Kimber TLE Pro Problems

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by Seacowboys, Aug 11, 2006.


  1. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Somebody help me out with this? I can't seem to get a full magazine to shoot without a failure to extract about every third or forth round. I have tried 20 different magazines that all function flawlessly in all of my other 1911s. I have tried a variety of ammunition with same results. The fired case will easily gravety drop from chamber after magazine is removed. The external extractor appears to have no wear, in fact, the gun has only had 400-500 rounds through it since I bought it new and would have thousands through it if it weren't such a pain in the ass to shoot.
    I'm also at odds as to how to get the guide rod and spring out as it does not have a conventional 1911 barrel bushing but rater something that looks like a little piece of pipe. Color me stupid, but I can't figure out how to field strip it:eek: Everybody keeps telling me what a great gun it is but so far, I think I would have to tape ten one hundred dollar bills to the grip to make it worth anything near what I paid for it.
     
  2. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Sea, I posted this on a 1911 Forum I belong to, I will forward any responses that might be of help.
     
  3. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Thanks E.L.
     
  4. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Compress the guide rod spring, removed the slide stop.

    Is therecoil spring that is too heavy? You might also want to check to see if the extractor tension is too weak, You can get a dummy round and remove the slide, slip the dummy round under the extractor and the dummy round should stay in place, if it falls out the tension is too weak, Don't sell the kimber down the river just yet it is probably something you can fix without a major production.
     
  5. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Grease the slide?
     
  6. ghostrider

    ghostrider Resident Poltergeist Founding Member

    Does the inside part of the guide rod have a Allen head in it. It will screw out, about 1/4" +, pull out, and then the plunger will depress to turn the barrel bushing.

    If it was an internal extractor, I could walk you through bending it to get the correct tension. If the fired case will fall out of the chamber, the chamber probably doesn't need polishing. It has to be extractor tension. Like Quig said, take the slide off, and slide a loaded round under the extractor. If the extractor won't hold the round, it's the extractor. Either the extractor groove is not engaging the rim of the case,which could be a too shallow groove or the extractor rides over the rim, leaving the case in the chamber, which would probably be a too weak spring. Either one we can fix.
     
  7. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    OK..figured out the field stripping, apparently you got to compress the guide-rod/spring and insert a paper clip to remove it.
     
  8. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    From 1911forum

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    </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- / user info --></TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_1313194><!-- message, attachments, sig --><!-- message -->Send it back, they will replace the extractor.

    You field strip it the same way as the plunger, press the rod in and turn the bushing.
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  9. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    From Glocktalk


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    </TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]If you are having extraction problems with an EE gun I would suggest you contact Kimber. They have been replacing EE slides with internal extractor slides for almost a year.

    Use a bushing wrench or something else to depress the guide rod plug, turn the bushing to release the plug and spring, be careful not to launch it across the room. take the top 1/2 of the gun off the frame, pull the guide rod out through the back.
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    </TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap width=175 bgColor=#ffffff height=16>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][​IMG] 08-12-2006 10:02 AM[/FONT]</TD><TD vAlign=center width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff height=16><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_offline -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_offline --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_profile -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_profile --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_sendpm -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_sendpm --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_useremail -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_useremail --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_search -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_search --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_buddy -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_buddy --><!-- $ post[icqicon] --><!-- $ post[aimicon] --><!-- $ post[yahooicon] -->[/FONT]</TD><TD noWrap align=right>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][​IMG] [​IMG] [/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- spacer --></TD><TD width=10>[​IMG]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#ffefde border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=10>[​IMG]</TD><TD width="100%"><!-- spacer --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap width=175 bgColor=#ffefde>[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]eljay45[/FONT]
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    </TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%" bgColor=#ffefde>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]Here's some contact info for Dennis who runs the custom shop.
    dennism@kimberamerica.com 914 964 0771 ext 228

    Be prepered to be without your pistol for 4 to 6 weeks and you will likely have to pay to ship it to them.
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  10. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    everybody keeps discribing conventional 1911 disassembly, something that I am intimately familiar with. The TLE Pro is a shortened version with a full length guide rod and the bushing is just a round piece of tubing and does not have to lip that fits over the guide rod like a regular 1911. I finally figured out that I have to remove the dismount catch, slide the entire slide forward to remove, then push the guide rod forward until the pin hole is exposed outside the slide, where upon, a paper clip is inserted to keep the spring compressed and bent into a shape that will pass back through the slide for removal, carrying the barrel bushing with it.
     
  11. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    More from Glocktalk


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    </TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]Yep, you'll need to call Kimber. Your buddy has a problem with the extractor. It may be chipped, it may need a stronger spring, or it could be something else but there's definitely something wrong.

    I have tremendous respect for Kimber 1911's. I made the mistake of selling my TLE II a few years ago. I make the current owner an offer on it every time I see him, in hopes he'll let me have it back someday. My other Kimber (Royal, series I) is one of my very favorite handguns and I carry it concealed more than anything else I own. I won't make the mistake of selling this one. I've also got two close friends who carry Kimbers and love them. It may not be a coincidence that all but one of them have the older internal extractor though. I understand that Kimber has gotten so frustrated with their "new and improved" external extractor that they are going back to the original.
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    </TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap width=175 bgColor=#ffffff height=16>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][​IMG] 08-12-2006 05:29 PM[/FONT]</TD><TD vAlign=center width="100%" bgColor=#ffffff height=16><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_online -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_online --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_profile -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_profile --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_sendpm -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_sendpm --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_useremail -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_useremail --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_search -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_search --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit_buddy -->[​IMG] <!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit_buddy --><!-- $ post[icqicon] --><!-- $ post[aimicon] --><!-- $ post[yahooicon] -->[/FONT]</TD><TD noWrap align=right>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][​IMG] [​IMG] [/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- spacer --></TD><TD width=10>[​IMG]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- END TEMPLATE: postbit --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: postbit --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" bgColor=#ffefde border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=10>[​IMG]</TD><TD width="100%"><!-- spacer --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" align=center bgColor=#000000 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap width=175 bgColor=#ffefde>[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]hankhan[/FONT]
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    </TD><TD vAlign=top width="100%" bgColor=#ffefde>[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]Send it back to Kimber - they'll make it right.[/FONT]
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  12. E.L.

    E.L. Moderator of Lead Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    1911forum

    <TABLE class=tborder id=post1313638 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead> #4
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    </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- / user info --></TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_1313638><!-- message, attachments, sig --><!-- message -->I had the same problem with my TLE when I bought it last year. It turned out to be a burr on the extractor causing all the trouble. Got it polished off and I haven't had any problems since.
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