Inspect your brake reservoir

[dhall_polo]

In current annual, my brake reservoir was found to be 'dangling' from the firewall. My A&P thinks it was just poor quality welding on the part that failed over time. Sorry no pics yet.

We're going to weld/repair and reinstall the reservoir. Since we all use about the same parts, chances are good there will be others in the same shape.

[Lars]

If you have access to a TIG, or know someone who does, you can fix it easily with a piece of aluminum angle from your scrap bin. I don't remember what size I used for this, but it was something from the supply of materials I received with my kit.

[niblettda]

For those without a welder, I built a strap to go around the body that bolts onto the firewall and fabricated a back brace. I took a small square of aluminum, scalloped two opposing corners then bent them up 90 degrees.

Sandwich that behind the body and it will support the reservoir. I also made it so that the horizontal "tabs" were big enough to have holes in them to go between the strap and firewall.

Of course I haven't installed this yet because I'm considering going with reservoir attached to the cylinder inside the cabin.

[roee]

Don,

The weld failure you're describing could be the result of a poor quality weld. But even with good welds, the design of the mounting tabs on Van's reservoir pretty much invites that type of failure. Out of the box it looked to me like it would fail pretty easily at the tab welds under normal stress / vibe. Which is one of the reasons I threw away the reservoir from Van's (there were several aspects of its design that I didn't like) and used a different one from Grove.

http://www.kalinskyconsulting.com/rv...ereservoir.htm

The modification Lars made to Van's reservoir also looks like it solves the mounting problem. Much more robust than those flimsy tabs from Van's.

-Roee

[ArVeeNiner]

Originally Posted by dhall_polo

In current annual, my brake reservoir was found to be 'dangling' from the firewall. My A&P thinks it was just poor quality welding on the part that failed over time. Sorry no pics yet.

We're going to weld/repair and reinstall the reservoir. Since we all use about the same parts, chances are good there will be others in the same shape.

I just completed my annual and found mine dangling as well. The plane has a bit over 300 hours. I?m going with another one from Vans.

[cajunwings]

The mounting tabs may get loaded when bolting the reservoir to the firewall. If so the weld may fail. Washers between the tabs and firewall can alleviate this.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer

[F1R]

Adel clamps or WDG clamps might be a viable solution.