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Tail spring installation - U-00018 too tight

iamtheari

Well Known Member
I have now tried and failed twice, so it?s time to ask for help. I am trying to insert the U-00016 tailwheel spring into the U-00018 mount. The process in theory is to clean the inside of the U-00018 with sandpaper, grease the U-00016, and slide it right in nice and easy. My actual experience is that the fit is so tight that I cannot (even with some moderately persuasive help from a rubber mallet) get the spring into the mount. The first part of the spring goes about a half inch into the mount before no more movement is possible.

Suggestions welcome.
 
Back in the day, the suggestion was to wrap some fine grit sandpaper around the offending shaft, sort of like a belt wraps around a pulley. Then saw back and forth on the sandpaper, rotating the shaft periodically with the intent to remove an even amount of material all the way around the shaft.

Obviously, you remove a little material, check fit, lather, rinse, repeat.
 
Clutch or brake cylinder hone for your power drill. Use a bit of kero for lubricant. 👍
 
I had a similar problem. The spring had a slight bend between the two bearing surfaces. Send it back and have another sent out. Do not force it in.
 
Mine was too tight as well, although I had cleaned as much as possible, I had ti use my rivet gun to drive the final 1/2"
 
Do not under any circumstances pound or drive the spring into place. It will quite possibly make removal impossible. Your only option then will be to drill out the aft bulkheads to remove the spring and fuselage weldment.
 
Just to add further to making sure you have nice fit . Is that attaching the bottom fairing to the rudder I had to take the tail Spring off to make routing the wire and fitting the fairing at all possible task when working by myself.z
 
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