One way to keep your brakes from failing...

...check periodically that the lower cowl isn't vibrating a hole through the brake line. Text below duplicated from front page of VAF site 12.3.08.

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Well, the problem wasn't at the wheel. Yesterday I took the right wheel pant and brake shoes off. The puc was still 'in' and there was plenty of brake pad material left. OK....let's take off the cowl. Problem found. The bottom cowl had rubbed a hole into the brake line. Sometime during the last year the protective rubber cover at that area slid down a bit and the vibration of the running engine did it's work on the line. So, it's time to install about 3' of new brake line and wallow out the hole at the bottom of the cowl another inch or so. Lesson learned....and grateful the right brake went mushy at my home field right as I was turning off the active.
While I have the pants off I'm going to go ahead and change the pads. I have a replacement set on the shelf and I go through brakes quicker than some (with some braking I can make the Bravo turnoff at 52F, which is right in front of the hangar where Flash lives).
Anywho...problemo identified and the fix is underway. Life is good.

Pictures of the leak HERE.

must be the season of the witch

7A and 9A owners:
My right hand brake line came in contact with the forward edge of the center cabin cover (F-982) opening. It took 121 hours for the cover to saw through the aluminum tube.
The AN union, nuts, sleeves and a qt of 5606 are due tomorrow from ACS.

Another item on the inspection checklist,
Steve

Brake line

My 6A brake line was sawn into where the loop at the wheel came into contact with the fiberglass on the pant-to-gearleg fairing.Vibration causes all sorts of havoc in aircraft.

Brake Line

My 6A brake line had a hole rubbed thru by the upper gear leg fairing. My peddal went to the floor on start up after a refueling stop back from Lakeland on a Sunday. Glad "Barefoot Billy" was with me to help out with the temp. repair to get home.

Common failure, huh?

Got the new line run today and new brake pads on. Will bleed system tomorrow and do a test taxi with the fairings off...all goes well I'll button 'er up and go flying.

It took nearly 1,000 hours for this hole to crop up, so I guess I'm lucky .

b,
d

Yep....

Many builders leave much more meat on the cowling in that location than necessary. You can cut it out further, you get better cowl clearance over the gear leg making it easier to get the bottom cowling off too.
Great post and i will be looking for chafing there and within the wheel pant soon.

We just replaced the gear leg and upper fairings on "Mikey", the RV-6 this week, and I was reminded again at just how much of the cowl and the gear leg the upper fairings can cover. There is definitely no reason not to trim out a bigger hole - I am going to look again and make sure that we have enough clearance there as well!

Paul

DOUG, where did you get the dies for your squeezer to do the brake pads??

gasman said:

DOUG, where did you get the dies for your squeezer to do the brake pads??

Click to expand...

I got mine from Avery - one of life's little pleasures - even though I only use them every year and a half for six squeezes, they sure make nice rivets!

Paul

Ironflight said:

I got mine from Avery - one of life's little pleasures - even though I only use them every year and a half for six squeezes, they sure make nice rivets!

Paul

Click to expand...

Thanks Paul, AVERY part number 4625 $17.00 in my "05" catalog.....

Lots of chafing opportunities...

I had a gear fairing thinking about chewing through the brake line at its bottom end. Caught it after only a few thou of material was abraded away.