Glock 44 aluminum firing pin sleeve from Farrow Technologies

[Reeferman]

There is an issue with the Glock sleeve where the firing pin slams against the bottom slot in the sleeve. Only way to replace the sleeve is to buy a complete firing pin assembly and they are as rare as hens teeth up here.
Farrow makes an aluminum one and was wondering if anyone is or has tried it?

https://farrow.tech/glock-44-aluminum-firing-pin-spacer-sleeve/

 

[Riomouse911]

Never heard of the issue. If i get time today ill look at the sleeve on mine to see if there is any sign of this.

Stay safe.

 

[12Bravo20]

Yes the spacer sleeve with start to wear out where the striker hits it during firing. But I still have not had to replace my OEM space sleeve with over 20,000 rounds fired through my G44. And I shoot mostly CCI Mini Mags or Aquila Super Extra.

 

[Reeferman]

Well for what it’s worth here is a guy who has had the same issue. I shot about a 1000 rounds through mine before I took the striker out. I could see how the sleeve was getting battered apart before using a plastic flat to push sticker to remove.
I then installed the Mcarbo springs in it and has been together since. It is getting to a point that I won’t be able to push sleeve back to remove as it is getting worse.
Now mine is a model before they changed the slide and extractor so maybe the newer ones have been fixed and maybe Glock will just ignore the issue of these ones.

 

[12Bravo20]

Now mine is a model before they changed the slide and extractor so maybe the newer ones have been fixed and maybe Glock will just ignore the issue of these ones.

I bought my G44 in late February 2020 and it has the original extractor too. The serial number of mine stats with ADUS.

Like I said, I have over 20,000 rounds through mine and yes there is some damage to the spacer sleeve. I have also disassembled and reassembled the slide multiple times when trying different spring combos along with doing the same with the internals when I tried to get the craptastic Nelson G44 slide to run. After all of that, and even with the deformation. I can still disassemble mine just fine. Yes I will eventually have to get a replacement for it. But I also have a spare G44 firing pin or two laying around too.

Yes this is a known issue and at least two different companies sell an aluminum spacer sleeve. But unless you are dissassembling your slide constantly or shoot even more rounds than I have, then the original sleeve will last for quite some time.

 

[Reeferman]

I bought my G44 in late February 2020 and it has the original extractor too. The serial number of mine stats with ADUS.

Like I said, I have over 20,000 rounds through mine and yes there is some damage to the spacer sleeve. I have also disassembled and reassembled the slide multiple times when trying different spring combos along with doing the same with the internals when I tried to get the craptastic Nelson G44 slide to run. After all of that, and even with the deformation. I can still disassemble mine just fine. Yes I will eventually have to get a replacement for it. But I also have a spare G44 firing pin or two laying around too.

Yes this is a known issue and at least two different companies sell an aluminum spacer sleeve. But unless you are dissassembling your slide constantly or shoot even more rounds than I have, then the original sleeve will last for quite some time.

It sucks being up here in Canada trying to get any parts and now handguns. I like to keep spare parts for all my guns and it is getting harder to get things. Glock Canada is a joke and unless you are LEO or similar you don’t exist.
I didn’t realize when I bought this 44 that there had been an upgrade as I sure would have waited to get the upgraded one.
I’ve been trying to get a spare striker assembly since I bought it and has been on back order to all the dealers that I’ve talked to.
Mine is AEDX.

 

[12Bravo20]

I didn’t realize when I bought this 44 that there had been an upgrade as I sure would have waited to get the upgraded one.

According to Glock, the only reason for the extractor upgrade was that the original design could break from people letting the slide slam forward onto a chamber flag. I don't use chamber flags and have not had any issues with the original designed extractor.

 

[Reeferman]

According to Glock, the only reason for the extractor upgrade was that the original design could break from people letting the slide slam forward onto a chamber flag. I don't use chamber flags and have not had any issues with the original designed extractor.

I didn’t know what or why Glock changed it but I would rather have waited for the upgraded one if I had known about it.

 

[trackskippy]

If it really bothers you, you could send the slide to Glock, or try and hook up with a Glock armorer, and they will probably upgrade it for free.

I have two 44's I got when they first came out. Between the two, Im on my fourth case of Blazers, and pretty evenly spaced between the two for round counts. Havent had an issue with either.

If yours is shooting OK and with no problems, I wouldnt mess with it. All sorts of things tend to needlessly get blown out of proportion on the internet, with no real base for it, other than a few had trouble, and off it goes. The 44's were like that, and the small number of people who initially stirred things up, turned out to be the only ones when you waded through all the static, and repost after repost, and the "problems" turned out to be more them than the guns.

 

[5-SHOTS]

One question: why does it happen in the Glock 44 and it does not happen in the other Glock models? Or does it happen in the other models too in the long run? But it seems to me that I have never heard of such a problem in the other Glock models.

 

[Reeferman]

I don’t know for sure why but the Glock 44 striker is different. My son has several Glocks and none of them even after all the rounds that have been put through them do the sleeves look like the one in my 44.

 

[Reeferman]

If it really bothers you, you could send the slide to Glock, or try and hook up with a Glock armorer, and they will probably upgrade it for free.

I have two 44's I got when they first came out. Between the two, Im on my fourth case of Blazers, and pretty evenly spaced between the two for round counts. Havent had an issue with either.

If yours is shooting OK and with no problems, I wouldnt mess with it. All sorts of things tend to needlessly get blown out of proportion on the internet, with no real base for it, other than a few had trouble, and off it goes. The 44's were like that, and the small number of people who initially stirred things up, turned out to be the only ones when you waded through all the static, and repost after repost, and the "problems" turned out to be more them than the guns.

Like I said in previous post sending to Glock up here is not going to happen. Getting any kind of warranty is a joke and if possible wouldn’t see it for a very long time and there is no such thing as FREE here.
Mine is shooting pretty good now after getting some help from some off of the internet. This sleeve is an issue that Glock should be addressing.
The reason I bought it was because of the how well my sons Glocks have just plain worked over the years.

 

[trackskippy]

It's a Glock, why wouldnt they take care of it there like they do here?

You could always just send the slide to Smyrna and let them look at it. You dont need to send the whole gun. Im sure if things needed to be upgraded, they would take care of it.

 

[JohnKSa]

It is getting to a point that I won’t be able to push sleeve back to remove as it is getting worse.

I have not tested this, but I cant think of a good reason why it won't work. Worst case scenario, you ruin the sleeve and have to buy another one--which is kind of where you are already headed now, it sounds like.

Take the slide off. With the slide still assembled, make a mark on the inside of the sleeve well BEHIND the firing pin lug. You don't want to put the mark all the way at the back of the slide--maybe halfway between the back of the firing pin and the cover plate.

Remove the firing pin assembly from the slide and very carefully drill a hole in the sleeve where the mark is. You want the hole to fit the tip of one of your punches. Don't pick a tiny diameter punch, but you don't want a giant hole in there either. Don't chamfer the edges of hole, but use a sharp knife to trim the edges so it's a clean hole and there's nothing around the edges to catch/obstruct the firing pin movement.

Now you can use the punch to disassemble the slide. Poke the end of the punch in the hole and push forward on it to move the spacer sleeve forward so that the slide can be disassembled.

Also, in a pinch, if you haven't done this mod, you could use an awl and use the sharp tip to dig into the firing pin spacer sleeve behind the firing pin lug and push it forward. Don't drive the awl in deeply as you don't want to damage the channel. This process will likely cause some damage to the sleeve that will need to be cleaned up before reassembly.

Neither of these is a true fix as the damage may continue to the point that the deformation of the sleeve prevents proper operation, but it could help you get your gun apart.

 

[12Bravo20]

I didn’t know what or why Glock changed it but I would rather have waited for the upgraded one if I had known about it.

As others have stated, if yours is running fine, don't worry about it. The old style extractor will not break under normal use.

I don’t know for sure why but the Glock 44 striker is different. My son has several Glocks and none of them even after all the rounds that have been put through them do the sleeves look like the one in my 44.

View attachment 1102263

Yes it is different being that it is for a straight blow back rimfire setup. And yes the G44 firing pin is the only one shaped like that. Not even the G25 and G28 380 blow back pistols have a firing pin like that.

 

[5-SHOTS]

Could someone please post a detailed lateral photo of the Glock 44 firing pin in the tooth area? Only the firing pin, without the sleeve and everything, please.

 

[12Bravo20]

Here you go. As you can see the spot on the spacer that gets deformed is from the striker itself.

 

[5-SHOTS]

Here you go. As you can see the spot on the spacer that gets deformed is from the striker itself.

View attachment 1102400

Ok, thanks.
I had an idea on what the cause could be but now that I have seen the firing pin I can say that it was not the right idea.

It is instead probably a combination of the fact that (1) the Glock 44 sleeve is thinner than the sleeves of the other center fire Glock models, that (2) there is a lot of play between the firing pin and the sleeve (see how much flex there is between the sleeve and the firing pin when the firing pin assembly is complete with the spring) and that (3) the firing pin spring is stronger(?) than the one on the center fire models.

I've seen some youtube videos and I've Red some comments and it seems that the aluminium sleeve really solves the problem.

 

[12Bravo20]

(3) the firing pin spring is stronger(?) than the one on the center fire models.

The stock OEM G44 firing pin spring is the same as all other Gen 5 fire pin springs. It is 5.5 pounds from the factory.

On a side note. I do not suggest going with a 4.5 pound or lower firing pin spring with the G44. I had failures to fire with a Wolff 4.5 pound firing pin spring. Rimfire primers are harder to ignite compared to centerfire primers.

 

[FL-NC]

I have never heard of one needing to be replaced. I have a Glock that went well into the 6 digit round count before an armorer ever touched it.

 

[12Bravo20]

I have never heard of one needing to be replaced. I have a Glock that went well into the 6 digit round count before an armorer ever touched it.

This is very true for centerfire Glock pistols. I have never had to replace th spacer on them.

The G44 is a different story though. And unfortunately one can not use a centerfire spacer sleeve in the G44 22lr slide. The G44 spacer is smaller in diameter. And as you can see in the photo I posted earlier, the striker does in fact start to deform the spacer sleeve after a while. That being said, my first G44 has one 20,000 + rounds fired through it and I am still using the original factory spacer sleeve even though it does have damage to it.

 

[FL-NC]

This is very true for centerfire Glock pistols. I have never had to replace th spacer on them.

The G44 is a different story though. And unfortunately one can not use a centerfire spacer sleeve in the G44 22lr slide. The G44 spacer is smaller in diameter. And as you can see in the photo I posted earlier, the striker does in fact stat to deform the spacer sleeve after a while. That being said, my first G44 has one 20,000 + rounds fired through it and I am still using the original factory spacer sleeve even though it does have damage to it.

The Glock 44 is the 22. For some reason I thought it was something else.

 

[Reeferman]

Finally got them in the mail and installed. Took some 1500 grit Emory cloth and went over the slot just to take the sharp edge off. The other one I bought didn’t seem to have this but figured it wouldn’t hurt. Gun functions fine no issues though I don’t know when I’ll get to shoot it.
Time will tell if it is a quality part that will stand up and is a fix to an issue that some either believe or do not believe the 44 has.

 

[12Bravo20]

Time will tell if it is a quality part that will stand up and is a fix to an issue that some either believe or do not believe the 44 has.

It is definitely an issue. But not as big of an issue as some make it out to be. Yes my early G44 sleeve has some deformation but it is still working as it should after 20,000+ rounds fired.

 

[Riomouse911]

Finally got them in the mail and installed. Took some 1500 grit Emory cloth and went over the slot just to take the sharp edge off. The other one I bought didn’t seem to have this but figured it wouldn’t hurt. Gun functions fine no issues though I don’t know when I’ll get to shoot it.
Time will tell if it is a quality part that will stand up and is a fix to an issue that some either believe or do not believe the 44 has.

Let us know if there is any change in reliability when you get a chance to run some ammo through it.

Stay safe.