them out, put red loctite on them (the strongest bottle I could find at Walmart), put the bushings back in the gun and let it sit for 48 hours before putting my grips and grip screws back on. I haven't had a problem since.

I'd also like to note I remove my grips and grip screws when I clean my 1911s, which is after every range trip. The bushings are still strongly secured.

 

[Cyrano]

I'd like to add, you haven't noticed it already: those notches on the top of the bushing are for a screwdriver. They double as screwdriver slots, so you can put the bushing in and tighten it without having a grip screw in the busing.

 

[Grayfox]

The factory installation has the bushings screwed in and then staked on the inside using a special tool. You can get the tool from Brownell's for about $30.
if the frame is stripped, there are over sized bushings available, but you may need to re-tap the frame hole.
Locktite may or may not work depending on the amount of thread damage. But all it amounts to is gluing the bushing to the frame.
Its not a difficult repair IF you have the proper tools and knowledge. Otherwise, either send it back to the factory or take it to a gunsmith.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I'd like to add, you haven't noticed it already: those notches on the top of the bushing are for a screwdriver. They double as screwdriver slots, so you can put the bushing in and tighten it without having a grip screw in the busing.

Yea-go ahead and try that and you'll crumple the bushing.Ask me and I'll give you step by step instructions. There is a special bushing tool that you should use to remove the bushings. I crumpled the bushing so bad I had to send the gun back to the factory to get them ( Not being satisfied with just one I did it to a second one) removed. Why did I try to remove the bushings you ask? Well I was totally stripping the gun down and decided that the bushings should come out as well. Apparently S&W put them in with a dab of red loctite at the factory and when you applythe correct amount of torque without supporting the inside of the herad, it will crumple like a cheap lead soldier.

 

[jlrhiner]

Take a small piece of a toothpick and use it between the bushing and the frame. That'll hold you until the right stuff is available.

 

[rjm6120]

Thanks for the ideas, all. I'm still mulling these options over, but I don't plan on taking this gun to the range for at least a couple months so I have time. Just for ****s and grins I might stop by the gunsmith down the road just to see how much he would charge to fix it, just to give me another option on the table depending on how much $$ he quotes me.

So, stopped by the gunsmith and he was a jerk about it, refusing to give me a price unless he was able to take a look at the gun. He knows it's one of two repair scenarios, and he can't give me a ballpark estimate for scenario one and scenario two without the gun being there? Seriously?!?! I'm sorry Captain Fabulous, am I asking/expecting too much?? This guy's always been this way because he's the only game in town, he knows it, and I guess he believes he's entitled to treat potential customers as ignorant and beneath him, and can speak to us peasants as such.

I don't know, maybe I am the one in the wrong here and that's just not the way estimates are done in the gunsmithing world. Just thought that for it to probably be one of the easiest repairs a gunsmith can do on a 1911, a simple ballpark figure sans gun being there was not an unreasonable request. Maybe I need to be educated lol.

Sorry group, rant over (deep, deep breath). So, I'll decide which route to take and do it myself.