MD3614M Rod End Bearing

[jacoby]

I just checked mine and they fit no issues. I followed the instructions. I even have a slight misalignment between the spar and the reinforcement.

Before changing the hole size, measure your rod ends. They are nominally 3/8" (0.375") but mine measure ~0.369-0.370".

[Chris7]

Is the hole definitely too small or is the rod end just difficult to get started? I recall this step and if you search you’ll see some suggestions for tools to make to help get the rod end in because they are tight in the nutplate by design.

[msmst25]

After reading all the advice on here, and not wanting to make any irreversible mistakes, I examined it more closely. Only two of the holes were too tight, and it was due to a slight misalignment of the doubler plate. The other two ended up being fine (I initially didn't want to force them and risk damaging the threads. It wasn't really obvious until I used a lighted magnifying glass. I ultimately ended up using a dremel to grind off the small bit of metal that was in the way. The cleco pliers then worked great for inserting the bearings. Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[Mike S]

Hopefully in all the confusion, you did remember to install the jam nuts.

[Dean Pichon]

Originally Posted by msmst25

After reading all the advice on here, and not wanting to make any irreversible mistakes, I examined it more closely. Only two of the holes were too tight, and it was due to a slight misalignment of the doubler plate. The other two ended up being fine (I initially didn't want to force them and risk damaging the threads. It wasn't really obvious until I used a lighted magnifying glass. I ultimately ended up using a dremel to grind off the small bit of metal that was in the way. The cleco pliers then worked great for inserting the bearings. Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Excellent. The tolerance stack up of the holes make a slight bit of misalignment inevitable. With 2 doublers (if the spar had been built with the S/B mod), the tolerance stack-up is even worse. Using the Dremel tool to "clean up" any misalignment is a good way to resolve this issue. When I had suggested a reamer, I assumed the elevator had not been completed.

Good luck,

[BobTurner]

During my build I almost always put an old, sacrificial bolt a few turns into the nutplate, prior to final drilling the nutplate rivet holes. Easier to fix problems like this if you notice them early.