The Hobby Gunsmith

Auto Shooting-

Rebuilding the Taurus PT-92

9mm Auto Part IV

Last month we changed the rear sight for one that is adjustable, but we needed to also change the rear sight.  We still don't have the new front sight in the shop, but we expect to have it next month.

  This month we elected to make the Taurus a little easier to shoot by replacing a few springs that were too strong.  We ordered a new hammer spring, trigger spring, and trigger bar spring.  We ordered the springs directly from Wolff Springs and they arrived within a few days of being ordered. 

Figure 1.  The Taurus along with the springs that were ordered.

   The first step in replacing the springs is to field strip the Taurus by removing the slide.  The slide can be removed by pushing the spring loaded slide release from the right to the left and then swinging it down to release the slide.  When released, the slide will move forward off the frame.  The next thing is to remove the grips because they retain many of the cross pins that must be removed.

   With the slide removed from the frame, the trigger and trigger block can be removed.  The first step is to remove the slide lock/release by pushing it slightly to the left as viewed from above.  There is a little retaining spring that needs to be removed so the lever can be removed out the left side of the frame.  This must be removed before working on the trigger, because the trigger pivot pin is held in place by the spring that is removed to remove the slide lock/release.

   With the slide lock/release removed, the trigger block can be removed out the right side of the frame.  This is held into place by a small spring shown in figure 2.

Figure 2.  The trigger block spring.

   Figure 2 shows the trigger block spring that must be removed to allow the trigger block to be slid out the right side of the frame.  Remove the spring by pressing down on the part of the spring that is retained in a slot at the top of the spring.  Once tension has been removed from the spring it may be lifted out of the retaining slots.

   With the spring removed, the trigger block may be carefully slid out the right side of the frame.  This will release tension on the trigger spring as the trigger pin clears the trigger and the tension is released.

   With the trigger block removed, the trigger may be removed by drifting the trigger pivot pin out the left side of the frame.  This will release the last bit of tension on the trigger spring so it's important to not to let the spring fly out of the frame.  With the pin removed, the trigger may be lifted out through the top of the frame.

   After removing the trigger assembly, I removed the hammer spring out the bottom of the grip assembly.  This is done by looking at the bottom of the grip assembly for what appears to be a ring where a lanyard can be attached. 

Figure 3.  The hammer spring housing.

   Figure 3 illustrates the area of the grip frame where a roll pin must be drifted out to remove the hammer spring retainer.  As the roll pin is drifted out the side of the grip frame, the hammer spring tension will be released.  Removing the drift pin will release the hammer spring tension and this should be retained by placing the hand over the end of the grip.

Figure 4.  The hammer spring.

   With the hammer spring removed, I cleaned everything with Gun Scrubber to remove any old grease or oil.  This left the gun dry and devoid of any protection, but it was also left without any traces of dirt or contamination.

   With the new springs on the table, it was time to put the gun back together.  This turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than I expected.  The mainspring was reasonably simple, but it was important to use a slave pin to hold everything together while the roll pin was drifted into place.  A slave pin is a pin that is used to hold the assembly together until the permanent pin in installed.

   Figure 3 shows the drift pin out the left side and the slave pin on extending out the right side. With the frame on the bench, the hammer spring can be compressed with one hand while sliding the slave pin into place with the other.  The slave pin may be used to properly align the hole while the roll pin is drifted into place.

   With the hammer spring in place it's time to turn our attention to reinstalling the trigger and trigger bar.  I spent quite some time trying to figure out how the Wolff trigger spring was supposed to fit into place, but was unable to figure it out and gave up.  I have written to Wolff for help and they responded immediately, but it was too late to prepare for this article.

   I reinstalled the original trigger spring and slid the trigger pivot pin back in before reinstalling the the slide release and its retaining spring.  With both of those installed, it was time to reinstall the trigger bar, which is a bit challenging as it is necessary to get the trigger spring into place before sliding the trigger bar into place.

   The trigger spring is put into place on the trigger pivot pin when the trigger is installed.  The bent end of the spring will be back against the rear of the trigger housing until the trigger bar is installed.  As the trigger bar is slid into place, use a small pair of needle-nose pliers to pull the spring up to the pivot pin of the trigger bar before sliding the bar home.  This is a bit tricky, but not overly difficult with a little practice.  Reinstall the trigger bar spring the way it was removed and the gun is ready for final assembly.

Figure 5.  Lubes needed before final assembly of the Taurus.

   The final step in the assembly is to lubricate the internal action of the gun.  I use Brownells Action Lube Plus on the sear and Break Free CLP on the rest of the parts that come in contact with each other.  I like to use a toothpick for getting the dark gray grease into the contact points of the sear and to use a hypodermic needle to get the oil down into the parts where it needs to be without getting oil all over the gun.

   The improvement to the feel of the trigger was not dramatic, but welcome.  The gun seems to handle a little better and the already crisp trigger break has been improved enough to help hold the sights on the target when dry-firing.  It was certainly worth the cost of the new springs and a couple of hours of work on the gun.

   As this article is going to press, we have ordered a .22 Long Rifle conversion kit from Jonathan Arthur Ciener to convert our 9mm over to .22 long rifle ammunition.  If this turns out to be a viable option for the Taurus, we will be able to practice at a much lower cost.  If the unit arrives before next month, we plan to pass along the information to our readers.