S&W 66 crane prob?

[test drive]

im looking at sw mod. 66. gun locks up fine, end play is good. cyl. spins smooth and trigger is nice and smooth. gun shoots great. but the crane is a little stiff as it rotates on yoke. its the same stiffness through the whole travel. not that its hard or bineding just stiff. after it is unlatched it will not fall under its own wieght. maybe needs cleaning? just never seen a revolver cyl and crane that would not open or close under its own wieght.

 

[Snubster]

I have a 2.5" 66-1 that has the exact same issue. Like yours, the cylinder won't fall open under its own weight when unlatched. I bought mine almost 10 years ago (lnib)--haven't really taken the time to figure what exactly is going on. Am definitely curious as to what others say.

 

[DPris]

Break it down, clean it, oil it, reassemble it.
Go from there.
Make sure the right sideplate screws are in the right holes.
Denis

 

[x1lightening]

Make sure when you reassemble the side plate that you put the same round headed screw back into the same hole it came out of. The crane screw is fitted. If it stiff and wasn't before swap the two round headed screws and then check for smoothness and end play when open.

Mike