Pre-B extractor pin stuck

[tjtoml]

I recently picked up a 1987 Pre-B CZ75 as a project gun, with the goal of refinishing it. I was able to completely disassemble the pistol (even managed to retain the safety detent ) but I cannot for the life of me get the extractor pin out. I've hammered at it about as hard as I'm comfortable with, and have broken one punch and mushroomed the tip of two more and as far as I can tell it hasn't moved so much as a millimeter.   
 
As well as I can determine I should be trying to get it out with the punch on top of the slide, hammering the pin down. Can anyone offer any advice? This is the only thing holding up my project and I'd like to get going on it. Thanks! 

[Blackwatch]

Sounds like you are attacking it the right way...going from top of slide to bottom. If you have kroil (or similar) pour some into the extractor pin hole and into the extractor spring area and let it sit overnight which may help loosen it. You may want to order a replacement pin and change out the one that is giving you grief. Good luck!

[Underwhere]

What surface is the slide resting on when you attempt to punch out the pin?

It seems counter intuitive but you want the surface to be as hard as possible.

If you have a workbench that may be near the corners on top of the legs.

If you have a concrete floor even better. Just make sure not to mess up the finish.

I use an old punch that I snapped going something dumb. I ground it down so it's short.

I place the slide upside down on a really hard surface and place something that won't mess up the finish in between (I use 1/16 plastic cards).

If you find yourself hitting with no progress, stop.
Harder surface, bigger hammer.

[M1A4ME]

I started with "regular" punches and would often bend the smaller ones.

Then I bought a set of "starter" punches that have short tips on them.  I get a pin moving with the short punch, keep an eye on it so I don't run the tapered/larger part down against the surface (or jam it into the hole) and switch to the longer punch.

A bigger hammer.  Absolutely.  I started off with a tack hammer.  Small hammer for small pins, right?  Small head and light.  Smaller hammer face makes it harder to keep the face of the hammer on the punch and you have to move the hammer faster to get the same impact on the pin/punch.

I bought a 2 or 2.5 lb. shop hammer.  Short handle, big head.  Easier to hit the punch squarely.  Even a slow speed it hits the punch harder.

Good luck.

Oh, if you're not in a hurry, start putting a drop of lubricant in the pin hole on top of the slide and letting it sit a bit (few hours).  Then use the punch/hammer to shock the pin.  If it doesn't move, put another drop of oll in the hole and let it sit again before repeating the attempt to remove it.

When I do a thorough cleaning of a gun (like after a range trip) I put a drop of oil on every pin and screw prior to wiping off the excess with the oily rag I wipe the slide/frame surfaces off with.  Sweat/moisture can work it's way into a hole/pin/screw threads so I like to put a little oil in there when I get a chance.

[barrelproofdrinker88]

Regarding this…do you all re-stake the pin on reinstall? 

[Rmach]

Regarding this…do you all re-stake the pin on reinstall?

I replaced two extractor springs on my 75b's, and I did not re-stake the pins.  So far, after several hundred rounds fired in each gun, the pins are holding just fine.  The pin hole is tapered, so give the pin a good whack when reinstalling.  The taper fit and extractor spring should hold it in place without re-staking each time. I only say that based on other posters that shoot thousands of rounds during match competition, and this is what they did.

[Grendel]

Good advice here. If it won't move, you need a shorter punch, a bigger hammer, and a harder surface. Whack it like a red-headed step child.

[tdogg]

Regarding this…do you all re-stake the pin on reinstall?

Yes and here's why, if that pin works it's way down it could lock up the action.  Staking doesn't take much and is really easy to accomplish with a hardened center punch.  I use an automatic center punch on the edge of the pin hole when the pin is just below flush.  You just need to deform the hole edge a little and it will prevent the pin from walking down.

Cheers,
Toby

[Earl Keese]

A starter punch is a must have tool if you're going to work on CZ's. And yes, if it was was staked at the factory, I always re-stake. FWIW, the last project I did(S2), the factory neglected to stake one of the hammer pins and the trigger bar spring screw.

[timmy75]

Regarding this…do you all re-stake the pin on reinstall?

Yes and here's why, if that pin works it's way down it could lock up the action.  Staking doesn't take much and is really easy to accomplish with a hardened center punch.  I use an automatic center punch on the edge of the pin hole when the pin is just below flush.  You just need to deform the hole edge a little and it will prevent the pin from walking down.

Cheers,
Toby

is there a way you make video of this? my pin is walking down hole all the time, and I would like to make it stay in place.

[barrelproofdrinker88]

A starter punch is a must have tool if you're going to work on CZ's. And yes, if it was was staked at the factory, I always re-stake. FWIW, the last project I did(S2), the factory neglected to stake one of the hammer pins and the trigger bar spring screw.

Thanks. I’ll try with a starter punch tomorrow but the factory extractor pin is pretty countersunk in the top of the slide, so I am worried the conical punch won’t reach far enough in.  May need to hammer it from bottom to top, which I have seen in a couple videos but sounds frowned upon. 

[tdogg]

Regarding this…do you all re-stake the pin on reinstall?

Yes and here's why, if that pin works it's way down it could lock up the action.  Staking doesn't take much and is really easy to accomplish with a hardened center punch.  I use an automatic center punch on the edge of the pin hole when the pin is just below flush.  You just need to deform the hole edge a little and it will prevent the pin from walking down.

Cheers,
Toby

is there a way you make video of this? my pin is walking down hole all the time, and I would like to make it stay in place.

Not my video but the concept is the same.  I use a hardened steel auto center punch to roll over the edge of the hole.  Just seat the pin below flush and deform the edge of the hole just slightly to prevent the pin from walking through it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbc6AKwSoow

A starter punch is a must have tool if you're going to work on CZ's. And yes, if it was was staked at the factory, I always re-stake. FWIW, the last project I did(S2), the factory neglected to stake one of the hammer pins and the trigger bar spring screw.

Thanks. I’ll try with a starter punch tomorrow but the factory extractor pin is pretty countersunk in the top of the slide, so I am worried the conical punch won’t reach far enough in.  May need to hammer it from bottom to top, which I have seen in a couple videos but sounds frowned upon. 

I would not push the pin out the top.  I would just make sure your hammering on a solid surface.  I would place the slide on a wood 2x4 on the concrete floor.  You could try to get the pin moving from the bottom then flip it back over and try again to push out the underside of the slide.

Cheers,
Toby

[timmy75]

Regarding this…do you all re-stake the pin on reinstall?

Yes and here's why, if that pin works it's way down it could lock up the action.  Staking doesn't take much and is really easy to accomplish with a hardened center punch.  I use an automatic center punch on the edge of the pin hole when the pin is just below flush.  You just need to deform the hole edge a little and it will prevent the pin from walking down.

Cheers,
Toby

is there a way you make video of this? my pin is walking down hole all the time, and I would like to make it stay in place.

Not my video but the concept is the same.  I use a hardened steel auto center punch to roll over the edge of the hole.  Just seat the pin below flush and deform the edge of the hole just slightly to prevent the pin from walking through it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qbc6AKwSoow

Sorry, but I still don't get it. English is not my first language, so maybe I don't understand you correctly.

In video shown, guy is staking hammer pin, thats easy, pin is supported by some vise or anvil type tool.

"deform the edge of the hole" - does this mean I shuld tap edge of the pin hole with auto punch? I clean extractor every 1000 rds, if I do this every time I clean it, area around edge of the pin hole would be destroyed after 20k rds?

[tdogg]

Yes that is the process of staking the hole.  It doesn't need much deformation but does need some to prevent the pin from walking down.  You can deform the same spot over and over as needed when pulling apart for inspection.  Here is a picture of my TSO, as you can see I've done it a couple of times.



I'd reevaluate your cleaning frequency.  You could probably reduce that to every 5000 rounds as long as you keep the extractor hook free of debris.  I use spray cleaner (gun scrubber, brake cleaner, or electronics parts cleaner) to keep the channel clean between inspections.

Cheers,
Toby

[M1A4ME]

Brake cleaner or carb. cleaner will really blast the crud out of the nooks and crannies.

But, you need to let it dry (only take a couple minutes) and then get some oil back in there behind the extractor and on the spring and slide.

The brake and carb cleaners will strip the oil off the metal surface and it doesn't take rust long to get a hold back in behind places you can't see/inspect.