Walther P38 problem..

[cjrockwell]

Greetings,

I just acquired a very nice P38. After a thorough cleaning, it seems to be in excellent shape except for one problem - I cannot disassemble it, because the barrel is stuck slightly back and out of battery. The weapon was very gunked up, not one part would budge. I took the grip off, soaked it in a bucket of Hoppes for about four hours and wiped it down. Now, I can lock the slide back, operate the safety selector easily, etc. The hammer feels crisp and springy, the springs seem to be in good working order.
It almost feels like the barrel might be stuck a little too far back than it's designed to be. I can't disassemble it because of this, and I can't fix it because it needs to be disassembled.
Any tips on how to fix this Catch-22?

I'll attach photos. Oh, also the disassembly lever popped out and I can't get it back in - I figure I can cross that bridge once I get the barrel fixed.
In case it might make a difference, this particular P38 is a BYF44, second variation.


Thank you all for your time and consideration. :-)

[tr6guns]

Look at this.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=p38+disassembly+instructions&FORM=VIRE4#view=detail&mid=1E5F5A2F629E830E3D951E5F5A2F629E830E3D95

Once you have the Slide assembly off the frame you can replace the disassembly lever by depressing the spring and detent that is in a hole in the frame.

[cjrockwell]

Thanks for the reply. However, the disassembly lever isn't my main concern. The barrel is locked back a little too far, preventing the gun from being able to be disassembled. Everything else seems to work, I just cannot get the weapon into battery.

[Gunsmith Dan]

Well if the pictures are correct I know your problem.

Before you try to disassemble your are suppose to have a empty magazine inserted, put the safety on (down position) then pull the slide back until it locks, then turn disassembly lever down, remove the magazine then while holding the slide push down on the slide stop and pull the slide off.

In your pictures the safety is off (is in the up position).

Try that and then let us know what happened.

[cjrockwell]

I tried it anyway, because I'm desperate for anything at this point, but it didn't work. If you look closely at where the barrel meets the front of the slide, it is not flush with the frame. This is because the barrel is stuck back. It will not move at all, which will not allow disassembely in the normal fashion. I need some sort of work around or a way to get the barrel to become unstuck before I can disassemble it.

[Gunsmith Dan]

Just to clarify did you try that with the locking lever reinstalled? In the pictures it is not installed and without that holding the barrel in the proper position you will not be able to take the slide off.

If you did do that then time to go to a gunsmith in your area that specializes in Walther Pistols. There is a way to do it but requires a specially made custom tool that any gunsmith that works on Walther P-38's would have made, it is not something you can buy.

[zinfull]

The locking lever being out will only cause the upper to fall off the lower. With the slide back you can see the locking block on the barrel, it is the silver part. That needs to be able to go all the way up in order to come off. Make sure that area is clear and this should work.

If that does not work ask at this forum

http://www.p38forum.com

[zinfull]

I took my p38 apart to remember what's goes where. The safety needs to be off and the hammer forward in order to remove the top half off. Yours I locked up out of battery and that has the locking block not moving all the way up. When the slides move rearward it cause a plunger to lower the locking block. If the gun is as bad as you said the plunger and locking bock may not be moving correctly. I recommend soaking and air to clean the locking block area. The block has a ramped area to set it in the up position so a little force can help.