Change Plastic Guide Rod New Colt Pocketlite Mustang 380?

[murphjup]

Well since Colt forgot to install the steel washer on the plastic guide rod on my New Colt Pocketlite 380, (They are going to send me one), I have been looking around and see that they make a metal replacement guide rod. (Wolff, Bedair Machine.)

So is it worthwhile changing it over? Should I change to the Wolff one piece spring as well?

Any folks have experience with changing them over on your Mustang? Which Manufacturer did you use?

Thank you in advance!

[JWT]

I've been thinking about doing the same for an older Mustang (1986 manufacture date). Would the same comments about the new one apply?

[murphjup]

Well I did a search here and there have been previous threads about it and most said to leave well enough alone and keep the plastic rod, but I figured I'd get an update on it...

[Don H]

What is the purpose of changing the guide rod? Is there a history of plastic guide rod failure in Mustangs? Will a metal guide rod cause wear issues in the slide or frame that are avoided with the plastic rod?

[DonR]

I put one from Brownells in my Colt Pony (DAO) Pocketlite a few years ago. It was made by Wolf. Works perfectly. It is same for both Mustang and Pony. A lot of people say it is not needed, but sure like how it looks and functions nice.

[murphjup]

DonH, I dont know that's why I asking the question....

DonR, Thank you for your reply, why did you decide to go with a metal version?

[Walt Sherrill]

Guide rods are NOT high-stress parts, and they generally work quite well whether they're plastic or steel. I'd wait until something breaks to fix it...

[Aguila Blanca]

I did the same thing as DonR, and also on a Colt Pony .380. And if I were to buy a new Mustang (unlikely, unless they reintroduce ther all-steel version) I would do the same with that.

Why? Because I don't trust plastic. No other reason.

[michael t]

i tried a steel rod on my Mustang For some reason it caused all kind of feeding problems . I removed and went back to the plastic, problems went away. . Both of my older Mustangs still run the plastic. I did go with the wolff spring That seems to work ok.

[dropkick]

I got a steel guide rod because every time I field stripped when I'd try to reassemble it the #@$% plastic guide rod would bend and wouldn't feed through the hole in the slide. I'm tired of spending 1/2 an hour trying to do a 2 minute job.

The steel rod works much better.

However after reading where people say it isn't a good idea, I'm seriously thinking about making some form of polyurethane buffer like the one I got from Wilson Combat when I replaced my guide rod in my Beretta 92.

I'd provide a picture of the buffer I have for my Beretta, but I don't think that with the new copyright rules here, that Admin would appreciate that, so instead I'll give you a link to the Willson Combat page that shows it. (the buffer is the blue thing on the rod).
http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Flat-Wir...tinfo/752FS14/

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by murphjup

Well since Colt forgot to install the steel washer on the plastic guide rod on my New Colt Pocketlite 380, (They are going to send me one), I have been looking around and see that they make a metal replacement guide rod. (Wolff, Bedair Machine.)

So is it worthwhile changing it over? Should I change to the Wolff one piece spring as well?

Any folks have experience with changing them over on your Mustang? Which Manufacturer did you use?

Thank you in advance!

Why? Is it a functional thing?

Plastic guide rods have been around a long time, and they're not particularly prone to breakage.

[GunFickle]

If you are like me, the thought of something plastic being part of my guns' action just doesn't instill confidence. I'm sure Colt tested this plastic guide rod and has full confidence in its' integrity. It is just me.

[Lexspeed]

Well, if you want another opinion from a Don, I say leave it. It just keeps the spring in place on one axis and there is very little stress on it. I've never heard of one breaking. You bought a Mustang model for its light weight feature/benefits and now you want to spend more money making it heavier. Don't do that.

-Don

[Walt Sherrill]

As noted above, guide rods are NOT high-stress parts. With most guns, the slide and the gun's dust cover confine the recoil spring and keep the spring from doing anything but cycling. Guide rods DO make it easier to reassemble a gun after it's been field stripped.

When SIG introduced plastic guide rods some years ago (early 2000s?) SIG owners raised such a stink that SIG switched back to metal -- for a while. Now, I think nearly all SIGs ship with plastic guide rods. (The P210-6 I once owned had a metal guide rod, but it was made in 1973; The P-226 X-5 I owned a few years ago came with a multi-part guide rod made mostly of plastic.)

One engineer I talked with said that most plastic guide rods had greater lubricity (i.e., they were slicker) than metal guide rods and felt that might be why plastic is used in so many guns.

[Johnny B]

I've no experience with that particular gun, but I've always been of the opinion that it's a low-stress part that should be adequate for the application.

Until I broke two of them on two different guns. On my SR9c, the recoil spring would slip off of the end cap and would be a bitch to reassemble. Ruger promptly sent me a new one under warranty, and the gun did function fine in the interim once I managed to reassemble it, but it was annoying.

My P-07's guide rod broke in a similar fashion, except half of the end cap actually broke off, and it is no longer a captive recoil spring. Again, it functions just fine, but it's a pain in the ass to reassemble.

[GunFickle]

Originally Posted by Johnny B

I've no experience with that particular gun, but I've always been of the opinion that it's a low-stress part that should be adequate for the application.

Until I broke two of them on two different guns. On my SR9c, the recoil spring would slip off of the end cap and would be a bitch to reassemble. Ruger promptly sent me a new one under warranty, and the gun did function fine in the interim once I managed to reassemble it, but it was annoying.

My P-07's guide rod broke in a similar fashion, except half of the end cap actually broke off, and it is no longer a captive recoil spring. Again, it functions just fine, but it's a pain in the ass to reassemble.

Reason enough

[Lexspeed]

JohnnyB , you mention that you broke two if them on two different guns. May I ask how they were broken? Was it upon reassembly? Is it possible your reassembly method contributed to breaking your rods? The reason I ask is that it is really unusual to hear of a broken polymer guide rod...and I never heard of anybody breaking two in two different guns before.

[Johnny B]

The Ruger, as I recall, was upon disassembly. The CZ was definitely upon reassembly. I suppose it's possible that it's somehow my fault, but putting a guide rod back into place isn't exactly a complicated task with many ways of accomplishing it. I don't really see what I could have done to facilitate their breaking.

Both guns were acquired second-hand, so I also do not really know their history, but I don't believe it's anything I've done.

[HisSoldier]

Many of us hate plastic parts in our guns, I know I do. If they want to sell me a throw away gun then charge a low price for it, not the $650 I paid for a "Stainless steel" gun that had a plastic mainspring housing and plastic trigger. I had to make new parts of gun making material to replace those parts.

[Lexspeed]

JohnnyB, thanks for your response. I am just trying to understand and wanted more background information. From my experience the most stress that I impose on a guide rod is upon reassemby because of the potential for off axis (as I call it) pressure. That along with some possible choice four letter words. Just to repeat what others have said, there is very little stress on a guide rod upon discharge or recoil. So I was wondering if disassembly or reassembly contributes to breakage.

HisSoldier, I appreciate your point of view. There are so many difference choices of calibers, colors, materialsused, designs, sizes, etc of guns on the market. We are fortunate to be able to pick exacting the features we want to have in a gun. Life is good.

My point is I buy the guns with the features I desire. I tend to not buy those guns with the features I don't like. If someone buys a Colt Mustang with polymer components because they like it's light weight they must want that. I am not sure why they would buy it and want to spend more money to make it heavier, when they could have just bought that all alloy and steel model to begin with.

[Johnny B]

Originally Posted by Lexspeed

JohnnyB, thanks for your response. I am just trying to understand and wanted more background information. From my experience the most stress that I impose on a guide rod is upon reassemby because of the potential for off axis (as I call it) pressure. That along with some possible choice four letter words. Just to repeat what others have said, there is very little stress on a guide rod upon discharge or recoil. So I was wondering if disassembly or reassembly contributes to breakage.

No worries. It's one of those things that I'd almost certainly call into question if it hadn't happened to me. As I mentioned, I acknowledge that it's a low stress part, and really, I still feel that way. I haven't bothered changing the broken guide rod on my CZ yet because I have no reason to believe that its reliability has been compromised in any way. It's just less convenient to reassemble after a post-range session cleaning.

Not a huge deal, and I wouldn't let a polymer guide rod prevent me from purchasing a gun, nor have I felt a true need to replace any polymer guide rods with aftermarket metal ones. All the same, though, I would prefer a metal guide rod, just not enough to do anything about it, apparently. Take that for what it's worth.

[dahermit]

Many of us hate plastic parts in our guns, I know I do. If they want to sell me a throw away gun then charge a low price for it, not the $650 I paid for a "Stainless steel" gun that had a plastic mainspring housing and plastic trigger. I had to make new parts of gun making material to replace those parts.

I agree...if they use plastic parts, they should charge plastic prices...not like my Colt XSE Combat Commander which came with a Grey (to match the stainless steel of the rest of the gun) mainspring housing. When I complained (likely here) some years ago about it being plastic (now replaced with steel), I was chastised for complaining about a part that had no history of failure. I make the same offer now as then...if someone wants to send me postage for that quality part, I will send it to them for free.
If Colt wants to sell guns containing plastic, they should charge less accordingly.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by dahermit

I agree...if they use plastic parts, they should charge plastic prices...not like my Colt XSE Combat Commander which came with a Grey (to match the stainless steel of the rest of the gun) mainspring housing. When I complained (likely here) some years ago about it being plastic (now replaced with steel), I was chastised for complaining about a part that had no history of failure. I make the same offer now as then...if someone wants to send me postage for that quality part, I will send it to them for free.
If Colt wants to sell guns containing plastic, they should charge less accordingly.

No need. That's the exact part I bought, when I wanted to try an arched MSH on my Rock Island GI. It works.

[Schlitz 45]

I did some work on my Mustang Pocketlite after purchasing it-I replaced the trigger that I was told was plastic-turns out it wasn't but the new trigger's a bit nicer. Replaced the plastic guide rod with a stainless steel one, I have new springs but still using the originals with no issues. Sent the slide off to Novaks for new sights-big improvement, & put some VZ ETC grips on to help me hang onto this little pistol a bit better. It doesn't get shot a lot but it's now set up exactly the way I want it.

[tsillik]

looks pretty good! terry