Old Taurus Model 66 Timing Issue

[texaswoodworker]

I have an older Taurus Model 66 (back from when they had 6 chambers and nickel plated their guns) that has started showing some strange timing issues.

The lock up is generally pretty darn good. There's very little wobble, and it indexes correctly. It's almost as good as new. What's happening though is that one of the chambers will occasionally index wrong. Instead of placing the chamber perfectly in line with the barrel, it will place the rib between chambers in line with the barrel instead. Luckily, the hammer could not hit the primer when it's in that position, otherwise I might be wondering why my revolver is in pieces. It's always the same chamber that does this (marked #4). It does it almost every time when firing double action (especially quickly), but does it less if you manually cock the hammer.

What could be causing this issue?

Taurus had an unlimited lifetime warranty and any repairs should be free. I know you cannot just mail a handgun to anyone you please through USPS, but their website says that Federal Law allows you to send it through any common carrier (like USPS) as long as it's going to the manufacturer. So if I'm reading that right, I could just pack it in a $12 MFRB and send it on it's merry way to Miami couldn't I? That's a lot better than paying $80 to overnight it through Fedex or UPS.

[Geezer in NH]

Trade it off. Taurus repairs are Meh at best and you will love the time it takes to come back worse than you sent it. I am a retired dealer who Taurus became verboten in my shop due to their customer service. The only thing I can say about them is they are inexpensive.

But so are High Points but High points usually work reliably and they will stand by their products ASAP. They are just heavy but good buys.

[Ragnarok]

Sounds like either a carry-over problem or the hand not rotating the cylinder enough...

Carry-over is where the cylinder rotates too far because the cylinder-bolt isn't catching the notch in the cylinder....could be as simple as some crud in the cylinder notch..or could be caused by a worn cylinder-bolt or other internal issues. The square notches can get worn too

The cylinder not rotating enough could be caused by a bad cylinder hand(part that rotates the cylinder) or by a damaged notch on the back of the cylinder.

I would take the thing apart and clean the internals good and inspect for wear on the hand and cylinder-bolt...also the bolt's spring. Might just get lucky and 'fix' the revolver with a clean/lube.

Depending on how old it is..Taurus has changed the lock-work inside these revolvers...so parts may be an issue...also not so sure the older Taurus revolvers are covered by the lifetime warranty.


I bought a couple of the imported surplus Model 82 revolvers that Century has brought in over the last few years. Both mod 82 revolvers however the newest looking one is pretty much identical with what Taurus makes/sells now...the older mod.82 is a completely different gun.

The older Mod.82 had some issues with carry-over...caused by use and abuse..dirt and wear...The cylinder bolt needed some working over and a new spring..plus a good general internal cleaning fixed it. I liked the older version so much I sold the newer M82 to a friend

[flemc1]

I had the same revolver you do , I sent it to Taurus on the 23rd day of Feb. and called on the 23 of march and they said my 66 was replaced ed and I got it that same day , NIB mdl 66 SS 4" . No questions asked .

Chris

[texaswoodworker]

I had the same revolver you do , I sent it to Taurus on the 23rd day of Feb. and called on the 23 of march and they said my 66 was replaced ed and I got it that same day , NIB mdl 66 SS 4" . No questions asked .

Chris
What was the reason for replacing it? Lack of parts?

I'm pretty sure that my gun is under warranty. IIRC, the warranty covers all post 1984 guns and TaurusUSA in Miami opened in 1982. The chances my gun was made in that 2 year gap are low.

[texaswoodworker]

Trade it off. Taurus repairs are Meh at best and you will love the time it takes to come back worse than you sent it. I am a retired dealer who Taurus became verboten in my shop due to their customer service. The only thing I can say about them is they are inexpensive.

But so are High Points but High points usually work reliably and they will stand by their products ASAP. They are just heavy but good buys.
My experience with both Taurus and Rossi is that they do stand by their products. The CEO has recently put their CS department into overdrive and has really improved everything.

[texaswoodworker]

Sounds like either a carry-over problem or the hand not rotating the cylinder enough...

Carry-over is where the cylinder rotates too far because the cylinder-bolt isn't catching the notch in the cylinder....could be as simple as some crud in the cylinder notch..or could be caused by a worn cylinder-bolt or other internal issues. The square notches can get worn too

The cylinder not rotating enough could be caused by a bad cylinder hand(part that rotates the cylinder) or by a damaged notch on the back of the cylinder.

I would take the thing apart and clean the internals good and inspect for wear on the hand and cylinder-bolt...also the bolt's spring. Might just get lucky and 'fix' the revolver with a clean/lube.

Depending on how old it is..Taurus has changed the lock-work inside these revolvers...so parts may be an issue...also not so sure the older Taurus revolvers are covered by the lifetime warranty.


I bought a couple of the imported surplus Model 82 revolvers that Century has brought in over the last few years. Both mod 82 revolvers however the newest looking one is pretty much identical with what Taurus makes/sells now...the older mod.82 is a completely different gun.

The older Mod.82 had some issues with carry-over...caused by use and abuse..dirt and wear...The cylinder bolt needed some working over and a new spring..plus a good general internal cleaning fixed it. I liked the older version so much I sold the newer M82 to a friend
Its probably wear in my case. Taurus claims that if they cannot fix a gun, they will replace it. I'm guessing that's what's going to end up happening unless they still have a lot of parts from their old 66s.

[dubber123]

My experience with both Taurus and Rossi is that they do stand by their products. The CEO has recently put their CS department into overdrive and has really improved everything.

That would be great if true. Unfortunately my previous experience matches Geezers exactly. Fwiw, a friend has a nickle 4" 65(?), that does exactly the same thing yours is doing.

[texaswoodworker]

That would be great if true. Unfortunately my previous experience matches Geezers exactly. Fwiw, a friend has a nickle 4" 65(?), that does exactly the same thing yours is doing.
How recent?

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/10/daniel-zimmerman/taurus-puts-its-money-where-its-mouth-is/

[NC_JEFF]

Tex, I'm here to help.......I'm interested if you decide to just get rid of it.
I'd rather it be a six inch brl but what's two inches amongst friends.
I actually used a Taurus 66 in some local competitions years ago, it was the only six inch revolver I had at the time. Some well fitted cast bullets, a light load of WW231 and I was very pleased with its accuracy. It won couple times, always finished near the top. The gun was stolen from me in '08. I miss it. It came factory with target sights and trigger and was my favorite for shooting 38 special loads. Good luck with yours.

[flemc1]

Mine was a 1988 mdl , they just said it wasnt worth fixing , so they replaced it .

[texaswoodworker]

Tex, I'm here to help.......I'm interested if you decide to just get rid of it.
I'd rather it be a six inch brl but what's two inches amongst friends.
I actually used a Taurus 66 in some local competitions years ago, it was the only six inch revolver I had at the time. Some well fitted cast bullets, a light load of WW231 and I was very pleased with its accuracy. It won couple times, always finished near the top. The gun was stolen from me in '08. I miss it. It came factory with target sights and trigger and was my favorite for shooting 38 special loads. Good luck with yours.
Its a 6".

If Taurus can't fix it and won't replace it, I'll shoot you a pm and see if we can't work out a deal. ;)

[dubber123]

How recent?

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/10/daniel-zimmerman/taurus-puts-its-money-where-its-mouth-is/

My friends particular gun is at least 5 years old. My personal experiences are more recent. Good luck with yours.

[Petrol & Powder]

Without seeing the gun, my first guess is the cylinder bolt is not reliably engaging that particular notch in the cylinder. If the hand is rotating the cylinder through the other 5 chambers then it would seem that the problem is not with the hand. There could be an issue with ratchet on the extractor but it seems that it would occur in more than one cylinder position.
I agree that Taurus will probably fix or replace the gun but I would examine the cylinder notch related to the offending chamber. It could be something as simple as some crud in the notch or a slightly peened edge on that notch that allows the cylinder bolt to skip over the notch without "catching it".
A key piece of missing information is whether the cylinder is rotating past the next chamber or not rotating enough to reach the next chamber ?