A follow-up comment if you don't mind. I repaired my pistol today with the assistance of a good friend, and it would not have been possible had it not been for this video. My pistol happens to be the one with the manual ambidextrous safety, but it was of no consequence. I want to thank you thank you thank you for this video. I didn't think we could get the gun reassembled without an exploded schematic view, and reassembling the hammer/sear/ejector assembly was driving us nuts because we couldn't get a clear view of the completed assembly from the starboard side. Fortunately, I caught a mere glimpse of only a couple of frames that showed me what to do. I hate to sound so giddy about my accomplishment, but I really, really like this little pistol. I have a set of Hi Viz tritium night sights on mine, along with a Sig Foxtrot 1 light I sometimes install. This is a great little gun. I just hate the fact that Smith & Wesson has turned out to be such a crappy company when it comes to customer service.
I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video, this is the first s&w I have owned and there is way more parts than glock which I’m used to and I wanted to fully clean and understand the operations of the shield ez, I have the performance center edition with safety. But basically same procedure
After loosing a tiny spring, I now do tiny spring removals in a gallon zip lock bag. If the spring flies, it’s more than likely it’ll remain in the bag.
Haha good idea ! I used to have a clear plexiglass box with the front cut out so I could set on my bench and put my hands inside as I took out a flying spring. I need to make another one. The bag idea is awesome!
Pro Tip for the newer model that doesn't have the hard set firing pin block. I cut an undersized roll pin to length to stick in the roll pin channel of the sear block to help hold the firing pin in. The floating firing pin block kept letting pressure off the firing pin and it kept on popping out. When installing, the pin is held in place by the side of the slide and will simply fall out when the hole in aligned with the slide and the firing pin block has spring tension to hold the firing pin.
Thanks for doing this complete video! Only one of it's kind of the internet! A few points: 1. The firing pin block lifter has two holes in it, as a manufacturing step. The upper hole as no function with the thumb safety version of the pistol. 2. Trying to install the sear housing block while aligning the tail of the firing pin block lifter with its seating groove in the grip safety is extremely frustrating, especially with the thumb safety version. It is FAR EASIER to to remove the grip safety first. The single pivot pin is removed, the grip safety slides out, and its spring remains in the frame. Now, the sear housing block and can easily installed on the first try, without reference to the tail of the firing pin block lifter. Once installed and pinned in place, the grip safety can be installed, with the seating groove sliding easily into the tail of the firing pin block lifter. The grip safety can be depressed and the pivot pin replaced. I believe this is the method of assembly used at the factory. NO swearing or sweating required. 3. As a production note, using consistent parts terminology when describing the parts and operations makes following the video easier. Also, excessive picking up and putting down parts without a specific purpose, or tossing them haphazardly around the bench, is best avoided.
Splendid video, man! One thing I do wish was that you were using the EZ model with the manual safety. I recently had to return my gun to S&W because the ejector (NOT the extractor) was causing the damn thing to ping me in the forehead or face with hot empty cases about 3 times or more every magazine. In addition to this, the firing pin aperture looks like a rough, chewed out hole, resulting in some really weird cratering of every single primer I fire. S&W kept my gun for 8 weeks, returning it with a notice they had "adjusted the extractor." They didn't fix a damn thing! And like I said, the extractor wasn't the problem. At any rate, I found a complete part set on eBay for about $200, with every part looking absolutely pristine and unused at all. But I noticed the firing pin aperture is rough and appears out-of-round just like my original one! Is Smith & Wesson incapable of drilling a nice, clean round hole on this part or something? Or is this some kind of built-in forensic feature making it easier for cops or somebody to match up fired cases with individual pistols? The parts I received are clean as a whistle and lightly oiled, and I've been able to measure the ejector and can see it's a little more than 0.01" longer than the existing one in my gun. I've worked on enough pistols myself to know that 1/100th of an inch can make an enormous difference. At any rate, I'm sorely pissed at S&W's Service Department, and as far as I'm concerned, this will be the last S&W pistol I ever own. Make no mistake, though. I've always loved S&W better than any other gun company on earth until now. My Models 57, 5906 and 686 are three of my favorite guns. And as far as this little 9 Shield EZ, I love this gun, too. It shoots like a little demon (except for pinging me in the head with hot brass). It's easily concealed, and has been a great training gun for girls and my grandkids (except the hot brass thing again, which drives me nuts). Thank you again for a great video. And since you obviously know your way around a handgun's guts, any advice you have for me is more than welcome.
Really appreciate the video. My only advice (for anyone reading this) is that you gotta be careful with tapered punches. If you push or hammer them too deep, they'll damage the hole and oversize it. Have done it myself a couple times over the years, so I stopped using tapered punches. I know better not to do it, but sometimes the pins stick and you need to use extra force which can (at times) end up being pushed or hit deep enough for the taper to get forced into the hole. I stopped using tapered punches, because of that. There are also some guns that are just too wide and/or need the pin to be punched a lot deeper before it will come out... and none of the tapered punches I've ever had were long enough to push the pins all the way through on all guns... which can also lead to pushing the punches too deep.
I took mine apart like this when I first got it and couldn't figure out what went wrong when I put it back together. The slide would lock back randomly, even before chambering a single round. The problem was I put that tiny little spring on the slide lever on backwards. Thanks for making such a detailed breakdown so I could figure out what I did wrong.
Witnessed a swapping project of bling between an EZ 9 Performance Center (silver barrel/trigger/grip safety) and an Equalizer (EQ) 9 standard (all black). The Equalizer is now quite beautiful with the silver Performance Center bling, THANKS TO THIS VIDEO! Note: The mag releases won't swap due to slightly wider EQ frame. The EZ PC has a metal mag release button, while the standard Equalizer has a plastic one. Range reports next week.
Thanks!!! I’ve got the M&P .380 EZ 2.0. The sear block had a few more springs “SHOOT” across the room when removing the sear block. Guessing they have something to do with the thumb safety. Want to remove the thumb safety, so they may not be needed. Can’t find a video specific to my model. Recently sent it in to S&W for a bit of help (it suffered trauma (melted plastic) from exposure to heat). Those guys sent it back untouched. Saying the frame was bent; not sure how they came to that conclusion. I’ve since been able to get the magazine to seat, and eject. Got the slide to travel freely on the frame. My only obstacle is the sear block. While attempting to remove it sh!t shot all over my garage (slight exaggeration; seemed like a lot). Trying to get that sought out. Once this puzzle is finished it’ll be ready for use. Won’t carry it most likely. At least not until I put a few hundred rounds through it to confirm reliability. If someone has a resource to the sear block component stack up I would greatly appreciate it if you would share!!! Thanks!!!
By chance, do you have a 380 EZ Shield 2.0? Your video here shows the 9mm slide block components. My grip safety bar that lifts the firing pin is totally different than the 9mm and I can’t figure out how it goes back in. I can’t find anything else but this video on the Internet. I can’t even find an exploded parts diagram for this.
Got a 9 EZ and a .380 version. Duracoated my EZ-.380 Slide OD Green. That extractor was a PIA. Got another .380 coming next week that will be done in Coyote Tan.
I was appendix carrying this. After seeing that the only thing keeping the hammer from firing is a tiny little piece of metal kind of unnerved me a bit.
You helped so much brother, I tore mine apart cuz I have the version with the extra safety, n I wanted to take it off n when I took my sear block out that tiny little spring went flying that sits in the side of the firearm, but your video helped me with the orientation of the grip safety bar position n the trigger bar part sorry don't know all the names of the pieces Either way great video n thank you a ton
Very good channel, thanks for the information. You make it seem easy ........ in this model the sight can be adjusted in some way, type of barrel does it bring is accurate?
Bought a trigger upgrade from GallowayPrecision. Their video for the install, in the worst video I've seen. This video, Your's is the ABSOLUTE BEST I'VE SEEN, GREAT LIGHTING, GREAT DETAIL. FANTASTIC. THANK YOU FOR THE TIME & DETAIL YOU PUT INTO CREATING THIS VIDEO. Now, I can get my trigger job, back together. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I feel your pain, see above. Remove the grip safety first, it will seat easily. Then align the tail of firing pin lifter with its seating groove in the grip safety, and reinstall the grip safety. Easy peasy!
I decided I wanted to polish my rails on my new Equalizer. No videos exist of it to this level. So....here we go. HOLY SHIT. I'm not new to M&Ps I own 55 or 6 and most of those have Apex triggers, I do my own work on them. Not new to it. Several Glock trigger installs, Ruger Installs. Binary & AR Installs.....Never had too much issue, Binaries can be tricky...But Wow. Think this one takes the cake. Wish I hadn't decided to take this thing apart lol. Talk about a character building exercise....Mines a thumb safety model as well, just adds more to fit in there, i think I'm just gonna remove it. (EDIT- The Safety can't be removed apparently, the spring tension of the safety selector holds things in place lol) Now I'm ordering a safety spring for a 380EZ as mine shot across the room at some point :) Not for the faint of heart! Highly recommend not taking one of these apart lol. Thanks for the video, it 99% applies to the Equalizer as well FYI.
Do you have a schematic of it broken down or know of a source for it? I can't find one online for the EZ model with the grip safety. Any help would be appreciated.
The inner workings of Sig Sauer pistols make so much more sense to me, and seem much more simply constructed, than any of the S&W and tiny plastic guns. May explain why I own Sig Legions and 1911s. The inner workings of this EZ just seem overly complicated.
My wife got this EZ it’s never worked. My Sigs are easy to fix. This EZ 9 shield is depressing. Never received the return for warranty notice either from the supplier to the retailer.
Great video! I am so glad that I finally get to see a video of someone doing a whole breakdown of an EZ you see a ton of them for just the shield. I do have one question. Is there any way to get lube out of the firing pin channel without doing all of this to remove it? Will spraying solvent help? I was told to use solvent and let it soak then spray air through but not much air seems to go through it. Thank you for the video!
I’ve just cleaned all of my Sig Sauer and 1911 firing pin channels and extractor channels (been a few years of build up), and replaced all firing pin springs, and I’d have to say you really need to remove the firing pin and spring. I cleaned them out with q tips and the gunk was substantial. I made sure all moisture was removed and evaporated and then used compressed air. Reassembled
I have this very same model of .380.....the no. 1 thing I've learned from it is how much it makes me realize how great my pt92 9mm is....lol....I think this .380 is a tad bit chinsy with its plastic trigger....and plastic barrel guide rod....and I never am comfortable or confident to carry it with a rou d in the chamber because it has no trigger hammer to inform of whether it's cocked and ready. And though it has a safety switch that is ambidextrous and almost identical to my pt92 safety, it can't decock the hammer like the safety on my pt92.....so I gave the .380 to my wife because she never carries it and so I don't shot my self on accident....my I'm just a moron tho....I've had my pt92 for 11 years ...I had the .380 shield for only a year and a half ....but I guess because I've had the pt92 for so long that I've learned to trust how it operates with full confidence.....and maybe it ruined me because I so far can not trust my .380 shields function enough to trust myself from not having an accident.
Not a very impressive design in my opinion. Seems foolishly overcomplicated. I hope the Bodyguard 2.0 isn't designed the same. I know the original BG380 was a very different design... so I hope the new Bodyguard is less complicated like the original. The EZ models just seem excessively complex, expensive to manufacture and a pain in the ass to assemble when there are nearly an infinite amount of better ways to to do it. (If I owned a firearms manufacturing company and an engineer came to me with this design, I'd probably fire him).
If u can plz help me I got a snw but I can't figure it out to put it back together it was my forgers last gift I just got wanna loose it plz contact me
A follow-up comment if you don't mind. I repaired my pistol today with the assistance of a good friend, and it would not have been possible had it not been for this video. My pistol happens to be the one with the manual ambidextrous safety, but it was of no consequence. I want to thank you thank you thank you for this video. I didn't think we could get the gun reassembled without an exploded schematic view, and reassembling the hammer/sear/ejector assembly was driving us nuts because we couldn't get a clear view of the completed assembly from the starboard side. Fortunately, I caught a mere glimpse of only a couple of frames that showed me what to do. I hate to sound so giddy about my accomplishment, but I really, really like this little pistol. I have a set of Hi Viz tritium night sights on mine, along with a Sig Foxtrot 1 light I sometimes install. This is a great little gun. I just hate the fact that Smith & Wesson has turned out to be such a crappy company when it comes to customer service.
I really appreciate you taking the time to make this video, this is the first s&w I have owned and there is way more parts than glock which I’m used to and I wanted to fully clean and understand the operations of the shield ez, I have the performance center edition with safety. But basically same procedure
After loosing a tiny spring, I now do tiny spring removals in a gallon zip lock bag. If the spring flies, it’s more than likely it’ll remain in the bag.
Haha good idea ! I used to have a clear plexiglass box with the front cut out so I could set on my bench and put my hands inside as I took out a flying spring. I need to make another one. The bag idea is awesome!
Pro Tip for the newer model that doesn't have the hard set firing pin block. I cut an undersized roll pin to length to stick in the roll pin channel of the sear block to help hold the firing pin in. The floating firing pin block kept letting pressure off the firing pin and it kept on popping out. When installing, the pin is held in place by the side of the slide and will simply fall out when the hole in aligned with the slide and the firing pin block has spring tension to hold the firing pin.
Thanks for doing this complete video! Only one of it's kind of the internet! A few points:
1. The firing pin block lifter has two holes in it, as a manufacturing step. The upper hole as no function with the thumb safety version of the pistol.
2. Trying to install the sear housing block while aligning the tail of the firing pin block lifter with its seating groove in the grip safety is extremely frustrating, especially with the thumb safety version. It is FAR EASIER to to remove the grip safety first. The single pivot pin is removed, the grip safety slides out, and its spring remains in the frame. Now, the sear housing block and can easily installed on the first try, without reference to the tail of the firing pin block lifter. Once installed and pinned in place, the grip safety can be installed, with the seating groove sliding easily into the tail of the firing pin block lifter. The grip safety can be depressed and the pivot pin replaced. I believe this is the method of assembly used at the factory. NO swearing or sweating required.
3. As a production note, using consistent parts terminology when describing the parts and operations makes following the video easier. Also, excessive picking up and putting down parts without a specific purpose, or tossing them haphazardly around the bench, is best avoided.
Splendid video, man! One thing I do wish was that you were using the EZ model with the manual safety. I recently had to return my gun to S&W because the ejector (NOT the extractor) was causing the damn thing to ping me in the forehead or face with hot empty cases about 3 times or more every magazine. In addition to this, the firing pin aperture looks like a rough, chewed out hole, resulting in some really weird cratering of every single primer I fire. S&W kept my gun for 8 weeks, returning it with a notice they had "adjusted the extractor." They didn't fix a damn thing! And like I said, the extractor wasn't the problem. At any rate, I found a complete part set on eBay for about $200, with every part looking absolutely pristine and unused at all. But I noticed the firing pin aperture is rough and appears out-of-round just like my original one! Is Smith & Wesson incapable of drilling a nice, clean round hole on this part or something? Or is this some kind of built-in forensic feature making it easier for cops or somebody to match up fired cases with individual pistols? The parts I received are clean as a whistle and lightly oiled, and I've been able to measure the ejector and can see it's a little more than 0.01" longer than the existing one in my gun. I've worked on enough pistols myself to know that 1/100th of an inch can make an enormous difference.
At any rate, I'm sorely pissed at S&W's Service Department, and as far as I'm concerned, this will be the last S&W pistol I ever own. Make no mistake, though. I've always loved S&W better than any other gun company on earth until now. My Models 57, 5906 and 686 are three of my favorite guns. And as far as this little 9 Shield EZ, I love this gun, too. It shoots like a little demon (except for pinging me in the head with hot brass). It's easily concealed, and has been a great training gun for girls and my grandkids (except the hot brass thing again, which drives me nuts). Thank you again for a great video. And since you obviously know your way around a handgun's guts, any advice you have for me is more than welcome.
Really appreciate the video. My only advice (for anyone reading this) is that you gotta be careful with tapered punches. If you push or hammer them too deep, they'll damage the hole and oversize it. Have done it myself a couple times over the years, so I stopped using tapered punches. I know better not to do it, but sometimes the pins stick and you need to use extra force which can (at times) end up being pushed or hit deep enough for the taper to get forced into the hole. I stopped using tapered punches, because of that. There are also some guns that are just too wide and/or need the pin to be punched a lot deeper before it will come out... and none of the tapered punches I've ever had were long enough to push the pins all the way through on all guns... which can also lead to pushing the punches too deep.
Very informative, I was having issues with the disconnector and everything working together but re-watching your video a few times I got it, thanks!!
I took mine apart like this when I first got it and couldn't figure out what went wrong when I put it back together. The slide would lock back randomly, even before chambering a single round. The problem was I put that tiny little spring on the slide lever on backwards. Thanks for making such a detailed breakdown so I could figure out what I did wrong.
Nice. This was helpful. I took it apart and painted the frame… slightly forgot how it goes back together! Thank you!
I have the safety mode the holes for the arm in the back goes on the same way
Witnessed a swapping project of bling between an EZ 9 Performance Center (silver barrel/trigger/grip safety) and an Equalizer (EQ) 9 standard (all black).
The Equalizer is now quite beautiful with the silver Performance Center bling, THANKS TO THIS VIDEO!
Note: The mag releases won't swap due to slightly wider EQ frame.
The EZ PC has a metal mag release button, while the standard Equalizer has a plastic one.
Range reports next week.
Thanks!!!
I’ve got the M&P .380 EZ 2.0. The sear block had a few more springs “SHOOT” across the room when removing the sear block. Guessing they have something to do with the thumb safety. Want to remove the thumb safety, so they may not be needed.
Can’t find a video specific to my model. Recently sent it in to S&W for a bit of help (it suffered trauma (melted plastic) from exposure to heat).
Those guys sent it back untouched. Saying the frame was bent; not sure how they came to that conclusion.
I’ve since been able to get the magazine to seat, and eject. Got the slide to travel freely on the frame. My only obstacle is the sear block. While attempting to remove it sh!t shot all over my garage (slight exaggeration; seemed like a lot). Trying to get that sought out. Once this puzzle is finished it’ll be ready for use.
Won’t carry it most likely. At least not until I put a few hundred rounds through it to confirm reliability.
If someone has a resource to the sear block component stack up I would greatly appreciate it if you would share!!! Thanks!!!
By chance, do you have a 380 EZ Shield 2.0? Your video here shows the 9mm slide block components. My grip safety bar that lifts the firing pin is totally different than the 9mm and I can’t figure out how it goes back in. I can’t find anything else but this video on the Internet. I can’t even find an exploded parts diagram for this.
Got a 9 EZ and a .380 version. Duracoated my EZ-.380 Slide OD Green. That extractor was a PIA. Got another .380 coming next week that will be done in Coyote Tan.
I was appendix carrying this. After seeing that the only thing keeping the hammer from firing is a tiny little piece of metal kind of unnerved me a bit.
Where is the firing pin reassembly? I appreciate the rest of the video 😊
You helped so much brother, I tore mine apart cuz I have the version with the extra safety, n I wanted to take it off n when I took my sear block out that tiny little spring went flying that sits in the side of the firearm, but your video helped me with the orientation of the grip safety bar position n the trigger bar part sorry don't know all the names of the pieces Either way great video n thank you a ton
Very good channel, thanks for the information. You make it seem easy ........ in this model the sight can be adjusted in some way, type of barrel does it bring is accurate?
How can I order the plunger? I seem to have missed mine
My trigger is completely locked after replacing my slide lock spring, any ideas?
Stupid question: Does the 9ez have a disconnector plunger?
Hope someday you will make one of your excellent videos on taking down a Shield Plus.
I found your CZ videos essential when working on my CZ.
If I ever see one I planned on it, should be same as a normal shield I’d assume. Maybe a little different
Bought a trigger upgrade from GallowayPrecision.
Their video for the install, in the worst video I've seen.
This video, Your's is the ABSOLUTE BEST I'VE SEEN, GREAT LIGHTING, GREAT DETAIL. FANTASTIC.
THANK YOU FOR THE TIME & DETAIL YOU PUT INTO CREATING THIS VIDEO.
Now, I can get my trigger job, back together.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Thank you very much for the great video!
Struggling with the safety version as I’m trying to reassembly the seat housing 🙄
I feel your pain, see above. Remove the grip safety first, it will seat easily. Then align the tail of firing pin lifter with its seating groove in the grip safety, and reinstall the grip safety. Easy peasy!
@@topg9555 thanks I got it figured out last year 😂🙏🏾
@@topg9555 THANK YOU!
where i can find pieces of this gun? in lost 2 pieces in maintenance
honestly i love the simplicity of my glocks and sigs for deep cleaning. my HKVP9 is the worst for disassembling.
What is the part called that holds the firing pin, extractor and load indicator? I need to replace mine and don’t know what part to order
I decided I wanted to polish my rails on my new Equalizer. No videos exist of it to this level. So....here we go. HOLY SHIT. I'm not new to M&Ps I own 55 or 6 and most of those have Apex triggers, I do my own work on them. Not new to it. Several Glock trigger installs, Ruger Installs. Binary & AR Installs.....Never had too much issue, Binaries can be tricky...But Wow. Think this one takes the cake. Wish I hadn't decided to take this thing apart lol. Talk about a character building exercise....Mines a thumb safety model as well, just adds more to fit in there, i think I'm just gonna remove it. (EDIT- The Safety can't be removed apparently, the spring tension of the safety selector holds things in place lol) Now I'm ordering a safety spring for a 380EZ as mine shot across the room at some point :) Not for the faint of heart! Highly recommend not taking one of these apart lol. Thanks for the video, it 99% applies to the Equalizer as well FYI.
Question. I'm having extreme difficulty with reassembly. Should the disconnect sit on the very top of the plunger or slip down to the secondary shelf?
Great Vid-!- Came in handy
Do you have a schematic of it broken down or know of a source for it? I can't find one online for the EZ model with the grip safety. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks! Great video .
The inner workings of Sig Sauer pistols make so much more sense to me, and seem much more simply constructed, than any of the S&W and tiny plastic guns. May explain why I own Sig Legions and 1911s. The inner workings of this EZ just seem overly complicated.
My wife got this EZ it’s never worked. My Sigs are easy to fix. This EZ 9 shield is depressing. Never received the return for warranty notice either from the supplier to the retailer.
Thank you.
thanks for this one !!!!
Great video! I am so glad that I finally get to see a video of someone doing a whole breakdown of an EZ you see a ton of them for just the shield. I do have one question. Is there any way to get lube out of the firing pin channel without doing all of this to remove it? Will spraying solvent help? I was told to use solvent and let it soak then spray air through but not much air seems to go through it. Thank you for the video!
I’ve just cleaned all of my Sig Sauer and 1911 firing pin channels and extractor channels (been a few years of build up), and replaced all firing pin springs, and I’d have to say you really need to remove the firing pin and spring. I cleaned them out with q tips and the gunk was substantial. I made sure all moisture was removed and evaporated and then used compressed air. Reassembled
@@marksd5650 I am just not sure I would be able to get that extractor and safety lever back in place. I also do not have gunsmiths tools.
Thank a lot!!
Can u help me
Dude… I love you lol
3:30. 6:00
Just watched the whole video and realised I have a thumb safety. DAG NABBIT
I have this very same model of .380.....the no. 1 thing I've learned from it is how much it makes me realize how great my pt92 9mm is....lol....I think this .380 is a tad bit chinsy with its plastic trigger....and plastic barrel guide rod....and I never am comfortable or confident to carry it with a rou d in the chamber because it has no trigger hammer to inform of whether it's cocked and ready. And though it has a safety switch that is ambidextrous and almost identical to my pt92 safety, it can't decock the hammer like the safety on my pt92.....so I gave the .380 to my wife because she never carries it and so I don't shot my self on accident....my I'm just a moron tho....I've had my pt92 for 11 years ...I had the .380 shield for only a year and a half ....but I guess because I've had the pt92 for so long that I've learned to trust how it operates with full confidence.....and maybe it ruined me because I so far can not trust my .380 shields function enough to trust myself from not having an accident.
I can finally conclude that this gun is a POS. I will no longer be purchasing S&W handguns.
Not a very impressive design in my opinion. Seems foolishly overcomplicated. I hope the Bodyguard 2.0 isn't designed the same. I know the original BG380 was a very different design... so I hope the new Bodyguard is less complicated like the original. The EZ models just seem excessively complex, expensive to manufacture and a pain in the ass to assemble when there are nearly an infinite amount of better ways to to do it. (If I owned a firearms manufacturing company and an engineer came to me with this design, I'd probably fire him).
If u can plz help me I got a snw but I can't figure it out to put it back together it was my forgers last gift I just got wanna loose it plz contact me
Struggling with the safety version as I’m trying to reassembly the seat housing 🙄