My older (1986 vintage) P226/9 keeps losing its breech-block (?) retaining pins during firing.  They simply walk themselves out to the right hand side of the slide.



My newer 226/40 (2001 vintage) appears to have some sort of cap or keepers in place to better hold the pins in the slide.  It also looks nicer.



Is the new style pins with the cap the solution to these things walking out?

Quoted: When the roll pins strated working out did you get new ones put in?

No.  I just tapped them back in.  Obviously after several times of doing this, they're nice and loose now.

Are the older slides (stamped steel) and pins retrofittable to the newer style pin (forged steel slide)?

Is Sigarms easy to deal with on replacement parts?

overlubrication?

Age on the pins, you should replace them ~$5 from Sig, or you can drive the center pin out 2/3 the way out, drop in some red loctite, drive pn back in. Let sit for 24 hours...Worked for me.

Bill

You must never never never forget Sigs SUCK!

LOCTITE 'RED'

Common with the earlier models. Do not use the LocTite since it will make it really difficult to remove the pins should that become necessary. Instead, get a new set and either install them yourself or have it done. (BTW, a roll pin should never be reinstalled after being taken out when work is done.)Call Sig and talk nicey-nicey and they will probably send you some for free.

Late last night, I took the slide and breech-block apart.  The large, outer roll pin came out in two pieces.  I have no idea how it could have broken itself while inside the slide.  I suspect that the outer pin was installed broken by some lazy armorer.  This gun was a "police trade-in" at a local gunshop, purchased by me several years ago and other than the loose pin routine, has performed without fail.  

I'll call Sigarms for some new pins on Monday.

Often when the roll pins start walking out, it's because they've broken in two.  The design allows for the gun to continue to function even if the pins are broken.  I forgot exactly why they bust, but it's usually because of a large number of rounds and they fatigue.  My first Sig P226 did the same thing, for the same reason (busted pin) and it had a few zillion rounds through it as well.  It too was a police trade-in, and the slide to frame fit was as sloppy as an issue 1911.  Not much finish left either, but it was cheap, and I wanted to see what the big deal about Sig was, so I bought it.  Aside from the pin working out every couple hundred rounds, it shot better than any gun I had previously owned.  

I sold it, when I ran across a cheap, newer P226 that had the "mud rail" cuts from the XM-9 competition.  I still own that one.

Before anyone asks, the early P226's have "normal" frame rails, in that they are continuous.  During the XM-9 competition, Sig added cut-outs to the rails to reduce the bering surface and give crap a place to go when firing.  Sorta like sand cuts on a L1A1 bolt carrier.  They got called "mud rails" and were placed into the standard production line for the P226.  So odds are that most people with P226's already have them.  I'll dig up the s/n cutt-off for the old rails.  If you look at your rails and they have little half moon sections milled out, that's a mud rail.

Anyway, back to the pins; It's what breaks on P226's when you get up there in the round count.  Sorta like wearing out tires on a car with high mileage.  I think there's a round count you're actually supposed to replace the pins, springs, etc.

Ross

Thanks to everyone who responded with their knowledge.

It appears that in the older 226s, that roll pin combination takes much of the breech-block's direct recoil force.  Although it shares some of this force with the breech-block's contact with the top lip of the slide, the force still must be considerable - at least enough to shatter the pin every few thousand rounds.

The newer 226s have the breech-block forged integral to the slide.  In this case, the pin is there to simply hold the breech-block's components (firing pin, FP safety, etc.) in place and doesn't take any direct recoil force.

Any recommendations for a good service manual for Sig pistols?

Sigarms was pleasant to deal with.  They sent out the new pins immediately and I received them in a couple of days.  The cost for both the inside and outside pins was about $8, plus shipping.

After cleaning the breach-block orifices and surfaces, I knocked in the new pins last Sunday and re-assembled the gun.  The gun was test fired today with no failures and no evidence of the new pins walking out of the slide.

Case closed.