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Another Strike Against Kimber

7K views 54 replies 24 participants last post by  thearmedrebel 
#1 · (Edited)
I was detail stripping my stainless target the other night when I made the mistake of letting the plunger spring detent shoot out while I was removing the thumb safety. Rookie mistake I know. The spring and the detent on the slide stop side remained in the tube though. But of course, I did not see where the other detent shot out to and no amount of searching would find it.

So I ordered the spring assembly from Midway as a replacement. I actually ordered 2 since they were cheap to have an extra on and if this happens again. When they come in, I start to reassemble my pistol and notice that the replacement detent will not fit in the plunger tube. The diameter of the detent was too big for the hole in the plunget tube. I thought that was odd, so I opened the package on the other assembly I ordered and tried the other detent. Same thing, too big to fit in the hole in the tube.

So now I'm really confused. To I took apart my Dan Wesson and tried the detent in that plunger tube. Perfect fit for both detents in both packages.

Now I call Kimber and explain the problem. The guy tells me "oh no, never use aftermarket parts on a Kimber. The quality just isn't as good and that's why the detents don't fit that you ordered." Nevermind that they were either Ed Brown or Wilson, can't remember which. So I ask the rep why they don't fit since the plunger tube should be milspec in size and the detents should work no matter what name is on the gun. He would not give me a straight answer and just kept saying I should only be using Kimber parts from their website for my gun.

So whatever, I decide to just order the parts from Kimber. Then I find that they don't just sell the spring and detents, it also includes the plunger tube which I don't need. Price is a staggering $25 and shipping is almost $10! So my only option is to spend $35 and I only need one detent. The spring and detents from Midway were only like $5.

This really chaps my butt. One, that the Kimber plunger tube is NOT milspec in diameter, and two, that my only choice is to spend $35 for the whole tube assembly from Kimber.
 
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#2 ·
Those Midway parts should have fit, no question. Still, $35 for a part on an expensive gun doesn't seem like that much to me, knowing from personal experience plunger tubes don't last forever. Most of us go through twice that in ammo on a decent day at the range.

It's probably too late now, but for future consideration if a steel part flies across the room, drag a magnet criss-crossing the area where the detent/spring/firing pin/grip screw/whatever might have landed. You can get magnetized laminate sheets at Walmart & "blott" the area.

Might take time, but worth a try considering how much time you'd spend ordering a new part that you may have found.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Curious since all my Kimber plunger tubes are the same size as any of my other 1911s. I hope the OP realized that the two plunger pins are two different sizes. The thumb safety pin will not fit through the hole intended for the end of the slide stop pin.

Keep in mind that the plunger spring should have a bent "dogleg" in it to keep it from flying out.
 
#4 ·
Well, here's your mistake, as I see it: "So I ask the rep why they don't fit since the plunger tube should be milspec in size and the detents should work no matter what name is on the gun."

Does it say somewhere that a Kimber is milspec? Personally, I would buy Kimber parts for my Kimber pistol. The fact that they don't sell it separate from the plunger tube is another matter entirely - I think they should... but again, that is their business decision.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I sympathize with the OP. Don't know about Kimber's plunger tube size made not to mil-spec standard.

BUT, a similar story with my experience was when I still have Springfields. I wasted money buying replacement aftermarket firing pins, stupidly(me) assuming that all 1911's parts are made to mil-spec dimension, most esp. when what I owned then were: SA Mil-Spec, SA GIs. Long story short, SA's firing pins are not mil-spec BUT 9mm/38 super size even on gun model's designated as GIs and Mil-Spec.
 
#11 ·
This really chaps my butt. One, that the Kimber plunger tube is NOT milspec in diameter, and two, that my only choice is to spend $35 for the whole tube assembly from Kimber.
I think that you should sell the gun and move on.
Your standard for quality is "milspec" and no mater what Kimber does that isn't milspec won't be good enough for you (or is just "bad") you'll remember that every time something goes wrong and it will be blamed. And you'll now stay awake nights wondering what other Kimber parts are not milspec and will break and/or need to be replaced.

I bet those Target sights aren't even milspec either!
That "match" barrel? Whoa!
 
#15 ·
This makes no sense. "Good enough" has nothing to do with anything. I've been shooting 1911s for a lot of years and have replaced worn out or broken parts on other guns with high quality aftermarket parts more times than I can count. This is just my first experience with a nonstandard plunger tube.
 
#16 ·
Whoe, guys! First the federal government shutdown, now this????

What is the world coming to??

OP, as I intimated, its not just Kimber, but most other makers have a few parts that are not manufactured to " MIL-Spec " dimension. It is also possible that ONLY YOUR GUN 's plunger dimension that is a little bit off.

Cheers.
 
#17 ·
OP, as I intimated, its not just Kimber, but most other makers have a few parts that are not manufactured to " MIL-Spec " dimension. It is also possible that ONLY YOUR GUN 's plunger dimension that is a little bit off.

Cheers.
I had the same thought. Luckily I have the exact same gun in a different caliber and I tried my new detents in that gun also. Same results. The plunger tube is too small. And this gun was just purchased brand new a few weeks ago. So that ruled out something being wrong with my plunger tube.

I completely understand that not all parts will interchange. I should have known better than use the term "milspec" on this forum. The it doesn't change the fact that, IN MY OPINION, the inside of the plunger tube should be a standard size diameter and something as small as detent should not have to be "fitted" in order to be installed. But then again, maybe I have my expectations too high...
 
#18 · (Edited)
I just pulled the plunger spring and plugs from my Stainless Target II and tried two Ed Brown plungers (one brand new out of the bag and the other from my KC) and one Les Baer plunger. They all slid right in. Kimber's plunger tube is no different than other 1911's. If the tube is too small for the pin then the tube is bent or dinged.

The OP needs to pull the spring and slide stop plunger out to see if there is a problem but to say that Kimber's tubes are not the same diameter as other 1911's is just plain incorrect information.
 
#20 ·
I just pulled the plunger spring and plugs from my Stainless Target II and tried two Ed Brown plungers and one Les Baer plunger. They all slid right in. Kimber's plunger tube is no different than other 1911's. If the tube is too small for the pin then the tube is bent or dinged.

The OP needs to pull the spring and slide stop plunger out to see if there is a problem but to say that Kimber's tubes are not the same diameter as other 1911's is just plain incorrect information.
I appreciate you doing that. But the gun in question is a stainless target 9mm. I just bought a new stainless target in 10mm and neither of the detents will fit in that gun either. So something has to be up or I'm just the unlucky guy to have 2 guns with incorrect dimensions. If I wasn't experiencing the same problem in 2 identical guns, I'd say your are definitely right. But I have the same problem with both Kimbers.

I also tried these detents in my Dan Wesson Razorback as will as my Range Officer. They slid right in on those two guns.
 
#24 ·
I'm just trying to figure out what could be causing this since plunger tubes aren't caliber specific and all the Kimber's I know of, are the same as other 1911s.

I'm wondering what you are going to pull out of the tube and if the spring is in one piece.

:confused:
 
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#25 ·
I've already pulled the spring and smaller detent out of my gun. Nothing out of the norm. I checked the plunger tube and there are no dents or kinks.

I can hold the new detent up to the rear hole in the plunger tube and visibility see that they are both approximately the same diameter. Its that apparent that the new detent won't fit inside the hole. And that rear hole does not appear to be egg shaped or out of round in any way either. I made sure to check that too.
 
#28 ·
I can see that now. For a minute I thought I had mistakenly logged onto the Glock forum. :scratch:

I just thought someone else would have had the same experience. I thought since I bought the 9mm used, it might have been a replacement plunger tube or something might have been damaged on it. But luckily I have another one of the same gun that I could try and I knew it was purchased brand new. I appreciate all the help that some have provided here. When the new Kimber part arrives, I'll see what the differences are.
 
#31 ·
It's weird how these things happen. I recently bought a new Stainless Target II in .38 Super and it was making rough areas on the rims of my fired new brass. I checked the extractor and found it rough on the inside of the hook. Rather than try dressing it down with the gunsmithing files I have, I decided to just replace it and bought a Wilson extractor. It was too long and no amount of email exchanges with them could get the person helping me to understand that the hook's shape, which they say you occasionally have to doctor a little, was not the problem. I smoothed the original equipment part, returned the Wilson part for a refund and all is well.

It's also weird how Kimber won't disclose details about their guns. Due to accuracy concerns, I asked them what the nominal bore diameter of their .38 Supers was and they wouldn't tell me. I load very light (minimum powder charge) target loads and the slide was not locking back on empty magazines now and then. I called to ask what poundage recoil spring .38 Supers have (the specs only list the spring weight for .45s) and they wouldn't tell me that either. Fortunately, Wolff did and a one-pound lighter spring took care of that problem.

Eventually, I'll get this gun shooting like it should!

Ed
 
#34 ·
Oops! I'm a huge fan of owner's manuals and did read the ones for both of my Kimbers but obviously forgot it was in there and didn't think to look there for that info.

So the question begs - if they print that specification in their owner's manual, what made it so top-secret that the wouldn't tell me over the phone? It's a government conspiracy, I tell ya!

Ed
 
#33 ·
I have owned three Kimbers, still have two five inch 9mm's. I have had my share of problems with small parts. The extended thumb safeties on two of the guns snapped off and with both 9mm's they shipped 45 cal slide stops in the guns. I swapped the thumb safeties for stock stainless factory Colt parts and installed 9mm Wilson Combat slide stops. I called Kimber and they shipped parts but I was at a gun show and found replacements before they arrived. All worked correctly.

Their QC leaves a lot to be desired and the Molded parts just don't cut it...
 
#39 ·
To add data to what KruzR posted (and that I was curious about my Kimber), I tried the plungers from a Colt Government Model (Series 80), Remington R1S, Springfield Armory 90's Edition, and a 9mm RIA Tactical in my TLE II: all interchange without issue.
Regards,
Greg
 
#40 ·
I don't get this statement from the OP: "And I do blame Kimber for using a plunger tube with an inside diameter that is too small to use aftermarket detents that work perfectly in my other 1911s."

Good grief! Kimber can use whatever size plunger tube they want to! Nowhere in my Kimber manual does it say that all Kimber parts meet milspec and any old 1911 part should fit.

You have an expensive pistol there - take it to someone that knows how to fix it.
 
#45 ·
Based on some of the comments here, I don't think I'll be taking the time to take photos and upload them. Invariably, there will be some members here that will find something in a photo to say it's my fault because there's no way something could be off with the guns, plural. Heck, just read some of the comments with having to post photos.

I think I've explained in good detail what the problem is. I'll just wait until the Kimber parts arrive and try it.
 
#47 ·
Hope that the Kimber factory parts work out. Sounds like a few here have attempted to replicate the issue that you are experiencing with no success. I am interested in hearing your results. As with all manufacturers, Kimber is not bound by any rule to utilize mil specs, so it is entirely possible that they chose to create their own dimensions for the parts in question. Wish the old part was still available for some measurement.
 
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