PCU5000 and Van's VA-183 mounting bracket problems

Pmerems · #1 10-03-2008, 06:59 PM

Fellow builders,

I need your help.

I received my FWF kit a few weeks ago and decided to return the MT governor and purchased a PCU5000 governor instead. I read the posts and talked with the PCU folks and Van's and it appeared the VA-153-PC bracket should work. In fact there are several postings saying the it dropped in without any modifications.

Well that is not the case with the VA-153-PC bracket and the PCU5000 in my case. See photos attached.

Many of the posts I reviewed had the old style governor bracket. This bracket mounted to the base flange of the governor. The current bracket mounts from the rear of the governor. I was told by Van's that this is the only bracket available and the reason they changed the design was to give more access for the oil lines.

Here are my issues:

1. The holes don't line up and need to be slotted to match up.

2. The inner radius of the bracket doesn't fit and would need to be enlarged or a spacer needs to be placed between the bracket and flange (see photos).

3. With the thickness of the bracket and spacer one of the screws hits the stop bolt. This interference occurs with the stop ring in the proper position with respect to the control cable travel. Possible fix: remove spacer, grind down radius to fit PCU. This would only eliminate 0.063" of the height issue. but would leave very little edge distance for the mounting holes to the radius.

4. I can not get the AN3-11A bolt into the control arm due to it interferes with the flange on the PCU. This may not be a unique problem for the PCU (Any MT owners with this issue). Bolt shown is a AN3-10A with a temporary nut install. Possible fix: grind down one side of the head of bolt to clear the flange.

Any help would greatly be appreciated.

flyingbeaver26 · #2 01-13-2009, 10:13 PM

Paul,
I found the same issues you did. I figured my bracket must be from a bad batch from Van's or something. I was about to write them an e-mail tonight describing the issues when I stumbled across this post. Everybody that participated in the PCU-5000 group buy will be experiencing this same issue sooner or later. I believe there where more than 50 of us. I finally got mine in the mail today. Since I see your post was a couple months ago, have you come up with any better solutions? Otherwise I'm going to get out the set of files and get to work.

-Brad Vier
RV-8
FWF

flyvans.com · #3 01-14-2009, 03:29 AM

had the same issues...
at least the bracket is a good start. but could just as well be perfect from the start... wouldn't cost that much more...
unfortunately, you will encounter more of that...
my experience so far has been everything firewall forward had to be somewhat tweaked, filed, etc... to fit. even the new style baffling kit is still a pain.
and the latest example is the filtered airbox fiberglass snorkel that needs quite a bit of adaptation to the oil line going from the crankcase to the cylinder head.

bernie

Bob Martin · #4 01-14-2009, 07:46 AM

I just experianced this on my RV-6.
Paul created some of his problems by first adding a spacer under the bracket.

This is what I did.
First, file the radius to fit, mine just needed a little tweaking at each end, this helps the holes aline better.
Second, use a small round file, like a chain saw file to elongate the screw holes. It doesn't take too much, but it does elongate the holes some.
I installed thin washers(3)under the screw and original lock washer to cover
the elongated holes....looks very professional.
Third, I reversed the direction of the bolt and adjusted washer locations accordingly.
Everything adjusted up just fine, although I haven't run it up yet or flown it.
Good Luck

Rick_A · #5 01-14-2009, 07:50 AM

The VA-183-PC bracket the Vans use to sell works very well. Maybe Vans could tell you who they used as a supplier for the VA-183 bracket.

#6 01-14-2009, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pmerems

4. I can not get the AN3-11A bolt into the control arm due to it interferes with the flange on the PCU. This may not be a unique problem for the PCU (Any MT owners with this issue). Bolt shown is a AN3-10A with a temporary nut install. Possible fix: grind down one side of the head of bolt to clear the flange.

Same problem with the MT governor. Just reverse the direction of the bolt and move the washers accordingly.

#N72CR · #7 01-17-2009, 02:26 PM

I got mine yesterday. Thanks for the heads up.

N130WN · #8 01-18-2009, 07:10 PM

Does the PCU5000 from the group buy come with the gasket? I guess mine should be arriving this week.....

Dan Langhout · #9 01-18-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N130WN

Does the PCU5000 from the group buy come with the gasket? I guess mine should be arriving this week.....

Got mine this past Monday - the gasket was in the box.

Kevin Horton · #10 01-20-2009, 04:12 PM

I ran into the same problem as everyone else with the lack of clearance when using the VA-183 mounting bracket.

I was in a rush, so I did not change the radius on the bracket where it mounts to the governor. So, I had to use a spacer between the governor and the bracket. Of course I also had to slot the two end holes in the bracket, as discussed above.

My first attempt at fitting the rod end was to put the rod end on the aft side of the governor control arm - i.e. it was on the face furtherest away from the governor body. That solved the clearance problem, but it put the rod end at quite an angle to the ideal axis. I decided that I needed to find a way to put the rod end on the forward side of the control arm, so it would be closer to the governor body.

Today, I bit the bullet and removed the governor control arm, so that I could insert the bolt, then put the control arm back on. The control arm hole is splined, and you need to be careful to put it back on with the same orientation as you took it off. I planned to mark both the arm and the shaft, but I discovered that there were already alignment marks on both of them.

Figure out how far the rod end needs to be threaded on the governor cable end. In my case, I threaded the rod end almost all the way in.
Ensure there are alignment marks on the control arm and the shaft, to help you reassemble them with the same orientation.
Bend the locking tabs that secure the bolt in the control arm.
Remove the bolt in the control arm.
Slide the control arm along the shaft a little ways.
Grab the end of the spring that pushes on the control arm, and disconnect it from the control arm.
Remove the control arm.
Insert the bolt through the rod end and the control arm. You should have a large capture washer next to the bolt head, then one of those tiny little rod end clearance washers. There should be another tiny rod end clearance washer between the rod end and the control arm.
Put the control arm back on the shaft, but don't slide it all the way one yet.
Put the spring back on the control arm. I used a loop of safety wire to pull on the end of the spring.
Slide the control arm back in place, and check your alignment marks to confirm you have it properly lined up on the shaft.
Insert and torque the bolt on the control arm. It has a small head, but is actually a 3/16" bolt, so 25 in-lb is a good torque value.
Bend the tabs to lock the bolt in place.