[98sr20ve]

My G34 ran for a long time with out any jams. Last two or three sessions I have had 1 stove pipe or so per session. Sometimes it's hard to be 100% aware of what happened when the jam occurred. For instance, shooting in a port and not 100% certain I did not bump the gun on the port. Last session it happened again and there was nothing to have caused the jam. It was just like all the others. Old case seating level on top of the new round trying to get into chamber, chamber jammed on spent case and the slide. Both cases are parallel with each other. The case is not sticking up like you see in a classic stove pipe, mine is like the pipe fell over and is on the ground. Anyway, I am looking for ideas of what to check.

Gun is G34, Wolffe Guide rod, 15lb spring. Doubt it matters but .25c trigger job, and light striker. Spring has maybe 3K -5K round in it. I don’t keep track. Ammo is 125 gr bullets at 130pf sometimes a little more. I have not cleaned the mags recently, I am going to do that now. They are so hard to get apart but I will fix that. I guess I need to mark the magazines as well. Haven’t done that. Anything else? I can dismantle the slide but don’t know what to look for if I do. I do have one weird thing with my gun that has always been that way. The Firing Pin Block ramp on the trigger bar has always nicked my lead bullets. I don’t shoot lead but thought I would throw that out in case it matters. It nicks the case and the base of the bullet as it’s being extracted.

[Flexmoney]

Did you take it apart and clean it lately?

[Duane Thomas]

Sounds to me like your extractor is starting to go out. I had the same thing happen to me around the 12k mark with my own G34. Frankly I'm not that impressed with the LCI extractor. I replaced it with the old-style non-LCI extractor and it's been hanging in there for another 25k.

[Graham Smith]

I'm not an expert, but it sounds like it might be a dirty or worn ejector. You might try tearing it down completely and cleaning everything.

[98sr20ve]

Flexmoney, on Oct 24 2009, 11:27 AM, said:

Did you take it apart and clean it lately?

I easily have over 12K rounds on my gun. So it's possibly the extractor and the spring?

Flexmoney, on Oct 24 2009, 11:27 AM, said:

Did you take it apart and clean it lately?

No, It's been months. Not sure if the last detail stripping coincides with any problems. I don't keep notes.

I will do a good cleaning this weekend.

Another thing I noticed is the brass has been hitting me in the face a lot more lately.

[dfwmiket]

May want to replace springs regardless, that's a lot of rounds.

[G-ManBart]

Duane Thomas, on Oct 24 2009, 01:28 PM, said:

Sounds to me like your extractor is starting to go out. I had the same thing happen to me around the 12k mark with my own G34. Frankly I'm not that impressed with the LCI extractor. I replaced it with the old-style non-LCI extractor and it's been hanging in there for another 25k.

Funny you mention that. Without going into specifics I know of one situation where an ammo change by a large law enforcement organization caused a large number of new, factory stock Glocks to have the exat malfunction described by the OP here. A switch to the non-LCI extractor (the idea of an armorer) fixed the problem entirely.....weird, but true.

For the OP, I'm not sure that 12K is really a lot on that combo, but a good cleaning and new springs aren't going to hurt anything. R,

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: Clean the pistol after every use. That will take one thing out of the equation. Next check all parts when cleaning and make sure they look good. I had a G22 with a broken ejector but it still functioned fine but when the extractor broke a piece off of it then the problems began. I replaced both and it ran like a top Thanks, Eric

[98sr20ve]

Aircooled6racer, on Oct 24 2009, 01:11 PM, said:

Hello: Clean the pistol after every use. That will take one thing out of the equation. Next check all parts when cleaning and make sure they look good. I had a G22 with a broken ejector but it still functioned fine but when the extractor broke a piece off of it then the problems began. I replaced both and it ran like a top Thanks, Eric

Before the last failure I had feild striped and cleaned the pistol. Now I have it totally disassembled and soaking. Extractor was a gummed up a little. I may order a spring kit for the gun. Doesn't seem like 12K rounds is a lot of rounds. I probably am wrong about that anyway as I just finished of 10K remmington primers. Before that was another 10K rounds of CCI. I need to start keeping track a little better.

[shooterbenedetto]

Aircooled6racer, on Oct 24 2009, 12:11 PM, said:

Hello: Clean the pistol after every use. That will take one thing out of the equation. Next check all parts when cleaning and make sure they look good. I had a G22 with a broken ejector but it still functioned fine but when the extractor broke a piece off of it then the problems began. I replaced both and it ran like a top Thanks, Eric

+1 If you want your equiptment to run, you need to take care of it!
I clean everytime I shoot. No brainer really....unless you like the JAMMOMATIC challenge.
its like owning a Ferrari using it and not taking care of it? At least that's how I see it. PLUS,
you get to inspect your stuff and see what is norm and not norml.

SB

This post has been edited by shooterbenedetto: 24 October 2009 - 04:03 PM

[98sr20ve]

shooterbenedetto, on Oct 24 2009, 05:01 PM, said:

Aircooled6racer, on Oct 24 2009, 12:11 PM, said:

Hello: Clean the pistol after every use. That will take one thing out of the equation. Next check all parts when cleaning and make sure they look good. I had a G22 with a broken ejector but it still functioned fine but when the extractor broke a piece off of it then the problems began. I replaced both and it ran like a top Thanks, Eric

+1 If you want your equiptment to run, you need to take care of it!
I clean everytime I shoot. No brainer really....unless you like the JAMMOMATIC challenge.
its like owning a Ferrari using it and not taking care of it? At least that's how I see it. PLUS,
you get to inspect your stuff and see what is norm and not norml.

SB

I did clean it before the last session. I don't punch pins out every session.

Edit, I just put it all back together. Everything looked normal to me. Hitting the range in the morning. I will let you know how it goes.

This post has been edited by 98sr20ve: 24 October 2009 - 04:37 PM

[Jadeslade]

I can't add much here, but I do like to scrape the extractor and the barrel chamber surroundings with a brass scraper from Otis-the one that looks like a screwdriver. An amazing amount of junk comes off there. I change springs about every 5K rounds-twice this year. I know guys who have run G34s for 50K rounds without cleaning-probably every club has one of those.

Quote

Funny you mention that. Without going into specifics I know of one situation where an ammo change by a large law enforcement organization caused a large number of new, factory stock Glocks to have the exat malfunction described by the OP here. A switch to the non-LCI extractor (the idea of an armorer) fixed the problem entirely.....weird, but true.

Gman- I heard this today and told the guy who told me the same story and I would post it up and see. In the last couple weeks guys who had new G22s had jams or broken extractors-3 in one week about two weeks ago. All better with new extractors. I would hate to be somewhere important and have one bullet go off and then a dead gun. He asked me if I had had any problems- I told him no and hadn't heard of any- and then I hear this today here. I haven't been shooting my new G22-I took the bottom off and put it on a 24 top-that gun has been fine. It is weird. Anyone know any more?

[Nik Habicht]

98sr20ve, on Oct 24 2009, 12:54 PM, said:

Gun is G34, Wolffe Guide rod, 15lb spring.

In my experience, reduced power springs need to be changed more frequently than factory springs....

You might be due....

[Flexmoney]

I wasn't asking if you had taken it apart/cleaned it to suggest that you do so... Though scraping the carbon/gunk out as Jadeslade suggests is a good idea.

I was wondering if you had it apart and installed the slide stop/release at the wrong time and got the spring for it on the wrong side of the pin.

[njl]

You might also check the condition of your magazines and mag catch. Mark the magazine base pads so you can track whether the jams happen with a certain mag or mags.

At >=130pf why are you using a reduced recoil spring? Go back to the stock recoil spring assembly.

[Duane Thomas]

Quote

I clean everytime I shoot. No brainer really....unless you like the JAMMOMATIC challenge.

I have a little over 17k though my current G17, and I have a vague memory I cleaned it - once. It works just fine. In my experience, dirty guns get blamed for a lot more problems than is actually the case. Given the symptoms the OP described, and given my own experiences, like I said I'm betting bad extractor.

[zipper046]

possible that you have a chipped extractor? Check the extractor hook and make sure it's not chipped. If it's not chipped....try replacing the extractor.

z-

[98sr20ve]

Flexmoney, on Oct 25 2009, 05:27 AM, said:

I wasn't asking if you had taken it apart/cleaned it to suggest that you do so... Though scraping the carbon/gunk out as Jadeslade suggests is a good idea.

I was wondering if you had it apart and installed the slide stop/release at the wrong time and got the spring for it on the wrong side of the pin.

Perhaps. What is the right side? It goes under the pin right? You push the slide release in last and then the spring is under tension. This is hard to describe I guess.

[98sr20ve]

njl, on Oct 25 2009, 07:33 AM, said:

You might also check the condition of your magazines and mag catch. Mark the magazine base pads so you can track whether the jams happen with a certain mag or mags.

At >=130pf why are you using a reduced recoil spring? Go back to the stock recoil spring assembly.

Because with out it I get jams weak handed. Stove pipes, similiar to these events.

Edit, quoted wrong person.

This post has been edited by 98sr20ve: 25 October 2009 - 10:30 AM

[njl]

98sr20ve, on Oct 25 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

njl, on Oct 25 2009, 07:33 AM, said:

You might also check the condition of your magazines and mag catch. Mark the magazine base pads so you can track whether the jams happen with a certain mag or mags.

At >=130pf why are you using a reduced recoil spring? Go back to the stock recoil spring assembly.

Because with out it I get jams weak handed. Stove pipes, similiar to these events.

Edit, quoted wrong person.

How old (many rounds) was the original recoil spring when that started?

[98sr20ve]

njl, on Oct 25 2009, 11:34 AM, said:

98sr20ve, on Oct 25 2009, 12:45 PM, said:

njl, on Oct 25 2009, 07:33 AM, said:

You might also check the condition of your magazines and mag catch. Mark the magazine base pads so you can track whether the jams happen with a certain mag or mags.

At >=130pf why are you using a reduced recoil spring? Go back to the stock recoil spring assembly.

Because with out it I get jams weak handed. Stove pipes, similiar to these events.

Edit, quoted wrong person.

How old (many rounds) was the original recoil spring when that started?

Pretty much any load that was loaded to a 130ish Power Factor did it. Never a problem with regular full power loads.

[Duane Thomas]

A reduced power recoil spring, granted you're also using a reduced power firing pin spring, will cause no problems.

[Nik Habicht]

Duane Thomas, on Oct 25 2009, 06:09 PM, said:

A reduced power recoil spring, granted you're also using a reduced power firing pin spring, will cause no problems.

....but in my experience will wear out sooner than the stock spring. Shooting 25,000 rounds a year, I was replacing them twice annually. Now that I shoot less, it becomes an annual thing.....

[Duane Thomas]

When installing the slide stop, you go top (locking block) pin first, then the slide stop, then the bottom (trigger pivot) pin. It is not possible to "get the spring on the wrong side of the gun." I'm thinking that what was meant was "get the spring on the wrong side of the pin." If you install the slide stop first, before the locking block pin, it's possible to wind up with the slide stop spring on top on the pin instead of under the pin. When the spring is under the pin, it's thus under spring tension holding it down until pushed up by an empty magazine's follower. If it's on top of the pin, it's not, and you tend to get premature slide lock.

[BayouSlide]

I used have similar problems with an occasional lighter powder drop when I was loading to around 133-135 PF, but that was with #13 spring. Bumped up the load to 137-8, now never a problem. A #15 spring is heavy for that load, IMO.

My G34 runs fine with cleanings every 400-600 rounds (longer with non-10 rd. mags), detail strip cleaning every 2K, and no extractor issues for over 50K rounds.

I change springs every 6K rounds (Wolf reduced stricker, ISMI #13 recoil, stock Glock trigger spring).

Curtis