Walther PPS trigger mod

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Herby

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After purchasing my Mass PPS and shooting it a bit with its dreadful 16lb trigger (I measured), I read up on the disconnector swap and decided to go for it.

After completing the install it felt like there was an improvement, but not as drastic as I had read elsewhere. The walther pps website lists the trigger pull for both the 9mm and .40 as 6.1 lb +-.6lb.

I measured the pull after my swap and it measures at 11lb. Better than before, but still almost twice what it should be. In addition to the weight, the pull is very "scratchy", it even makes a noise that corresponds to the scratchiness.

Does anyone have any ideas? I tried lubing the trigger bar where it slides against the frame, took apart the striker assembly and lubed the striker housing and spring... no discernible help.

I'm out of ideas. I put a call in to S&W to get their take but have not heard back.

Thanks
 
Shoot the hell out of it. Clean it first of course, but go to the range and put hundreds of rounds through it and I'll bet you'll notice a difference afterwards.

I picked up a used one from a fellow member recently and will be installing the "S" disconnector before I even bother taking it to the range. I also ordered a new slide stop spring because I've read multiple posts on other forums stating that this spring has a tendency to break, or wiggle out of it's notch in the slide stop. (Google "walther pps slide stop spring" and you'll find the dirt.) Either condition can seize up the slide stop and render the gun inoperable. Not something I'd want to experience in a carry gun. Apparently after Nov '08 S&W switched suppliers for this spring. The new ones supposedly are stouter and not prone to "jump" out of the slide stop.

I figured as long as I have the whole gun apart, I may as well get the new improved spring to head off any problems in the future. I'll also be lightly sanding parts of the internals to smooth out the trigger. Mainly the disconnector and trigger bar.

P.S. When I ordered the parts from Walther America (S&W), I let them know I have an FFL 03 collectors license. I got 15% off my order and they're sending the slide stop spring free. So I'm getting the disconnector and a new 7 round magazine for ~$58 shipped. Wow those mags are expensive! The discount was nice of them though.
 
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I've already put 450 rounds through the gun, and if the factory states 6 lb trigger, it shouldnt be a 12lb trigger when new, and a 6lb trigger after thousands of rounds.

I know about the slide stop spring, when I took the gun apart I examined it and experimented with it popping out. No big deal. What I really want is a solution to this ridiculously heavy trigger.
 
Well herby I just finished installing the new disconnector and smoothing out several surfaces in the internals where metal meets and slides on other metal. The difference is night and day. I've eliminated the grittyness, the trigger breaks much cleaner and is much lighter than with the heavy disconnector. I don't think it's at 6lbs though. I don't have a trigger pull scale right now but I'm going to guess it's at around 8 pounds right now. I'm going to dry fire the crap out if it with snap caps for a while before I go to sleep and I'll be hitting the range this weekend with a few hundred rounds.
 
In my PPS the S disconnector was installed when I picked it up used. However, it really needs some very decent lubing for best performance. The manual has some of the most important lube points, but I also lube the moving parts on the disconnector side and the disconnector group itself. That delivers a decent pull for me ....
 
^ Yup that thread helped me while doing the disconnector last night. The link he posted for the diagram of the gun is no good so I had to wing it on a few procedures. The correct size punch for the roll pin at the rear helps immensely. I picked up a roll pin punch set at the last minute before going home last night and I'm glad I did.
 
My slide stop spring screwed up and I had to send the PPS back for repair. I was charged 30.00 for the new spring or maybe it was shipping I don't know.
I use a small amount of grease on the rails and slide and oil for everything else. This is something an old friend showed me many years ago and seems to work fine so I'm sticking with it.
I now have 500 rounds through it after the repair and love this pistol.

Tommy
 
EddieCoyle said:
Here's the 'best-first-and-only-post-ever' from a guy that describes how to do it:[/url]
Click to expand...

I actually have read and looked that over many times. And IF I do this I will use that as the instructions. That being said It could go either way. So, figured I'd just ask someone that has just put this together sucessfully.
 
Well herby I just finished installing the new disconnector and smoothing out several surfaces in the internals where metal meets and slides on other metal. The difference is night and day. I've eliminated the grittyness, the trigger breaks much cleaner and is much lighter than with the heavy disconnector. I don't think it's at 6lbs though. I don't have a trigger pull scale right now but I'm going to guess it's at around 8 pounds right now. I'm going to dry fire the crap out if it with snap caps for a while before I go to sleep and I'll be hitting the range this weekend with a few hundred rounds.
Click to expand...



So you did the mod and the trigger pull dropped from 10lb to what you think is 8lb, but the difference feels like night and day??

I wish there was more documentation of actual measured trigger pulls before and after the swap. What exactly did you smooth out when you had the gun apart? I didn't find too many rough areas on either the disconnector nor the trigger bar. Many folks point towards the striker spring bunching up and sliding against the stiker housing as the source of the trigger's grittyness prior to the break.
 
Most trigger pull gages don't go as high as you would need for the MA trigger. I used a nice fish scale but even that only went to twenty pounds.
 
Tommy258 said:
Most trigger pull gages don't go as high as you would need for the MA trigger. I used a nice fish scale but even that only went to twenty pounds.
Click to expand...

My scale is only calibrated to 10lbs. .. My pps goes @ 50% over that (beyond the 10lbs mark). I would guess it to be appx 15-16lbs..
 
Yeah, I used a digital fish scale to measure the H disconnector weight at 16-17 lb, and the S disconnector weight to be 10-11 lbs.
 
So you did the mod and the trigger pull dropped from 10lb to what you think is 8lb, but the difference feels like night and day??
Click to expand...

Did I say my trigger pull was originally 10lbs? No. It was probably close to 16. So yes a difference of about 8lbs to me is night and day.

I wish there was more documentation of actual measured trigger pulls before and after the swap. What exactly did you smooth out when you had the gun apart? I didn't find too many rough areas on either the disconnector nor the trigger bar. Many folks point towards the striker spring bunching up and sliding against the stiker housing as the source of the trigger's grittyness prior to the break.
Click to expand...

If I still had the gun apart, had it with me right now, and had my digital cam I'd be more than happy to take some nice close-up pics of what I smoothed out with 1000grit sandpaper. Luckily for me this gun had already been shot by the previous owner, so I was able to look closely at the trigger bar, the trigger bar guide, the original "H" disconnector and the internal surfaces of the receiver and get a good idea of what needed to be smoothed. I am with you on the fact that the trigger is still not a nice clean 6lbs, but I'm a patient fellow and will continue to work on this gun and look for more info as to how to drop the trigger pull. I'm wondering if the striker spring on the MA models is stouter than the standard ones. Seems that if you could go a little lighter on that spring without compromising function or safety, you could get it down a little further.
 
Well turns out I did a better job than I thought smoothing out my PPS trigger. Breaking point weighed in at about 5.5lbs. I guess I'm used to the sweetness of a crisp 1911 trigger which the PPS will NEVER accomplish!
 
45collector said:
Well turns out I did a better job than I thought smoothing out my PPS trigger. Breaking point weighed in at about 5.5lbs. I guess I'm used to the sweetness of a crisp 1911 trigger which the PPS will NEVER accomplish!
Click to expand...

that is amazing work. and really impressive results..Maybe I will give this a try..
 
I shot it for the first time this weekend. 240 trouble-free rounds. (100 CCI blazer brass-cased, 100 WWB, 40 Speer Gold Dot HPs) I did get a little discomfort on the trigger finger where it sits on the trigger safety after about 100 rounds, but not a blister as EC described in the other PPS thread. Accuracy is quite exceptional for such a small gun. I'll need to put another 300 or so mixed rounds through it before I trust it for carry. I think I'll give the Blade-Tec IWB a try if/once it proves reliable.
 
45, thats amazing. Any interest in generating a tutorial explaining what you did to clean up the trigger?
 
I guess I could take the gun down again and post pics of where I took the 1000 grit to. Not that I really want to do that; this gun is certainly one of the more difficult I've ever taken down. It's pretty easy to figure out which internal parts are rubbing against eachother, and the inside of the receiver. If you follow the directions on the "My PPS experience" thread, the post by that one-hit-wonder "destr01d", you can take the gun down. Closely inspect all the internal parts and where they're wearing against eachother (this should be easier if the gun has already been fired, or at least been racked and dry-fired multiple times).

Again, I'd rather not take it completely apart again, since it's running so nice right now. Everytime you explode a gun you run the risk of distorting pins or stressing springs. Maybe if enough members hounded me I could be persuaded. :0)

ETA: Yes Chuck that would be the diagram!
 
I just got my PPS back from Dave Santurri with the Disconnector change. It went from greater than 12 pounds to 6. It is an entirely different gun. If you decide you want him to do yours, you should consider calling ahead because I'm not sure if he wants to do any more.
 
[laugh]

Can't blame him really. He probably figured he could do it in about an hour, and charged accordingly. It took me the better part of an evening to do mine but I'm very happy with the results.
 
Update: Slide stop broke after ~500 rounds! [frown]

That little speck of metal is where the slide stop spring is supposed to anchor. Busted right off. Before you ask, no, I did not do anything to this part when working on the gun. I put a call into S&W and a service rep told me they're out of stock. [rolleyes]

He told me to call back after 8 this morning and speak to a different guy who may have a bin full of extra parts. Don't know if I like the sound of that but I guess it'll have to do.

I'd say it's a weak point in the design. Why couldn't they just close off the open end of that protrusion to make it a hole that the rear end of the spring seats in? [thinking] Well I'm no firearms engineer so I'll shut up and let the picture speak for itself.

3-23003.jpg
 

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