GP-100 - disassembly, cleaning, re-assembly completed!!

[omen]

hi all,

I have a GP100 which has been sleeping in my safe for sometime... I recently took it out, and noticed the the cylinder's a little "stuck" it seems. i don't mean it's hard to open it, not at all, but it's very stiff when trying to rotate it. So DA is really hard... I don't know what caused it, it wasn't always like this, I'm guessing it's due for some serious cleaning and lubing. How would I go about taking that cylinder off, for that?

Thanks!

 

[daBear]

I will bet you have been shooting some lead or 38Spl thru it last time out . Not uncommon at all. I am sure there will be many experts jump in and give you all sorts of remedies, but this is what I do to remedy it when it happens to my GP. Remove the cylinder and crane assembly as per the instructions(grips, trigger spring, hammer, trigger assy and then the cylinder assembly slides right out). I then deposit the whole cylinder assembly in a bath of Hoppes 9 or equiv and allow the whole thing to soak vertically for a while. If the problem is gummy oil buildup, that will solve the issue as well. All u need is a small can and a large bottle of Hoppes. Works for all the revolvers. You will need to depress the ejector rod a few times(no, not by telling it your life story) and spin the cylinder a few times and you will see it loosen in no time. If its quite stiff it wont hurt it to let it sit for a couple of hours. That should do the trick if nobody else chimes in with a simpler solution. I am sure you can apply small amounts of other miracle cleaners, but a good soaking will do wonders. Routine cleaning will solve the issue from recurring and the bath is really for when its very soiled. The culprit can be simple as some dirty powders, and use of some lead bullets. Clean it regularly and you wont need to remove the cylinder or the assembly in future.
Good luck
Cheers
dB
**edit note...disassembly instructions are on the Ruger website. Removing the actual cylinder from the crane is not an easy task if unfamiliar and there are teeny parts(spring & ball bearings) that may find their way into your carpet**

 

[G37]

Rule #1: It should come apart easily. If it isn't, don't force anything.
Rule #2: Carefully look at every piece and pay attention to how these items are installed (e.g. sharp edge in or out? Smooth side in or out?, etc.)

Ok...

1. Remove the cylinder and swing arm from the pistol (easier to handle that way).
2. You will see a little hole on the swing arm that looks like you can stick a paper clip into it; find something (very thin - if it is too large it will block the pin you will remove in step 3) you can stick in there to depress the button inside with.
3. While pressing on the button in step two, carefully remove the pin that is inserted from the underside and visible on top of the swing arm - it should come out easily. If it isn't it is possible you are restricting the movement cause your tool is too large.
4. With the pin removed, everything else will now now come apart in pieces.

 

[sunray]

You shouldn't need to pull the cylinder to give it a bath. Just clean it as per normal and give it a squirt with WD40.
"...So DA is really hard..." As in the trigger pull? That has nothing to do with the cylinder's spin. Do a trigger job.

 

[omen]

"...So DA is really hard..." As in the trigger pull? That has nothing to do with the cylinder's spin. Do a trigger job.

Not correct; as part of the DA pull, the cylinder gets rotated, right? If that rotation is really stiff, the DA pull is really hard.

SA is nice and light...

Anyhow, thanks, guys, I'll give it a try and see what happens

 

[omen]

ok, that worked great, but once that pin fell out, the assembly soft of fell apart; this was great, I cleaned it, and now the cylinder rotates just great, BUT: I have no idea how to reassemble it all..

I have one long rod (the ejection rod), 1 tiny pin, tapered, and 1 flat plate which fell out of ... somewhere... The little plate is silver and looks like it has hookish shapes on both ends, with a hole in the middle (which would make sense for a pin to go into/through).... Help?
I looked at the PDF ruger manual, it claims that what I just did should only be attempted by service people, so it offered no help...

Thanks!

 

[omen]

ok, got it!! Wheee!! It's so much ###ier now that the cylinder actually rotates freely!

 

[G37]

Glad that worked for ya... If you really want to smooth things up:

The hammer spring rides on a metal bar in the grip. Remove the spring/bar assembly and seperate the spring. Now polish the rough edges on both sides of that bar so that it is mirror smooth. If you do this the trigger pull will become awesome - currently the hammer spring is grinding against those rough edges and that makes for a rough, crappy DA trigger pull.

~Cheers

 

[omen]

I THINK that the gun has had that done before I got it (I didn't buy it new), because with the crap cleaned out, the trigger pull is very smooth and crisp in both SA and DA...