yesterday while shooting my Witness steel, I noticed the slide wasn't locking open after the last shot. when I manually tried to lock it open, unless I held the slide stop lever up, it wouldn't stay open. when I took the pistol apart and cleaned it I noticed the slide stop is made of 2 parts, the outside lever and the pin that goes thru the frame. the pin looks like it was pressed into the lever and it is now loose enough that the slide can roll it enough to cause the slide to close. has any one else had this problem? and where can I get another slide stop without having to deal with EAA's crappy customer service? thanks for any help.

Can you take a photo? So you say you have a two-piece slide stop?

 

http://benstoegerproshop.com/eaa-tanfoglio-witness-slide-stop-pin-18-1/
http://benstoegerproshop.com/eaa-tanfoglio-witness-gold-team-silver-slide-stop-pin-18-1/
https://patriotdefense.com/product/eaa-tanfoglio-witness-slide-stop-pin-18-1/

I never heard of one breaking, but imagine anything is possible. I'm still on the originals in all of mine... Now CZ's seem to have an issue with them breaking though 

thanks for the replies and links. if I could post a picture you wouldn't see anything. where the pin and lever connect is a real tight fit. unnoticeable until I wiggled it. then I could see the pin slightly rotating in the slide stop lever. it might be able to be repaired by silver soldering or even peening but for the time & trouble I will cough up the $44. for a new one. 

  I see they indeed are a two-piece. If it were mine, I would remove the pin and apply JB Weld. Then drive it back in place and call it good.

If you bought it new hit EAA up for a replacement.

I guess I have never experienced EAA's crappy service.....it's always been great for me.

Just call Dawn at 800-536-4442 extension 201 and she'll take care of it.  P/N 301743, large frame, steel.

Tony

Maybe I am dumb, but I don't see how the lever coming loose from the pin would cause the described problem.  The lever has to pivot at the pin.  Whether is pivots ON the pin or WITH the pin, as long as it can pivot up, it should work fine.

I think you need to repair/replace the part either way, I am just uncertain this will resolve the issue.

The slide stop on my Hunter loosened up where the pin is attached to the lever- it has not caused any issue.. I'm with sqlbullet, I don't see it causing the issue described.

you guys might be right! its not the pin slightly rotating thats the problem. upon further examination, I can see the locking lug on the slide stop  where it catches the slide is visibly worn. I can see that where it doesn't contact the slide, it is sharp and square. where it contacts the slide is shiny and the corner is rounded off on both the forward corner (slightly) and the rear corner. (a lot) it looks like the slide has cut into the slide stop. looks like a lot of metal is gone.  the slide itself doesn't show any wear but the slide stop looks like someone took a file to it!  this is bizarre!  I have a 1911 (an old AMT Hardballer) that has just the opposite problem. its slide stop wore the slide's locking notch down and its slide also won't stay open! WTF!! leave it to me to come up with these odd ball problems.

Can you take a photo with a cell phone? Has this been sliding out the left side for a bit? Need more info...

I can take a cell phone photo but I am not able to post pictures here.do you want me to text it to you? the slide stop has not been wanting to come out on its own. everything seems normal except the slide won't lock open.

I agree a picture would be a huge help.

I will try to post up pictures of mine when I get home tonight.

Ok.  I have a photo, and I have replicated your issue.  It is the slide stop, and it is that it is loose from the slide stop pin.  But it is not the rotational looseness that is the issue.

First, the picture



I am gonna go out on a limb here and say mine looks just like yours in the area where it engages the slide stop notch.  It is rounded on the very outside edge, but has a squared off corner just inboard of that.

I am gonna further bet that you think yours has worn down to this rounded outside edge, but that is actually how they are made. And that is not your issue I don't think.  That rounded "button" shape on the end keeps the slide stop in the gun unless you have moved the slide to the take down position when it can pass through a gap in the slide.  It is supposed to ride completely inside the slide.

I think when your slide stop lever came loose from the pin, the pin moved "out" of the hole in the lever a bit.  Maybe as little as 10 or 20 thousands of an inch.  But, this moved that rounded button section over enough that when the slide stop lever engages the slide, it engages it on the rounded part  instead of the square shoulder more on the inside.  I replicated your issue by removing the recoil spring and slide stop retaining spring from my gun.  I could then move the slide stop out just a tiny bit while trying to get it to engage the slide.  I get exactly what you describe...The slide stays back only as long as I put pressure on the slide stop pin.

Solution?  I would put the slide stop lever on a block of 2X4 and then tap the pin with a brass or nylon hammer to full seat the pin back in the lever.  I might even see if I could get it .010" proud on the outside. I would then tack weld it, clean it up with some files and re-finish it in my park tank, but I get that not everyone has that option.  Tapping it back to fully seated my get you by for a bit.  I would also call up EAA and see if they will replace it under warranty.

I sent him a PM with my e-mail to host his picture. Nothing yet.

If the stop slide out to the left some it can create issues! It's best to deepen the "V" groove that goes under the spring on the right side. It fixed up my Hunter doing this!