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I need your advise, Please......

863 views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  6x6pinz 
#1 ·
I am a 2007 retiree (66 years old). I came down with bladder cancer and had multiple surgerys and a full bladder replacement. I'm still alive. My question is I think I screwed up my Taurus .380. I tried to field strip it for cleaning and could not get the pin that holds the barrel back in. The hole that the pin goes in has a wire spring going thru the middle of it. The pin is straight and has no flat on the end of it to push the wire out of the way to insert the pin. I took the pin out to my workshop and ground a 45 deg. angle on the end of it. I put the pin back into the hole and turned it moving the wire over and the pin went right into the hole. Now I'm afraid to shoot the gun because the pin may come flying out if I put too much of an angle on the end of it. In your opinion what the hell should I do now?
 
#2 ·
order a new pin to replace the one you messed up. then when you have it request help from this forum on how to install it correctly. easy fix for you. LOL we all sometime do things like that! and hindsight is almost always 20/20!
 
#3 ·
Deacon Man,

Sounds like you have the model 738. I guess that from the description you gave of trying to get that #%@* pin back in! I had the same problem with mine!!!

As far as how you solved the problem (grinding to a 45 on the end of the pin), that may cause problems later. I'm thinking since you ground off part of the end of the pin, there is obviously not as much surface area on the end where it goes into the hole on the other side of the frame when it is completely pushed in. I would be afraid it would back out after a few rounds. Maybe, maybe not. If you carry this weapon as a self defense gun, I would not trust my life to it.

I strongly urge you to order a new pin!!!

As far as getting that stubborn pin to go back in, I will try to tell you what worked for me.
Believe me when I say that like you, I thought I would NEVER get it back in after my first dis-assembly!

Couple of tips.
First, try practicing putting the pin in with the slide off the weapon. Just use the frame. That way you can see exactly how the pin is supposed to travel as it goes in and the hole on the other side of the frame where it is supposed to end up in.
Now that little wire you see sticking up when trying to start the pin in the first hole is the problem. You mentioned that on your pistol, the wire is sticking up almost halfway in the hole. If it is literally in the middle of the hole, I would either let a gunsmith look at it or contact Taurus about it. It should not be that high in the hole. However, it should stick up a little. That is how mine is.
Before starting the pin in the hole, put a tiny amount of oil on the end of the pin. Start the pin in the hole, and when it hits that wire, try to pull down slightly on the pin while still maintaining forward pressure on the pin. If your weapon is like mine, you should be able to angle the pin down a little. It's not going to be much of an angle at all, but just enough to start the end of the pin over that wire. It's important that you maintain a little forward pressure on the pin as you try to angle it down!!!
O.k., now if that worked, try full re-assembly. Put the slide back on and lock it back with the slide stop. The instructions say to make sure the barrel is all the way forward. Tilt the weapon down so the barrel is fully forward. Look at the hole where the pin goes in. You may actually have to nudge the barrel back just a touch for the holes to line up correctly. Now try pushing the pin in. Hopefully now with that slight down pressure, you can get it started in over the wire.
Obviously, if you can get past that wire, your home-free.
Mine seems to be getting a little easier after having taking it down a few times.
Keep trying and you should get it. Took me 30 or 45 minutes of cussing and fussing and looking up info on the web to get it figured out.

Good luck and let me know if it works. HK

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