I was working on a co-workers older first gen p229 .40 pistol the other day. He purchased a new 229-40.357 parts kit, it came with the light blue painted recoil spring. I tried putting it on his factory guide rod, but it was so tight, it hardly even slipped on. After trying to hand cyclce it was definitely binding. Does anyone know if this is the correct spring, or is there an updated guide rod that we need to get? Any information is appreciated.

Did you insert the rod into the tighter end of the spring?

SIG recoil springs in Classic line pistols like the P229 are usually tight on the rods. If, however, the spring actually binds on the rod regardless of which end the rod is inserted, then that is probably not right.

But the ultimate question is how the gun functions when fired. If there are no slow slide speed malfunctions, then I wouldn’t worry about it.

I had the same issue with CPO 229. Gun ran fine, but when it came time to replace the spring, I just went with a Wolff spring and it works just as well.

Keep in mind that the diameter of the spring will increase under compression, so when the gun fires and the slide recoils there is no binding.

I tried the spring both ways, going to reinstall and test fire tomorrow. Ill see how it goes at range, but with hand cycling it doesn't seem right.

Put some lubricant on the guide rod.

When changing the spring on the rod, turn the spring Clockwise and hold the guide rod still. That will make the spring loose on the rod. If you turn it backwards it makes the spring tighter. You can turn it the other way only a little and it gets too tigt to turn. Yes, a little ATF or light oil helps and is required when shooting.