stripped out grip screw. what to do?
- Thread starter zoli28
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gmiller0737
Member
Do you know what the bolt size & thread pitch is? If it's a common size a Helicoil would likely be the best long lasting repair.
Sebago Son
Member
Stripped them out of the reciever? Which S&W is this?
Bowlseye
Member
I would call S&W and see if they could do anything. If not, I would thing drilling it and re tapping the threads would be best. I would only drill as far as the stripped threads go, leave and remaining threads in place. The reason I would do this is because if you want to fix the trigger creep on your 15-22 you can easily purchase a 1/4"x28tpi X 1/4" "I believe" set screw for the adjustment. To drill this precisely all ya do is push the drill bit into the hole till you meet the good threads, leave the bit where it is and put a ring of tape around the bit as a visual aid for the stopping point. Good luck friend. Hope it all works out for ya!
tacticool22
US Veteran
Helicoil would be the first fix
A thin wall Keensert would be the next
Then a Heavy Duty Keensert
After that you might want to rethink the torque you put into a screw that holds your grip because you will probably need a new lower.
Keenserts Keenserts® Keylocking Thread Inserts
A thin wall Keensert would be the next
Then a Heavy Duty Keensert
After that you might want to rethink the torque you put into a screw that holds your grip because you will probably need a new lower.
Keenserts Keenserts® Keylocking Thread Inserts
Brett248Vista
Member
I have no idea how you stripped out the threads for the grip fastener, you must have tried to put 200lbs of torque on it!
Sadly, the lower is a "firearm" so I doubt there is much that S&W can do for you other than to say "purchase a new rifle" but you can at least try them. The second thing that can be done, as has been suggested is a Heli-Coil or Keensert.
Now, no offense intended, but since you are not familiar with how much torque to apply to the fastener for the grip, I suggest letting a professional install the Heli-Coil or the Keensert. So if S&W is unable to help you, then you are going to need to find yourself a machinist.
Keep us posted!
Sadly, the lower is a "firearm" so I doubt there is much that S&W can do for you other than to say "purchase a new rifle" but you can at least try them. The second thing that can be done, as has been suggested is a Heli-Coil or Keensert.
Now, no offense intended, but since you are not familiar with how much torque to apply to the fastener for the grip, I suggest letting a professional install the Heli-Coil or the Keensert. So if S&W is unable to help you, then you are going to need to find yourself a machinist.
Keep us posted!
A trick I learned while working on RC cars is to put superglue in the hole and coat the bolt or screw with oil and run it in. after the superglue dries the oil on the screw lets it back out without sticking in the glue. I don't know if it would work on a firearm but it worked great on my RC cars.
nomobux
Member
I've done that also with RC. Works well in a pinch.
rojodiablo
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Okay, first thing is to determine if you CRACKED the receiver, or if you only stripped it out. Magnifying glass and a light.
Now, if you stripped it, and everything is otherwise OK, figure out what size thread you are working with. Let's say for fun you have a 9/16" bolt you have stripped out. A 10mm bottoming tap would up the size directly into the same hole with no pre-drilling.
Say you had a 6mm hole- a 1/4" bottoming tap is 6.25mm in reality. And a 7mm tap would conversely open up a 1/4" hole to a usable thread.
Cutting oil ( good motor oil will do) and a bottoming tap. Heli-coils are very good, and tested and proven as well.
Now, if you stripped it, and everything is otherwise OK, figure out what size thread you are working with. Let's say for fun you have a 9/16" bolt you have stripped out. A 10mm bottoming tap would up the size directly into the same hole with no pre-drilling.
Say you had a 6mm hole- a 1/4" bottoming tap is 6.25mm in reality. And a 7mm tap would conversely open up a 1/4" hole to a usable thread.
Cutting oil ( good motor oil will do) and a bottoming tap. Heli-coils are very good, and tested and proven as well.
Brett248Vista
Member
The lower is a serialized "Firearm" and AFAIK S&W does not sell the lowers.
Dragon88
Member
And how did you come up with that number?
A 15-22 lower costs very little to make, but costs the price of a new 15-22 to buy. The lower is the firearm.
i just spoke with s&w service. he stated that a stripped out grip screw is a rare occurrence; they do have a fix for it and they don't want me trying to fix it myself: if i screw up the lower, i've screwed up the whole gun and i've voided their warranty. besides, i don't think anybody makes an aftermarket lower for it yet. it only took about 40 years for the aftermarketers to start making aluminum ar15 lowers, right? anyway, i can go to their site, print a prepaid shipping label for free, ship it to them. they'll fix it for free and then ship it back to me for free. how great is that? thanks for the replies
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I hadn't thought about that...my mistake. As for them selling the lowers, I would think (a guess) that they may make an exception under the circumstances. I certainly wouldn't expect them to warranty this. Nor would anyone expect the OP to "throw away" his entire rifle due to a lower issue.
Brett248Vista
Member
Zoli,
Thanks for the update! Hopefully it won't cost you too much for S&W to repair it. I am glad to hear that they are equipped to do the repair (doesn't surprise me since they do tons of custom shop work). I bet she'll be better than new when they are done! And in the future, don't make things as tight.. You are obviously like me.. My internal torque wrench starts at 100Lbs/Ft
Bowlseye
Member
Hey your right thats actually not a bad idea! I remember the days of my old RC 10 lol. Rock on brotha!
RedBaronRX7
Member
Just make sure when you do any fix you decide, stay off the WHEATIES before you tighten the screw again.
rojodiablo
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Great to hear! Good luck with the lower; you will be back in business in a few weeks.
I know this is resurrecting a zombie thread, but how did S&W fix the gun?
tacticool22
US Veteran
They didn't. You still have to repair stripped threads yourself.
Maybe send it in for warranty work.
Maybe send it in for warranty work.
tacticool22
US Veteran
Sounds like it was shipped stripped.
Same here, a little wobbly on the grip, tightened it up a bit, kept spinning
Yeah, old thread, so what the problem still exists. I'm extremely disappointed in Smith and Wesson. I bought a MP 15 22 several months ago. I've shot about 100 rounds through it, treated it like glass and never touched the grip screw. Took it out the other day to have a walk through the woods and noticed the grip getting wiggly. I still haven't touched the screw but this is completely unacceptable if this thing is stripping out. I cannot for the life of me understand why Smith and Wesson didn't just make the grip part of the receiver like the buffer tube? It would have made for a rock solid gun as the rest of the firearm seems great. Heck even the HK 91 has the grip integrated into the polymer lower and that is a 308 caliber battle rifle.
This massive design flaw seems to be the lynch pin of the platform. What a completely stupid design. I guess they wanted people to be able to change the grip as a selling point but on a gun like this, what is the point?
I'm wondering if drilling out the screw hole, straight through to the trigger compartment and using a washer and bolt that will go all the way through is the answer. The trigger components sit very low inside the receiver so they would have to be removed, then mill out a section of the trigger compartment floor at the same angle as the grip bolt hole. Then get a bolt that runs straight through with a washer on both ends and a nylon nut. Obviously that would void the warranty, but its looking like that would be best way to permenantly fix this gross defect. The job would have to be done right of course. Not sure if I'm going to risk it or just ask S&W for a full refund of this garbage. Like I said, love the gun overall, but this has go to be one of the biggest, most avoidable and stupidest oversights I've seen in a long time.
You just can't get things made worth a hoot anymore.
This massive design flaw seems to be the lynch pin of the platform. What a completely stupid design. I guess they wanted people to be able to change the grip as a selling point but on a gun like this, what is the point?
I'm wondering if drilling out the screw hole, straight through to the trigger compartment and using a washer and bolt that will go all the way through is the answer. The trigger components sit very low inside the receiver so they would have to be removed, then mill out a section of the trigger compartment floor at the same angle as the grip bolt hole. Then get a bolt that runs straight through with a washer on both ends and a nylon nut. Obviously that would void the warranty, but its looking like that would be best way to permenantly fix this gross defect. The job would have to be done right of course. Not sure if I'm going to risk it or just ask S&W for a full refund of this garbage. Like I said, love the gun overall, but this has go to be one of the biggest, most avoidable and stupidest oversights I've seen in a long time.
You just can't get things made worth a hoot anymore.
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tomcatt51
Member
Think it might be a good idea to try tightening the grip screw to see if there really is a problem BEFORE going on a rant?
Jayspec
Member
Glad someone else posted this. As I had exactly the same problem after having the gun a few months my grip was wobbly so I tried to tighten it up only for it to just spin in the hole. I returned it to the shop I bought it from. Got it back last Saturday seems rock solid now. Don't know excatly what they have done but it seems good at the moment. When I found out that this bolt goes straight into polymer I thought bloody hell what a **** design. I still love the gun and will keep it at the moment but after having to put a volsquarten extractor in to stop my empty cases keep getting crushed by the returning bolt and now this I'm loosing confidence in it fast. I wanted to add a USA made gun to my collection for a few years now and thought I had found the perfect one. Now I'm not so sure. Knew I should have just added a 5th German made one !
Jayspec
Member
And no I didn't over tourque the screw. It was probably cross threaded at the factory
Put some bedding epoxy in the hole ( a very very little goes a long way for this) Grease up the screw or if you have some bedding release agent around use that and screw it in. Let sit overnight and take the screw out. The epoxy is now your new threads. I did this with an old 1911 and it has lasted over 20 years now.
jsha22lr
Member
When I stripped out my first M&P 15-22 (my first 22 rifle too) I was pretty bummed out. Now that I have a new rifle and my dad has one, I've thought about doing the same thing you have done. I can understand why they did it, but it really is the weakest link in the lower receiver. What compound did you use? I wonder if JB weld would be a suitable substitute for actual bedding compounds.
Consider the price you paid to determine if it's worth sending back to Smith'. When you call Smith they typically will send you a prepaid FedEx download and 'may' charge you on the return. I agree with others that since you managed to strip that out, then perhaps you should let the factory sort it out. By the way, I realize you probably didn't over torque it, but likely got the angle wrong. Inserting the screw down through the grip and into the receiver it's a tad tricky.
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