diff --git a/activerecord/lib/active_record/associations/has_one_through_association.rb b/activerecord/lib/active_record/associations/has_one_through_association.rb
index b78bd5d9311cd..8073ebaf9f699 100644
--- a/activerecord/lib/active_record/associations/has_one_through_association.rb
+++ b/activerecord/lib/active_record/associations/has_one_through_association.rb
@@ -8,11 +8,10 @@ def create_through_record(new_value) #nodoc:
         current_object = @owner.send(@reflection.through_reflection.name)
         
         if current_object
-          klass.destroy(current_object)
-          @owner.clear_association_cache
+          current_object.update_attributes(construct_join_attributes(new_value))
+        else
+          @owner.send(@reflection.through_reflection.name,  klass.send(:create, construct_join_attributes(new_value)))
         end
-        
-        @owner.send(@reflection.through_reflection.name,  klass.send(:create, construct_join_attributes(new_value)))
       end
       
     private
diff --git a/activerecord/test/cases/associations/has_one_through_associations_test.rb b/activerecord/test/cases/associations/has_one_through_associations_test.rb
index ff4021fe027d3..7d418de96515c 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/cases/associations/has_one_through_associations_test.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/cases/associations/has_one_through_associations_test.rb
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
 require 'models/member'
 require 'models/membership'
 require 'models/sponsor'
+require 'models/organization'
+require 'models/member_detail'
 
 class HasOneThroughAssociationsTest < ActiveRecord::TestCase
-  fixtures :members, :clubs, :memberships, :sponsors
+  fixtures :members, :clubs, :memberships, :sponsors, :organizations
   
   def setup
     @member = members(:groucho)
@@ -120,4 +122,40 @@ def test_has_one_through_proxy_should_respond_to_private_methods_via_send
     clubs(:moustache_club).send(:private_method)
     @member.club.send(:private_method)
   end
+
+  def test_assigning_to_has_one_through_preserves_decorated_join_record
+    @organization = organizations(:nsa)
+    assert_difference 'MemberDetail.count', 1 do
+      @member_detail = MemberDetail.new(:extra_data => 'Extra')
+      @member.member_detail = @member_detail
+      @member.organization = @organization
+    end
+    assert_equal @organization, @member.organization
+    assert @organization.members.include?(@member)
+    assert_equal 'Extra', @member.member_detail.extra_data
+  end
+
+  def test_reassigning_has_one_through
+    @organization = organizations(:nsa)
+    @new_organization = organizations(:discordians)
+
+    assert_difference 'MemberDetail.count', 1 do
+      @member_detail = MemberDetail.new(:extra_data => 'Extra')
+      @member.member_detail = @member_detail
+      @member.organization = @organization
+    end
+    assert_equal @organization, @member.organization
+    assert_equal 'Extra', @member.member_detail.extra_data
+    assert @organization.members.include?(@member)
+    assert !@new_organization.members.include?(@member)
+
+    assert_no_difference 'MemberDetail.count' do
+      @member.organization = @new_organization
+    end
+    assert_equal @new_organization, @member.organization
+    assert_equal 'Extra', @member.member_detail.extra_data
+    assert !@organization.members.include?(@member)
+    assert @new_organization.members.include?(@member)
+  end
+
 end
diff --git a/activerecord/test/fixtures/organizations.yml b/activerecord/test/fixtures/organizations.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..25295bff87738
--- /dev/null
+++ b/activerecord/test/fixtures/organizations.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+nsa:
+  name: No Such Agency
+discordians:
+  name: Discordians
+
diff --git a/activerecord/test/models/member.rb b/activerecord/test/models/member.rb
index 688725f200754..77a37abb387f3 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/models/member.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/models/member.rb
@@ -6,4 +6,6 @@ class Member < ActiveRecord::Base
   has_one :favourite_club, :through => :memberships, :conditions => ["memberships.favourite = ?", true], :source => :club
   has_one :sponsor, :as => :sponsorable
   has_one :sponsor_club, :through => :sponsor
+  has_one :member_detail
+  has_one :organization, :through => :member_detail
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/activerecord/test/models/member_detail.rb b/activerecord/test/models/member_detail.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e7314545568e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/activerecord/test/models/member_detail.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+class MemberDetail < ActiveRecord::Base
+  belongs_to :member
+  belongs_to :organization
+end
diff --git a/activerecord/test/models/organization.rb b/activerecord/test/models/organization.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..d79d5037c8053
--- /dev/null
+++ b/activerecord/test/models/organization.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+class Organization < ActiveRecord::Base
+  has_many :member_details
+  has_many :members, :through => :member_details
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/activerecord/test/schema/schema.rb b/activerecord/test/schema/schema.rb
index ab5c7c520b9f8..6217e3bc1c69b 100644
--- a/activerecord/test/schema/schema.rb
+++ b/activerecord/test/schema/schema.rb
@@ -197,6 +197,12 @@ def create_table(*args, &block)
     t.string :name
   end
 
+  create_table :member_details, :force => true do |t|
+    t.integer :member_id
+    t.integer :organization_id
+    t.string :extra_data
+  end
+
   create_table :memberships, :force => true do |t|
     t.datetime :joined_on
     t.integer :club_id, :member_id
@@ -249,6 +255,10 @@ def create_table(*args, &block)
     t.integer :shipping_customer_id
   end
 
+  create_table :organizations, :force => true do |t|
+    t.string :name
+  end
+
   create_table :owners, :primary_key => :owner_id ,:force => true do |t|
     t.string :name
   end