Does the colered end of the recoil spring go towards the muzzle or back towards the chamber?

I promise I will learn this stuff and stop asking questions.

At the rear of the gun towards the chamber. Never hurts to ask.

Except when the wrong end of the spring gets painted. The tight end of the spring goes on the guide rod first, even if the paint is on the loose end. It happens.

quote:

Originally posted by GaryBF:
Except when the wrong end of the spring gets painted.

Yes: The mnemonic is “tight is right.”

I just bought a p228 9mm parts kit (Yes, it was a factory kit) and when I opened the package the recoil spring had NO colored marking at one end...on top of that, inserting the guide rod from either direction was exactly the same - no 'tight' end.

I guess it really didn't matter - the gun worked fine after reassembly.

quote:

Originally posted by flwing:
I just bought a p228 9mm parts kit (Yes, it was a factory kit) and when I opened the package the recoil spring had NO colored marking at one end...on top of that, inserting the guide rod from either direction was exactly the same - no 'tight' end.

I guess it really didn't matter - the gun worked fine after reassembly.

No, if there’s no tight end—and sometimes there isn’t—then it doesn’t matter.

It may help to understand the whys of all this:

First, SIG does not recommend removing the recoil spring from the guide for routine maintenance. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with doing that, only that it’s not required. For some users then, having a spring that’s sort of captive on the rod is a good thing because it doesn’t just fall off when the gun is field stripped.

And if there’s going to be a tight end that keeps the spring on the guide, then it needs to be at the back of the rod by the flange. Why? Because if it were at the front, that extra friction caused by its being tight there would interfere with free movement of the slide. It would hinder movement to the rear, and the spring might not push the slide all the way forward. If the tight end is at the rear of the guide, it doesn’t slide back and forth on the guide rod; it just stays in one place.