take down lever

[turbo38gn]

What's the best way to polish the TDL? I know you can't put metal back so I'm guessing a really fine file, steel wool, or something else similar would do the trick?

It's not rocket science, a small flat file, file the nub off and you are done. Make sure both surfaces are flat. I've never polished anything, but if it makes you feel good.....

 

[Smith357]

What's the best way to polish the TDL? I know you can't put metal back so I'm guessing a really fine file, steel wool, or something else similar would do the trick?

My TDL did not have a nub sticking out, so I just used a Dremel tool with jewelers rouge and a felt bob, just knocking off the sharp edge. The tool spent about 30 seconds in contact with the surface being polished. I did not want to re shape the edge, just polish it dull so it would not cut into the guide rod as it rotated. On the guide rod I used 400 grit wet dry paper on a flat table and finished it with jewelers rouge on the felt bob.

 

[Spartikus]

It's not rocket science, a small flat file, file the nub off and you are done. Make sure both surfaces are flat. I've never polished anything, but if it makes you feel good.....

You were right! It was quite simple. I just put the TDL in my vice and used some 320 grit sandpaper to sand off the rough spot. It took 5 minute and I was in business. I didn't even mess with the guide rod and all is working as it should now.

 

[mlapaglia]

My 9c is currently at S&W for this fix. They told me their way to solve this is to change the tension on the spring that is below the TDL so it does not put as much pressure on the TDL. I will report back more once I get it back.

 

[mlapaglia]

My 9c is currently at S&W for this fix. They told me their way to solve this is to change the tension on the spring that is below the TDL so it does not put as much pressure on the TDL. I will report back more once I get it back.

Returned from S&W 2 days ago. They replaced the takedown lever. The new one does not have the little bump on the face that people are filing down to fix the problem. It works great and stays in position once its turned to the remove slide position. They range tested the gun also and gave it a full bill of health.

The work order said, "The following characteristics have been examined and adjusted to our standards.

Characteristic Description

Customer complaint: Field Strip (They condensed a half page letter to two words)
Repaired: Adjusted Field Strip
Repaired: Range Tested/Meets spec"

They did change the takedown lever and since they say that it now meets spec and that they did adjust the field strip, it seems that they are saying that it was out of spec because it was not holding in the down position without a finger to hold it down. Not what I was hearing from some of the customer service reps that said it was fine and no big deal.


Very happy with the repair.

Took it out yesterday to the range and ran 150 rounds through it and it fires like a dream. I was getting 2 inch groupings at 25 feet. This is better than I normally can fire.

 

[scattershot]

Glad to have the fix. Thanks, guys. I just brought my new .40 compact home and field stripped it to clean it. My TDL pops right back up, and I thought if this is normal, it sure is a PITA. The instructions aren't clear that it should stay down.

 

[scattershot]

UPDATE - I just filed the little bump down, and now I don't have to hold the takedown lever against spring pressure to field strip. Thanks for the tip.

BTW, shot it for the first time today. It's a keeper!

 

[turbo38gn]

UPDATE - I just filed the little bump down, and now I don't have to hold the takedown lever against spring pressure to field strip. Thanks for the tip.

BTW, shot it for the first time today. It's a keeper!

I love to hear a success story!!

 

[scattershot]

Looks like a casting flaw to me, like a little tab or something where they broke it from the mould. I'm surprised that QC at Smith didn't catch this in production.

 

[turbo38gn]

Looks like a casting flaw to me, like a little tab or something where they broke it from the mould. I'm surprised that QC at Smith didn't catch this in production.

I don't believe they actually knew it was a problem until many complaints came in. I personally stumbled upon a fix while dinking around with one of my guns trying to figure out why one stayed down and one didn't. I saw the bump, filed it down and Bam!!! it worked..

 

[Lost Lake]

My c had the bump, I filed it, it works great. While I didn't really care if I had to hold the lever down (I never field strip a weapon while I'm in a fire fight) it is nice to have it work even better now.

 

[jh32589]

I just bought my full size 9mm, (first gun purchase) and have been having this exact problem so I googled it, which led me here. Thinking I'm just going to send my 9mm FS in to S&W. My gun field stripped fine 3 maybe 4 times, then started messing up. Now it's every time. It's gotten worse and the only thing that has been helping was to pull the trigger.
I drop the mag
lock the slide back,
flip the TDL
drop the sear deactivation lever
then pull the slide back after which it should slide right off the front
...but it wouldn't, it would just lock in it's normal position
but pull the trigger and it shoots right off
this morning the slide slid off so fast that it slipped right through my fingers and the rear sight nailed the bathroom floor
which put a hole in my linoleum and scuffed up the top corner of my sight.
I know my way around a toolbox and I'm sure I can fix the lever nub myself but I'm hoping if I explain this to S&W they'll fix my sights too...
Since reading this thread I've tried pinching the barrel and guide rod together, which works great, but is however awkward.

Has anyone had the lever flip back up too early when reassembling? This happened to me which left the guide rod sticking out about an inch and a half and completely locked the whole gun up. the slide would move but the guide rod was stuck. I ended up screwing with it enough to get it back right, but i thought I had really screwed it up.

 

[lrrgrr]

quality (or, lack of same)

I'm sure every 'Military & Police' person I know, when required to field strip their pistol under combat conditions, would really appreciate grasping the pistol with the right hand, holding the takedown lever down with the right thumb while racking the slide with the left hand to remove for disassembly. Then hold again in the same manner for reassembly. And if that doesn't quite work under combat conditions then rotate and hold the lever down and pinch the guide rod until flush with the barrel and then hope it stays in place during strip and reassembly. Assuming you can see when the guide rod is flush to the barrel. And oh, if it pops back up on you sometimes, try again.

Would you buy a pistol which manual described a takedown procedure like this? Do you own any other pistols with a takedown lever that operates like that? Is an ambiguous and uncertain field strip procedure really no biggie?

All the M&P pistols discussed in this and other threads, that exhibit this behavior, are malfunctioning. Since the problem is apparently somewhat widespread and random, it is probably a design or QC flaw. The S&W manual procedure on field stripping is clear and explicit, with pictures to match. (Pages 21-22, including all M&P C models. Fig. 20 is notable!) After downward rotation the takedown lever should stay put. If all the gyrations described elsewhere on this forum were 'normal' or 'expected', that's what would be in the manual. I read the pistol's manual before I bought it to set my expectations.

They were not met. So my brand new M&P 45 FS is at S&W right now to fix this exact issue, and I expect that they will. If they don't, it will be the first and last S&W M&P pistol I purchase and it's on to another Sig Sauer or FNP, which always operate as I expect.

Pardon my candor, but the suggestion that any M&P pistol should (sometimes?) operate like this is laughable. If this behaviour was expected, normal, and necessary, that's what the manual would describe. At the least for legal protection, if no other reason. I'm also surprised that so many owners appear content with it. My thought is if all the malfunctioning pistols had been sent back to S&W from the beginning, they would have fixed their manufacturing procedure and/or design, as well as the bad pistols. And if this really is the way they're supposed to (sometimes?) operate, they would have revised their manual for the benefit of prospective buyers.

When my M&P 45 is back, I'll be posting up the results on the original thread I contributed to. Now one of many on this topic.

Well said. Anyone who thinks that they get what they pay for is not on touch with reality. You would think that a company with the reputation of S&W would actually make a product that did not require your filing down burrs that cause malfunctions--particularly in something such as a weapon. That is, assuming that you even realize that the item does not work as it should. Some products are clearly better than others, but anything mechanical (or electronic) will fail--just ask the astronauts who died, due to someone trying to save a few cents on each of their o-rings.