[Lineman]

I'm disappointed!! I just discovered that the mainspring housing on my Custom Stainless II is plastic, not stainless steel!!! At first I did not believe it until I looked at the bottom of the matte gray housing and saw the seam mark from the injection mold! Why just this one part? Weird!!

Now I feel compelled to try to chase down a real stainless steel housing. I hope this doesn't turn into a Holy Grail type search!!

Looks like it won't be a Holy Grail after all. I can get a new Ed Brown stainless mainspring housing with chain link checkering for $46.99 from MidwayUSA. Like Alan Jackson said in the song......"It ain't no problem, it just takes money"!! Or I can order another Kimber plastic on for $20!!

 

[ultra sporter]

easy job to replace...the EB SS housing is top quality. Just installed one with the magwell on my new Stainless Gold Match II.

I like the EB mainspring housing w/magwell because the magwell can be removed without touching the MS housing. It's held on by one hex headed bolt recessed into the magwell.

I have a custom set of Hogue magwell grips on order to fill the gap between the grip and magwell...Hogue said 30-45 days for the custom order.

 

[Gmountain]

I have never heard of a problem with the MSH. If it was an issue, they wouldn't use them. Lighter weight is one reason.

 

[Chuck43]

I thought that everyone has heard about the famous plastic mainspring housings on Kimbers. It's the first thing they complain about right after drinking the Kimber magazine kool-aid.

Seriously, I've read hundreds of posts complaining about the housing but I've never heard of anyone that actually had one fail or break. Ed Brown and Wilson Combat are just two places where you can get a replacement housing. In most cases they drop right in, worse case they will require a little minor fitting.

 

[Islander]

I too have never heard of a problem with Kimbers MSH. Don't worry about it, and spend your money on ammo!

 

[v35b]

I guess we all had that concern when we found the plastic but 1000s of round down the pipe and no problem with mine, though I might change it one day just to get a fancier one.

 

[Lineman]

I have no function problem with the plastic mainspring housing. It has stood up through thousands of rounds, dirt, sweat, heat and cold with no problem. I just find it odd that the construction material would be changed out for that single part!!

My search for a new stainless MSH is not critical. It is more an OCD thing than anything else. Call it an old age quirk, if you will!! I'll add it to my bucket list!!

Just wanted to know how many others had noticed!!

 

[Gmountain]

Just wanted to know how many others had noticed!!

I thought everyone knew.

 

[Insta-Gator]

Perhaps the chainlink design would be less abrasive the then OEM MSH

 

[PorscheVille]

MSH swap

Yes, there is nothing wrong with plastic other than the idea of plastic as cheap. I know there are other guns with a lot of plastic parts. But I will probably change mine out because the beauty of a 1911 is that there are so many ways to modify them to make them your own.

And, hell, I just love to tinker.

I also like the look of a machined mag well, so I'll probably put one of those on.

 

[FLSTF]

Even more concerning than the plastic MSH is the amount of MIM parts used in Kimbers.

 

[Islander]

Even more concerning than the plastic MSH is the amount of MIM parts used in Kimbers.

Why is that a concern? Mine work just fine!

 

[FLSTF]

Just not as sturdy as machined parts.

 

[Islander]

Just not as sturdy as machined parts.

Have you had problems with MIM parts?

 

[Chuck43]

Even more concerning than the plastic MSH is the amount of MIM parts used in Kimbers.

I took awhile but now we're completed the holy trinity of Kimber. The crap magazine, the plastic main spring housing and finally the MIM (metal injection molding) parts. I could go on about this but who am I to be believed, I'm just an old man on his computer so I'm going to quote from a piece that was written by long time Wilson Combat Customer Satisfaction Representative, Frank Robbins. Mr. Robbins was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident on his way to work years ago but as we've all come to learn nothing dies on the internet.

One other thing I forgot to address, MIM parts. A company that I will not name gave the MIM parts a bad name because they had a bad batch of MIM parts. This was many years ago. Since then remarkable things have happened.

MIM parts are extremely dense and very exact. They are much less prone to wear and breakage than a factory Colt, Spfg. etc. part. This is why we use them in our CQB's, etc. Although not quite as hard as our tool steel parts, they will last a very long time. This is why we can still guarantee our total gun, including the MIM parts, for life.

The tool steel parts are actually overkill. The MIM parts last for life (I know of one gun that has over 100,000 rounds thru it and the trigger pull feels the same as it did when new) therefore I guess you could say the tool steel parts lasts for a lifetime and ½.

We use the tool steel parts in our full custom guns. (These are the ones that cost from $2800.00 up) Our full custom guns, Stealth, Tactical Elite, Super Grade and Tactical Super Grade, are not for everyone because of price. They are intended for someone that can afford the very best we can do.

They [tool steel] actually won't last any longer, shoot any straighter or be more dependable than our CQB's, Protectors and Classics, but we spend many extra hours in fitting and prepping them for a perfect cosmetic handgun as well as a great shooter. And because of this, we use the tool steel parts that take longer to fit.

Again, all of us guys here, including Bill Wilson use the very same MIM parts in our guns. And we shoot a bunch! Once installed and fit, no one can tell the difference in the feel of the trigger pull with either type of parts.

Ok, I'm done with my book. Hope this helps too. Just didn't want you all to believe everything you read from self appointed experts.
Frank Robbins Wilson Combat"

 

[Islander]

I took awhile but now we're completed the holy trinity of Kimber. The crap magazine, the plastic main spring housing and finally the MIM (metal injection molding) parts. I could go on about this but who am I to be believed, I'm just an old man on his computer so I'm going to quote from a piece that was written by long time Wilson Combat Customer Satisfaction Representative, Frank Robbins. Mr. Robbins was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident on his way to work years ago but as we've all come to learn nothing dies on the internet.

One other thing I forgot to address, MIM parts. A company that I will not name gave the MIM parts a bad name because they had a bad batch of MIM parts. This was many years ago. Since then remarkable things have happened.

MIM parts are extremely dense and very exact. They are much less prone to wear and breakage than a factory Colt, Spfg. etc. part. This is why we use them in our CQB's, etc. Although not quite as hard as our tool steel parts, they will last a very long time. This is why we can still guarantee our total gun, including the MIM parts, for life.

The tool steel parts are actually overkill. The MIM parts last for life (I know of one gun that has over 100,000 rounds thru it and the trigger pull feels the same as it did when new) therefore I guess you could say the tool steel parts lasts for a lifetime and ½.

We use the tool steel parts in our full custom guns. (These are the ones that cost from $2800.00 up) Our full custom guns, Stealth, Tactical Elite, Super Grade and Tactical Super Grade, are not for everyone because of price. They are intended for someone that can afford the very best we can do.

They [tool steel] actually won't last any longer, shoot any straighter or be more dependable than our CQB's, Protectors and Classics, but we spend many extra hours in fitting and prepping them for a perfect cosmetic handgun as well as a great shooter. And because of this, we use the tool steel parts that take longer to fit.

Again, all of us guys here, including Bill Wilson use the very same MIM parts in our guns. And we shoot a bunch! Once installed and fit, no one can tell the difference in the feel of the trigger pull with either type of parts.

Ok, I'm done with my book. Hope this helps too. Just didn't want you all to believe everything you read from self appointed experts.
Frank Robbins Wilson Combat"

Exactly!! Thank you!

 

[comanche]

Is it the same size MSH of ULTRA models as full size models?
I know that the plastic one will cause no problem. But replacing it with a metal after market brand like Ed Brown or Wilson would make me feel better for my ultra cdp II.

 

[2sharp2]

Is it the same size MSH of ULTRA models as full size models?
I know that the plastic one will cause no problem. But replacing it with a metal after market brand like Ed Brown or Wilson would make me feel better for my ultra cdp II.

No, they are not the same size.

 

[comanche]

No, they are not the same size.

Thank you 2sharp2.
So it seems I have to live with my plastic one.

 

[2sharp2]

Thank you 2sharp2.
So it seems I have to live with my plastic one.

I think Wilson and some others make the housings for Ultra's you must check description. I don't know how easy it is for you to get parts like that, may not be worth the hassle.

The plastic ones are still in all my Kimbers...no problems. The only way I would switch would be if I needed to add a magwell to my Ultra's but that seems kind of dumb to me to add length to a pistol I bought because it had a shorter grip.