Glock 17 Problems

[jlabaume]

I have a Glock 17 that has solderied well for several years now. However, it has developed a couple of problems that may or may not be related.

1. Failure to extract. This doesn't happen every time but frequently enough to be of concern. The empty case does not clear the chamber far enough for the tap-rack immediate action drill to be effective. It seems to happen more with my handloads than it does with factory ammo but not exclusively. I have replaced the extractor, plunger and spring to no avail.

2. Now this one is really a mystery. I realize that Glocks "normally" shoot a bit to the right--enough that the rear sight needs to be drifted slightly left of center. Some time ago I installed Trijicon night sights on the pistol, sighted it in and everything worked fine--for a while. But then, slowly, progressively, over time the strike of the bullet has drifted further and further to the right to the exetnt that the rear sight is now overhanging the right side of the slide by a sixteenth of an inch or more.

I have reached the limits of my Glocksmithing abilities. Can anyone recommend a competent and reasonably priced Glocksmith that might be able to salvage my (used to be) good old pistol? I'd appreciate it.

thegunny, 419

[Glock4Life]

Concerning the #1 problem, are they stovepipes where they're just hanging up in the ejection port or are they not even making out of the chamber portion of the barrel, period? By your description it almost sounded like a failure to eject rather than a failure to extract issue which brings up a slightly different list of possibilities. Also, do you by chance shoot particularly light reloads?

[Glock4Life]

Sorry. Double tap.

[jlabaume]

No, they are not stovepipes. Usually, the brass does not completely clear the chamber.

I do shoot some 124 gr hard cast bullets (not in the Glock barrel but in a FED barrel made for that). However, none of that seems to make a lot of difference--factory or handloads both demonstrate the problem--just not as frequently.

Thanks for the reply.

jtl

[Glock-N-Fun]

jlabaume,

Does the extractor claw pop off,or come off the rim of the case,if so,the problem maybe the Fed barrel,the chamber could be out of spec,,chamber could be to tight,which has happened with these barrels,or the barrel is out of alignment.
Does this happen with your OEM barrel also?

[Glock4Life]

One possible thought is that the slide could be short stroking in it's rearward motion. Possible cause could be weak ammo which is why I was asking about that in the earlier post. I'm curious about a couple other things. Does a fresh round ever come in behind the spent, non extracted one? Also, when you replaced the extractor, did you use the newer style loaded chamber indicator type of extractor? Along with that and to possibly shortcut the answer if you're unsure, is your G17 a 90 degree breech cut or a 15 degree cut? I'm just wondering if you could possibly be using the wrong spring loaded bearing for your application. Is anyone sure if it's even spatially possible to install the older style bearing in a setup that requires the new olive one or vice versa?

[jlabaume]

Does a fresh round ever come in behind the spent, non extracted one?

Sometimes but not always. Could it be that I (sometimes) "limp wrist" the thing?

Also, when you replaced the extractor, did you use the newer style loaded chamber indicator type of extractor?

No.

is your G17 a 90 degree breech cut or a 15 degree cut?

I have no idea. How do I tell? Please educate me a little.

Thanks again.
thegunny, 419

[Glock4Life]

http://glockmeister.com/catalog/images/gslide.jpg

This was in reference to a possible part mix up if you had the older 90 degree breech type. Image from Glockmeister.com

[jlabaume]

Ah ha. Mine is 90 degrees. But, since the extractor that I installed was not the newer one with loaded chamber indicator, then (if I understand correctly) this is not a parts mix-up problem?

I learned something today--thanks.

thegunny, 419

[jlabaume]

Glock-N-Fun posted this: "Does the extractor claw pop off,or come off the rim of the case,

Answer: Yes it does.

if so,the problem maybe the Fed barrel,the chamber could be out of spec,,chamber could be to tight,which has happened with these barrels,or the barrel is out of alignment.

That is certainly a possibiltiy. What do you think?

Does this happen with your OEM barrel also?

Of course I don't (and have never) shoot lead bullets through the OEM barrel. But...I can't answer the question with much confidence. At the moment I would have to say that, yes it does. I seem to recall trying changing to the OEM barrel back when the problem first appeared and (if memory serves--and nowadays it doesn't always) the problem occurred some with it and factory ammo.

I will certainly check out the OEM barrel and factory ball ammo next time I am at the range. Thanks.

jtl

[jlabaume]

This is a PS to my previous post. (Senility is a terrible thing--but better than the other alternative.)

That (the problem being with the FED barrel) could conceviably be associated with problem 2--the unexplained shift in bullet strike. Could it not?

jtl

[Glock4Life]

Originally posted by jlabaume
Ah ha. Mine is 90 degrees. But, since the extractor that I installed was not the newer one with loaded chamber indicator, then (if I understand correctly) this is not a parts mix-up problem?

I learned something today--thanks.

thegunny, 419

You're welcome and even though it appears GNF may be hitting on something else, I might just add to keep this one on the back burner, especially since the problem may be following both barrels. Depending on who you got the parts from and their knowledge of Glocks, it's possible that you could have an older style extractor (no doubt about that) with a newer style spring loaded bearing. These new bearings are olive in color as opposed to the older, black ones. In addition, they are shorter in length and I wonder if this couldn't cause some slop issues upon extraction. Again, I'm not sure if this potential incorrect configuration would even allow an install in the first place but if it can be done, it would almost certainly cause negative results. I wish I had an older breech Glock so I could try and switch the parts but I'm afraid I don't. Whatever the case, best of luck on getting it solved.

[jlabaume]

I'm not sure what you are referring to with "spring loaded bearing" but I assume that is the plunger "do hickey" with spring and a "head" that bears against the extractor and puts pressure on it so it will slip over the rim of the case and return to battery once the brass is ejected?? If so, mine is black and we're at another dead end.

Thanks again.

jtl

[Glock4Life]

Originally posted by jlabaume
I'm not sure what you are referring to with "spring loaded bearing" but I assume that is the plunger "do hickey" with spring and a "head" that bears against the extractor and puts pressure on it so it will slip over the rim of the case and return to battery once the brass is ejected?? If so, mine is black and we're at another dead end.

Thanks again.

jtl

You would be correct. I thought I'd try a bit of a reach since it sounds like you've put a decent amount of time into it. Win some, lose some.

On a side note and if you're interested, your pistol is eligible for the free slide cut upgrade via Glock Inc where they recut the slide to yield the newer, 15 degree breech type plus some other parts such as the new style extractor that are associated with the change. If your pistol is pre 1991, they MIGHT upgrade other things as well, striker, trigger bar, FP safety and spring, etc. I'm not sure if they're still doing that or not but you might check. Also check to see if they'll cover shipping both ways as it seems they've been doing this for some people lately per posts on the board. Info if you want it:

Glock, Inc.
6000 Highlands Parkway
Smyrna, GA 30082
Tel. 770-432-1202
Fax. 770-433-8719

[jlabaume]

Hey, great. I'll give it a try. However, I don't know whether they would make the modifications or not since mine has been "tinkered" with quite a bit. Won't hurt to ask, however. Thanks a bunch.

jtl

[Glock4Life]

If you have any aftermarket parts within the gun (not including sights) they'll likely replace them with stock parts and usually it seems that they send back the removed aftermarket parts with the returned weapon. No big deal. They see it all the time.

[jlabaume]

Great and thanks again.