DIY Gyro Repair?

mosquito · #1 11-16-2015, 10:02 AM

Last night, my vacuum DG began slowly rotating and would not stop. Vacuum suction looks good, my AI is fine. My ship is decidedly NOT ifr. I have a mini EFIS and a compass, and honestly, the DG is really just filling space in the panel. But it does look better than a cover plate. Does anyone know of any DIY maintenance procedures that might bring it back to life for a while? Really just looking for an excuse to open it up, in the name of education and recreation... but if it truly has 'no servicable parts' then I'll dispose of it intact.

Thanks,

-jon

FasGlas · #2 11-16-2015, 10:11 AM

OK... I don't want to hear ANY flaming!!

But I have brought some life back into a few gyros by opening them up and oiling all the pivot points with watch oil. Some worked and some didn't. It depends on why the gyro is failing. If you keep good filters then it's the oil drying up and this might get it back working.

mosquito · #3 11-16-2015, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FasGlas

OK... I don't want to hear ANY flaming!!

But I have brought some life back into a few gyros by opening them up and oiling all the pivot points with watch oil. Some worked and some didn't. It depends on why the gyro is failing. If you keep good filters then it's the oil drying up and this might get it back working.

Thanks so much for the info, that's exactly what I was looking for. Will give it a try!

-jon

mosquito · #4 01-31-2016, 06:25 AM

Just to close the loop on this...

I ordered a 1ml bottle of "Moebius Swiss Made Watch Oil 8000" off of ebay for ten bucks. Pulled the DG and removed the case screws, then removed the tape sealing the case. I put a drop of oil into each axis of the gyro. Were I doing this again, I would try a syringe, as getting oil where it seemed like it was needed was tricky. I also oiled a large gear in the front. Put the case back together and carefully resealed the gaps, using black electrical tape. Reinstalled. After seeing the intricacy of the gyro, I did not expect any of this to work at all. But... when I started the plane, the DG was rock solid and has been for several hours now. So I think it's a happy successful DIY gyro repair!

Sadly I did not get any useful pictures, which is a shame because the insides of a DG are pretty nifty.

-jon