Howdy,

I picked up one of the Israel Police trade in P228s from Aim last year. EXTREMELY well used.  Slide is West German KD(93) code and mismatched frame is 106K serial numbers later.  Barrel is matched to the slide.  Have had multiple failure to fire malfunctions in both DA and SA.  Have shot Federal, Winchester, Tula, Aguila, and IMI.  Fully acknowledge that IMI, Tula, and Aguila may be "lesser" quality for practice ammo, but all my other pistols to include a trade in 226 and a used M11-A1 shoot it with no issue.  My 228 intermittently chokes on it all(quality and junk).

Have changed the Mainspring(old one was almost .25" shorter), Recoil Spring(it was cheap) and Decocking Lever Spring(it was cheap).  Function improved slightly, but still had issues with what I thought were light primer strikes.  Broke down and replaced the firing pin(old one was slightly shorter and blunted) and firing pin spring.

Back to the range today and function was improved, but still had occasional failure to fires in both DA and SA.

What am I missing?  I like ugly old steel guns and this one is a sweet shooter when it goes bang.  

Bottom rounds before changing the firing pin.  Top after changing.  While it doesn't show well in pictures, the indents on the primer are noticeably deeper with the new pin.




Random other pics.

Mine is a bit sensitive to hard primers but like that.

I would like to see what others say as well

Order a spring replacement kit.  Replace hammer spring, firing pin spring for sure though might not hurt to replace all the springs though.

Have already done a couple springs and chief among them was the mainspring and firing pin spring, which are you refering to as the hammer spring?

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Manufacturers/SigSauerSigarms-33490/AutoPistols-41939/P228-35187.htm?results=All


Concur that replacing them all probably wouldn't hurt.  I'm trying to avoid being a full on coffee table Sig armorer.

Try replacing the firing pin it may have shortened over time.

Did that last night.  It was shorter/blunted.  Function improved, failures still occurred.

Clean the breach face and firing pin channel?
Call Sig ......

You have done everything I would do faced with this situation.

The firing pin strikes on the primer look way offset.  Is the gun fully in battery when you squeeze the trigger?

The gun is in battery.  Strikes do look offset, but I can't recall if they are more than the other Sig I was shooting today.  Any suggestions as to what may cause the offset as that may be a contributing factor?

I'm thinking this.  When the pin extrudes may be worn and larger than spec.  Might not be repairable.  

Breech looks cockeyed in the pic.
Is it supposed to be a double pin replaced by a single?

I double pinned it with the same pins that it came with.  The Sig pins I bought seemed to be extremely hard to get in(talking I didn't want to go to the to the hammer), so I switched to the originals.  Bad move?

ETA:  Fully assembled, it looks like it locks up tight.

You may want to look into replacing the extractor. Might not have enough tension to hold the cartridge in the correct spot on the breechface.

New roll pins should be used each time the existing ones are removed. The old ones compress and will not be as tight as they should be, or new ones are. The new pins will be tight and need to be tapped in most of the way with a hammer and finished with a punch.

this, or a headspace issue.



 

Thanks for the suggestions.

Acknowledged on the use of new roll pins.  The armorer's manual says that too.  Will use new pins next time.

Regarding the extractor possibly not holding the round tight to the breach, doing a seat of pants comparison to my trade in 226, the 228 is a hair "looser".  

I'll keep an eye out for parts that don't break the bank.  Just a cursory look around the net shows extractors and breeches to be hard to find for reasonable prices.  Any parts compatibility with other Sig pistols?  Buying a whole slide may be an option as it is already a mixed SN gun.  

I also have a local gunsmith which I can take it to check headspace.  

I cleaned it and it is apart again and this time i pulled the extractor--tons of gunk under the body of the extractor, but the claw does not look excessively worn.

A smart man would send it in to Sig to figure out, but I'm not that smart.  I enjoy the tinkering and troubleshooting.

I hate to turn this into a "safe thread" seen in GD, but it will likely take awhile to get parts at a reasonable price.




Also from the before changing the firing pin brass pile, I found an example of double struck brass.  I couldn't find a could example of double struck brass after changing the pin(public indoor range).

Left by the 228 two hits on primer(interesting that it moved the cartridge).  Right just normally fired during the same session by a different model striker fired pistol.

Also interesting is most of the P228 brass has primer indents of varying depth.  

I have the same problem with the P228 Israeli I bought from Aim last year. I changed the trigger bar spring, decocker spring, recoil spring> No change. I sent it to Sig for servicing. $173 including shipping both ways. They put night sights on and since it is well used changed just about all the frame parts including trigger bar, hammer, sear and springs, mainspring, grips and screws, and put in a short reset trigger. Outstanding customer service! I am on the road and don't have it in front of me, but I do not recall any work on the slide. It tested fine with hornady ammo and was returned to me. I took it to the range and experienced the same failure to fire in SA and DA.

I called customer service for advice and they sent me a shipping label. It's back in NH now. I'll post the outcome...

Send it in to SIG for them to TI, they will repair or replace as necessary to get it back into spec. And you can add a SRT or night sights for a reasonable price.
 


I'm editing because I didn't add the hyperlink under night sights. caveat emptor.

Edit to Add:

I think I'm going to send it in.  While not as fun than tinkering myself, it will be more cost effective for me.  Spare parts are expensive.  Might not get a chance until late August though-won't be home to receive it when it comes back.

I recieved the pistol back today. Six day turnaround which includes the holiday weekend. Gunsmith notes are: inspected, replaced the mainspring, test fired over 75 rounds of hollow point and ball ammo with range magazines. FF malfunctions not duplicated.  

Will take it to the range and test it.

Good to hear they continue to troubleshoot.  Good luck on the range session.  I don't think it is too much to ask for a pistol to function reliably with most quality ammo.

I'm out of the troubleshooting game until late August.  Will be in and out too many times to predict when the pistol may be shipped back to me.

Update: got to the range this afternoon. Shot 10 rounds of winchester 9mm NATO with flawless function. All I had. Loaded up the 9mm Remington UMC and experinced same FF in single action. Double action worked fine. Will test it again with other ammo, but it looks like an ammo issue..

I bet you could put that ammo in another Sig and it would function properly.

I know it would work in my Glock!

Not a Glock fanboy by any means but it did eat that Remington UMC ammo up...