# 686plus Ejector Rod Loosening Up



## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

I got out to the range today and after shooting some .38 and .357 rounds I noticed the ejector rod had come loose. The cylinder was a tad difficult to open and I checked the rod and found it had backed out a few turns. Would a dab of blue loc-tite be in order?


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

specgrade said:


> I got out to the range today and after shooting some .38 and .357 rounds I noticed the ejector rod had come loose. The cylinder was a tad difficult to open and I checked the rod and found it had backed out a few turns. Would a dab of blue loc-tite be in order?


Use the green color,the blue is to strong, never use red unless it's permanent


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Make sure you didn't bend the rod first


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## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

pic said:


> Make sure you didn't bend the rod first


 The rod is straight. Would the heat undo the green loc-tite? My revolver was pretty hot after the diet I fed it!


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Using the green loctite, you're still gonna need a pliers or other tool to break the bond.

In the machine shop we always used Green or Red. I don't know much experience using a blue or purple loctite.

If you use blue and it's closer to red then GREEN it'll be hard coming off. 

Imo use the green first and pay close attention to any loosening of the star push rod assembly.

You may need to clean that area, but not that often. You'll need to break that bond. You don't want to put any artificial heat to that area to break a bond. You may distemper the metal . IMO


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## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

pic said:


> Using the green loctite, you're still gonna need a pliers or other tool to break the bond.
> 
> In the machine shop we always used Green or Red. I don't know much experience using a blue or purple loctite.
> 
> ...


 So the heat from firing the gun won't loosen the green stuff? Is this problem a normal thing for Smiths? My Taurus 617SS never had this issue. Other issues, yes, but not an ejector rod one.

Thanks for your help!


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

specgrade said:


> So the heat from firing the gun won't loosen the green stuff? Is this problem a normal thing for Smiths? My Taurus 617SS never had this issue. Other issues, yes, but not an ejector rod one.
> 
> Thanks for your help!


One reason I say use the green is if ever you need to torque it,,,to remove it ,,you may be damaging or putting unneeded strain on the assembly. Of course you'll hold it with another tool , but how hard do you want to squeeze?

It should have something to ensure it doesn't unscrew , it may have had a binder and was not reapplied after taken apart. Who knows, take a look with a magnifying glass for old loctite residue

Dont take apart this spring loaded assembly unless necessary would be my advice.

It's not supposed to happen, the unloosening , but any additional heat from the gun shouldn't soften the loctite.
The heating of the gun from the shooting of the gun shouldn't be a problem.

Many times ,mechanics will put heat to a nut to free up a tough nut to break,lol. The heat at times is used for expanding the metal and break down corrosives .

good luck , hey you didn't bend it, that's good.
How do you know it didn't bend ?


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## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

I spun the knurled end and didn't see any up and down play. Pushing the rod in and letting it out was smooth as butter.
I suppose I could take it to work and put an indicator on it and measure the run out, lol. 
I took it apart to clean, looked straight to me.
Yea, I'm pretty sure it's not bent.

Thanks again!


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

You're probably good to go. You said at work, Whattya do ?
i was thinking to just turn the cylinder at each chamber position and push the ejector rod for smoothness :smt1099


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## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

Nevermind....


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

specgrade said:


> Nevermind....


oh cool, are they training you ? Can you handle the unfinished Product by hand ? What's the material they're working with ?


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## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

What do you do for a living?


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

i worked out of high school in a machine shop, started out just deburring pieces large n small.
I was chosen to learn in an apprentice type situation. We built the five spindle Davenport Automatic machine.
My teacher was German born . German accents all over the place. 
Years later after a major downsizing I joined the construction trades. Bridges, tunnels, highways, Kodak buildings,,nothing residential unless it was a side job. They called to rehire but I was making big money.

To build or assemble the machine we would use all the various machines, lathes, surface grinders. Bridgeport . Heat treating . Drilling n threading , removing broken taps,lol . Fitting parts dealing in thousandths, scraping surfaces for a proper bearing, very important when dealing with clutches, metal to metal surfaces, bushings ,oil fittings oil lines. Very oily, lol. I really enjoyed the work once it became non repetitive in piece after piece.


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## specgrade (Jan 17, 2017)

I've been working in a machine shop going on six years. I worked for the county for twenty two years, doing maintenance for a special education building. I got kinda burned out and I thought it would be cool working in a machine shop. A buddy of mine hooked me up and I started in shipping and receiving. After a year and a half of that I was put on a mill and was taught enough to do various jobs. It's been interesting....


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