Slide stuck locked back (possible easy fix?)

Mods and Fixes by P-64 users...
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Berkowwm
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Joined: May 19th, 2017, 11:09 am

Slide stuck locked back (possible easy fix?)

Post by Berkowwm »

Hi everyone!

I am brand new to this forum. I know that this issue has been covered in some old threads, but I didn't see any mention of the recoil spring in prior discussions about it, and I thought this might be worth discussing here.

I recently acquired a very nice 1972 P64 (looks like it's barely ever been carried or fired!). After my favorite ritual of completely disassembling every little part and cleaning/de-greasing/lubricating/re-assembling the pistol, I went ahead and installed a 18 lb Wolff hammer spring and a 22 lb recoil spring and took it out for its first range visit.

Within the first 20 rounds, I had three major malfunctions where the slide would become stuck in the locked-back position with the slide stop lever hung up on the breech face. Changing the magazine, ammo type, and loosening grip screws did not help. I took it home and compared the internals with my other P64 (which I've had about 500 rounds through with no malfunctions whatsoever) and everything looked great to my eye. No abnormal wear pattern, no peening, no abnormal bends, or anything that I could see.

Then I got to thinking: I know that in other pistols there can sometimes be timing issues with the speed of the slide movement during recoil, in relation to the movement of other parts. I wondered if my 22 lb recoil spring might be too stiff for that particular p64 or ammo load, and whether or not that could be making the slide snap forward into battery before the slide stop lever had a chance to spring out of the way.

Sure enough, I took out the 22 lb recoil spring and replaced it with the factory original, and I have put 300 rounds through that pistol without any further malfunctions.

For those with more knowledge and experience than me, does this sound like it could have been the problem? Or is the recoil spring thing a fluke, and it just got better on its own? I have read stories about people replacing parts, taking dremel tools to their slide stop levers and breech faces, and things like that... and I just wanted to offer this up as a potential fix, though I know every pistol is different and every problem is different.

Sorry for the very long post! What do ya think?

-Will :hi:
OG17
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Re: Slide stuck locked back (possible easy fix?)

Post by OG17 »

:hi: Welcome to the Brotherhood.

I did the Wolff Spring thingy and ended going back to total stock because of issues like yours and others. No issues after I went back to OEM.
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Curly1
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Re: Slide stuck locked back (possible easy fix?)

Post by Curly1 »

Welcome to the forum Will.

I went back to stock recoil spring also due to the mag dropping out after the last round and the slide not holding open when it did that.
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Weasel640
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Re: Slide stuck locked back (possible easy fix?)

Post by Weasel640 »

When you installed the Wolff 22lb Recoil Spring, did you make any changes to it ahead of time?

It's been a common problem that the Wolff Recoil Springs do not fit correctly unless you ground the ends flat to match the ends of the OEM Springs. That could be part of the problem. There are countless threads here discussing problems, and how to grind the end flat.
Weasel

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Berkowwm
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Re: Slide stuck locked back (possible easy fix?)

Post by Berkowwm »

Hi again,

Thank you everyone, for your replies.

Indeed, I did flatten down the Wolff spring a bit beforehand. I'm also careful about which end goes which way, as I know that's caused issues for some people as well. As far as springs go, both of my P 64s are running 18lb hammer springs and seem to do very well with them. I can't remember for the life of me, though, what weight of recoil spring I have in my other one. Either way, the recoil doesn't bother me much with the factory spring and the pistol is running great now, so I am happy!
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