Old 83 Problem?

[mike454]

I just purchased an 83 made in the mid 80's. The problem is that the front of the cylinder is about .004 from contacting the frame. There is a .002 cylinder gap with the cylinder fully to the rear. If you push the cylinder fully forward it contacts the rear of the barrel, but still not the frame. Has anyone seen this before? It shows no wear between cylinder and frame indicating that it left the factory that way. I talked to the gunsmith at FA and was told it shouldn't be like that and would need to be rebarreled for $290 +$170 for shipping both ways, none of which is warrented because I'm the second owner. Just wndering if anyone else has had a problem like this and whether it would be worth fixing, or were the old guns just set up this way?.

[doghawg]

 Mike454

 Is there any chance of a cylinder swap/mix-up? One of my Mod 83's was made in '85 and the front of the cylinder is approx .035" (my biggest feeler gauge) from the frame with NO fore and aft movement whatever. The b/c gap is tighter than .002". Do the numbers on the rear of the cylinder match the frame?

 I'd guess there has been some gunsmithing done here and if I was in your shoes I'd probably send the gun to FA and find out exactly what you've got.

[mike454]

Does your cylinder butt against the rear of the barrel? My cylinder is numbered to the frame. The rear of the cylinder touches the frame in the rear but the barrel in front. I may have to send it back to FA. The previous owner has had the gun since 86 and is its only owner until last monday. He tells me the gun came to him like this.

[doghawg]

 Mike

 The b/c gap remains constant because there is no forward or rearward movement at all. I could be mis-reading you from your first post....the REAR of the cylinder is probably about .004" from the frame but now I can't remember where I laid the feeler gauge...

 I can't imagine FA shipping a gun with that much end play and am at a loss to offer any other ideas. 

[IronAir]

Could you put a .003 shim between the front of the cylinder and the frame?  I'm not a gunsmith, so I really have no idea if this would be a suitable fix.  I know it wouldn't cost $460.00 though.

[Lloyd Smale]

what causes this in high powered handguns most times is the cylinder nose and ratchet gettting beat up from recoil. YOU MUST keep oil or grease on these surfaces or you will shoot a gun like 454 loose in a short time. I doubt your FA gun came from the factory with that much end play in the cylinder. Most have NONE! If you want a cheap fix go to brownels they sell a washer kit with varying thicknesses of washers that you can place ahead of the cylinder nose. Some gunsmiths will lengthen the nose bushing by swageing it. Problem is theres probably not enough of a nose bushing on a fa to do that. I dont see where a new barrel would be needed. They should be able to machine a small amount of of yours but the problem with that is your still going to have end play and in my experience once it starts it will continue to get worse. Best bet is to send it to FA and have them fit a new cylinder and do it right. If he guy is a 454 a guy could keep his old cylinder and use it to shoot light 45 colts out of

[mike454]

I talked to Clements yesterday and he said he could fabricate a 17-4 bushing at the front of the cylinder to take up any play. When the cylinder is pushed fully to the rear a .003 feeler still wont fit in the b/c gap so it should work with out having to worry about headspace or b/c gap.

[Steve P]

Put a shim in front of the cylinder so it does not contact the barrel.  You should have about a .002" gap between the cylinder and barrel.  Use a drop of oil or Tetra Gun grease to hold the shim in place while putting the cylinder and base pin in the frame.  Good luck, and if you don't want that gun any more, I will send you my address..... 

Steve

[mike454]

Thanks guys, I'll try the shims and see how they work out.