Glock 36 Issues Continued....Report

SiGlockBoy · 06-02-2010, 09:11

I'm the one who bought a Glocktalks members 2008 G36 that had issues. He ran it through Glock several times and still issues. After his complete frustration with the problem, I purchased the troubled Glock and decided to run my own tests for pure pleasure to see why my favorite firearms company could find no wrong.

The tests and report of the whole escapade are located on http://g36mf.blogspot.com/

Feel free to read the history and new report and create some good clean discussions on the subject. I will try to field some questions as I have time and hopefully some of the very intelligent folks on GT can bring some more light to this problematic issue with some G36 and now the new Gen4 versions starting to crop up.

I will not answer or get involved in any non-constructive side topics and only plead to everyone to keep it clean and positive so this can help others. I did experience problems like Chris and others I had try did too. So it wasn't the old Limp Wrist that everyone wants to throw out.

I've been shooting Glocks since they came to the US and continue to carry one daily. I fully trust them and appreciate them for what they are. I don't stick my head in the sand though and deny a Friday or bad supplier doesn't get into the mix every now and again.

Thanks and I hope it this will lead somewhere eventually to help the ones with problems. The G36 is a fine gun with a very important role. Unfortunately nothing is perfect.

Thanks
John

cigarlover · 06-02-2010, 10:28

Being in the manufacturing business I know first hand what can go wrong and how .001 of an inch can affect the fit and function of a product. We all love Glock and know how good they are. Without stirring a hornets nest by saying yes they should halt the production of the 36 and go back and take quailty specs on all parts on the pistol. But do you have a set of digital mics you can take measurements of barrel throat- frame rails and overall demensions of various function parts of pistol ? Then compare them with a 36 that functions with no issues? Mabey start out there and start working through some issues with form of parts to get to function issues...Good luck and keep us posted

Jim S. · 06-02-2010, 14:42

What, if any parts have you changed?
What were the results?
I've never had any malfunctions with my 36. I put a Wolff non captured rod and stock weight spring in it after approximately 500 rounds.
It has gone through many rounds after that. Stock other than the Wolff rod and a Wolff stock weight service pack.
What does the extractor hook look like?
Is it polished smooth or is it "sharp"?
I'll wait to ask more.

1SGMP · 06-02-2010, 15:15

Hi
I have had my G-36 for 2 years now without ANY problems/malfunctions. I typically feed it all kinds of ammo, as I do with all my new weapons. I load several magazines with ball, Hollow point and soft point ammo to test reliability. So far my G-36 has been flawless.
Hope this Helps
1SG

SiGlockBoy · 06-02-2010, 18:46

Cigarlover - Yes, I have digital calipers and mics and have a 36 that functions. So checking all the data between the 2 is possible and I thought about doing that too. Would love to have the blueprints of the G36 to bump against.

Jim S. - Only part changed after the last factory visit from Chris was the slide stop as it was bent inwards per pics in report. All parts met Glock specs per Glock smiths both times it went in. If the recoil assembly is the culrit being too strong, I could see the wolf version possibly correcting that issue.

1sgmp - I am glad you got a good one as many are. I have one that is fine and this one that hiccups very consistently at 4% with most target type ammo. Future tests will determine if the more powerful defense ammo makes it run better. It didn't cause any issues for Chris. That's why I still suspect the recoil assembly.

bentbiker · 06-02-2010, 19:15

I'm wondering whether there is any chance of the following. The empty case, still held by the extractor comes rearward with the slide until the rim of the case strikes the mouth of the next cartridge in the mag. When it catches enough, this bounces the rear of the empty case upward and out from under the extractor. The empty case thus never hits the ejector, the slide fully cycles and picks the next cartridge from the mag -- JAM.

This scenario might even explain why the problem shows up most frequently when the pressure on the cartridges in the mag is at its highest. Would have been interesting to see the failures with 6+1 (cycling with a full mag).

To test, you could put a bit of fingernail polish on the top surface of the top round in a full mag, chamber a round from a different mag, swap mags to put in the "painted" one, vigorously hand cycle the slide to the rear without allowing it to come forward, and lock the slide back. Now inspect the polish on the next cartridge to see if the case mouth was hit.

Worth a try?

SiGlockBoy · 06-02-2010, 19:45

bentbiker - while testing with dummy rounds, you can see that happen. The back of the rim while extracting does catch the case neck on the fresh cartridge in the mag.

The G36 has the flatest angle to the mag feed of all the glocks I've owned and seen. That along with the wobble in the magwell allows your pinky to move the mag bottom rearward dropping the front of the mag and only makes the angle to feed less. I believe this makes the problem intensify.

Hotter ammo must push past this issue as it doesn't seem to happen then. Nor does it happen every round. With only 4 FTEs per 100rds, it is only lightly doing it at best.

But I agree that it is a possible issue. That's where the cardboard behind the mag in between it and the magwell has been claimed to solve the issue. Haven't tried it yet.

DLL9mm · 06-03-2010, 04:08

I was having the exact same issues with my G36 as mentioned. I replaced the extractor and bearing with the older Non-LCI versions and the problems went away completly. Give it a try.

SiGlockBoy · 06-03-2010, 10:01

DLL9mm - I have read similar on this issue and have not tested so far. One I also read was that the SLB of the older or a different model<21 or 30??> had a different over all length that helped the extractor overcome this issue.

Both mine are the same. If you get a chance, please try the old SLB and newer LCI extractor and see if it still produces good results. That could help narrow to the spring/bearing combo or the extractor itself.

I remember Chris saying the extractor had been changed out once by Glock in one of the returns.

I believe the 36 has the olive SLB setup.

voyager4520 · 06-03-2010, 10:09

Is there any noticeable difference in how high each magazine sits in each frame?

saltydog452 · 06-03-2010, 10:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by DLL9mm

I was having the exact same issues with my G36 as mentioned. I replaced the extractor and bearing with the older Non-LCI versions and the problems went away completly. Give it a try.

What is Non-LCI?... how is it different from other extractiors?

Thanks,

salty

vafish · 06-03-2010, 11:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltydog452

What is Non-LCI?... how is it different from other extractiors?

Thanks,

salty

LCI = Loaded Chamber Indicator

saltydog452 · 06-03-2010, 12:46

Thanks.

sd

SiGlockBoy · 06-06-2010, 14:47

Voyager4520 - No noticeable difference in ride height. Main difference in the 36 from othe glocks is how flat the feed angle to the chamber is. Most glocks have a good angel to start the next cartridge into the chamber. The G36 is about flat and make a jump to the chamber. When you place your pinky against the mag bottom, it pushes it back and hence makes the front top of mag pull down a little more. This only flattens out the angle that much more. This tends to let the rim of the fired case catch the neck of the next round in the mag. THis either causes it to pull out of the extractor premature and not eject properly or something odd.

highfructosecornsyrp · 02-27-2012, 08:45

anyone know what happened to this? Was there any solution found?

voyager4520 · 02-27-2012, 09:11

Knowing what I know now, I suspect the problem was that the extractor wasn't moving freely enough or for whatever other reason wasn't holding the rim of the casing to the breech face, which allowed the casing to drop lower, and the rim of the casing was impacting the case mouth of the top round in the magazine. Then the extractor came off of the rim, leading to a failure to extract. The problem may have occurred less with "self defense" loads because many of those loads have a bevelled case mouth.

That's just a guess though, I'd have to look at the spent casings from that gun to see if that was indeed the problem. The spent casings from my G27 showed that the extractor wasn't firmly holding the rim of the casing to the breech face, so the casing was dropping lower in the gun. A new extractor and the new 28926 ejector fixed the problem in that gun.

Slug71 · 02-27-2012, 20:57

Pos.....

highfructosecornsyrp · 02-29-2012, 09:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by voyager4520

Knowing what I know now, I suspect the problem was that the extractor wasn't moving freely enough or for whatever other reason wasn't holding the rim of the casing to the breech face, which allowed the casing to drop lower, and the rim of the casing was impacting the case mouth of the top round in the magazine. Then the extractor came off of the rim, leading to a failure to extract. The problem may have occurred less with "self defense" loads because many of those loads have a bevelled case mouth.

That's just a guess though, I'd have to look at the spent casings from that gun to see if that was indeed the problem. The spent casings from my G27 showed that the extractor wasn't firmly holding the rim of the casing to the breech face, so the casing was dropping lower in the gun. A new extractor and the new 28926 ejector fixed the problem in that gun.

That is kind of interesting. My gen 3 glock 19 was doing the same thing...we'll see if my new 36 does as well...

Thanks for the post!

tuica · 02-29-2012, 15:51

The only probs. I had with my G36 (2009 mod.) was with old magazines - and attendent followers. These would hold the slide back with such efficiency that it was difficult to release it using the slide stop. When I updated the follower to the newer type (those who know the 36 will know what I mean), the problem vanished. My G36 continues to be my main CCW. And I use Pearce +0 extensions on all mags, with no problems. Good luck with yours.

Bruce M · 02-29-2012, 16:16

Sometimes I wonder if G36 issues are part of a reason as to why there are no other Glock single stack pistols.

Jim S. · 02-29-2012, 16:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiGlockBoy

When you place your pinky against the mag bottom, it pushes it back and hence makes the front top of mag pull down a little more. This only flattens out the angle that much more. This tends to let the rim of the fired case catch the neck of the next round in the mag. THis either causes it to pull out of the extractor premature and not eject properly or something odd.

I do not place my "pinky" on the magazine but actually I place it under the base plate.
Much more comfortable for my large hands.
I too noticed that the magazine could be influenced by pulling on it with your little finger and I thought that it could cause feed problems.
It would be interesting to see if there are any problems with this gun after altering how it is held.

WinterWizard · 02-29-2012, 16:53

I have a G36 with about 600 rounds so far, 10 different brands of ammo, zero malfunctions.

dawgchamp · 02-29-2012, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by WinterWizard

I have a G36 with about 600 rounds so far, 10 different brands of ammo, zero malfunctions.

Ten different actual brands, or ten different brand/weights/bullet types?

mah77 · 02-29-2012, 21:24

Bought mine on Valentines Day (2-14-12), and it had a test fire date of 2-7-12. Ive shot Federal, Winchester, PMC, and Blazer, all with ZERO issues. Sorry to hear about your problems though.

WinterWizard · 03-01-2012, 09:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawgchamp

Ten different actual brands, or ten different brand/weights/bullet types?

Ten different brands. Federal (Champion and American Eagle), Cor-Bon (regular JHP and Pow'R Ball), Hornady, PMC, S&B, Fiocchi, Speer, Winchester, Magtech, Remington.

And I have shot the Cor-Bon, Hornady and Speer in different weights as well.

So, ten different brands, ranging from FMJ to hollow point to +P. Zero malfunctions.