Why won't Model 669 go back together?

[dantanna58]

A friend brought his 669 for me to look at a while back. It was his dads gun who had passed away. My friend said he fired the gun about 6 rounds when it "Locked up". He could not move the slide at all. He somehow got the slide stop out of it and cleared the chamber. But could not get the slide back on. He brought it to me for help. I tried it several times and the slide goes on but stops as I try to draw it past the frame. Its as though something is blocking it. I compared it to my 4516 and the 669's barrel does not move at all inside the slide like the 4516's when assembling. The guide rod and spring are all in their proper place, but the slide will not draw past the frame but about 1?16 of an inch. I see no burrs or anything out of place. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[max]

Probably the hammer. I can't remember which way it goes right now, but if you have it cocked, uncock it. If it is uncocked, cock it. Makes all the difference in the world.

 

[dantanna58]

Thanks but that does not work. I put the slide on without the barrel or recoil spring in it and it works fine. Everything seats properly in the frame by itself, but when everything is in place in the slide it acts like its bumping up against something when drawing it back.

 

[KAC]

Take a look at the barrel and see if it has a bulge.

 

[dantanna58]

Thank You but there are no signs of any bulge. The barrel is perfect.

 

[shawn mccarver]

It could be the recoil spring and guide rod. If it does not seat in its place, everything locks up. With barrel and spring with guide in the slide turn it upside down, make sure it is fully seated in its little half-moon recess, and then be sure to sort of rock the whole assembly (barrel and spring with guide) side to side to make sure it is seated AND centered. Sometimes it takes a couple of attempts.

 

[dantanna58]

The guide rod and spring go exactly into place. In fact I installed the slide on with just the rod and spring in it. It cycled just fine. Its as though the barrel does not want to drop completely when drawing the slide. Like its in a bind but I cannot detect any burrs in the slide or the barrel.

 

[tim c]

How does frame look?

 

[dantanna58]

It looks fine. Slide rails are a little shiny from wear. Frame is straight. I manually worked the barrel back and forth in the slide off frame and it seems rough where my 4516's works like glass.

 

[Doug M.]

Can you find an exploded diagram or a copy of the factory manual on line that is big enough to see well, and try to compare what's there to what you are experiencing?

 

[pharmer]

There are 3 levers that must be pressed down to slide the slide back far enough. Joe

 

[dantanna58]

Thank you sir, I am depressing the 3 safety levers in the rear. And I reviewed the exploded diagrams but nothing seems out of sort.

 

[armorer951]

On a couple of occasions, I have had the tip of the firing pin safety lever catch on the bottom edge of the firing pin safety plunger. This contact prevented the slide from being moved backward, as you are describing. You might check these two parts for evidence of contact.

 

[dantanna58]

No sir, no evidence of any abnormal contact. Everything works fine as long as the barrel is not in it. I guess its off to the gunsmith. I surrender, I have owned S&W metal frame autos since the late 70's and have never had one do this.

 

[JohnHL]

Hi, dantanna58!
If you push (or gently tap) the rear of the barrel hood downward as you are pushing the slide rearward, will the barrel drop and allow you to cycle the slide?

John

 

[dantanna58]

I think the barrel won't drop because the slide won't fully retract. Wish I had x-ray vision to see what its binding on.
Really is a mystery. Hate that We could not help out my friend. Pretty gun though.

 

[BMCM]

My friend said he fired the gun about 6 rounds when it "Locked up". He could not move the slide at all.

I compared it to my 4516 and the 669's barrel does not move at all inside the slide like the 4516's when assembling.

Hi dantanna58

Given that diagnosing problems over the internet is a ****-shoot at best... My guess based on what you reported in your original post and followups is this:

I think there's an issue with barrel to slide fitment here.
Assuming that barrel is the correct part for your 669, I get the impression that your barrel was not correctly fitted to that slide. If you have to force the barrel into battery to engage the locking lugs (even a tiny bit of force) then the hood is too long. When correctly fitted to the slide, the barrel should simply drop in place. there should also be a little fore & aft slack when the barrel is in battery on the order of .002" to .003" to permit reliable function as the weapon get dirty.

The barrel hood.... here marked in red:

Drop the barrel in the slide with no other parts, just the barrel. You should be able to measure the gap between that red area and the breechface with a feeler gage. The gap must around 2 to 3 thousandths. If you have less than that or no gap at all then the barrel needs fitting.

Fitting involves carefully filing & stoning that area marked in red to achieve the correct gap. The barrel should freely drop in place into an inverted slide and when the slide is brought upright the barrel should freely drop right out.

Not something the be messing with if you are unfamiliar with barrel fitting as you can easily ruin an otherwise good barrel by taking too much material off. Best left to someone who knows how to do this if you're not comfortable with doing it yourself.
Anybody who can properly fit a 1911 barrel can easily handle this in about 10 minutes. Otherwise, a few strokes with a 3 cut swiss pillar file ought to do the trick.

Assuming that's the problem that is.

I'm merely guessing here you know

Cheers
Bill

 

[dantanna58]

Thank you kindly, I checked the hood gap and the "Slack and Gap" is there. Its just "Gritty" coming out of the locking lugs whereas my 4516 is smooth. Could be because the 45 has been shot several times as where the 669 was a night stand safe queen for about 25 years. I cleaned and polished these areas but to no avail.