annual condition inspection

[Bill Anton]

Every year when I do the annual I dread it when I come to checking the torque on the gear leg nuts. Please, I'm begging anyone who can give me a hint to make it easier.

[LifeofReiley]

It will help to know what plane you're working on.

[KirkGrovesRV8]

It's a 8 and it's a pain best I have found is a ground down box wrench wedged on the nut in the gear tower, Not elegant buy it works

[LifeofReiley]

From my experience, torque twice and leave it , mark the nut and be done. To many folks over torque bolts it's a bad habit!

[Bill Anton]

Right it's an 8. I was upside down too long yesterday. Jamming a modified wrench in the gear box sounds good. You are then torqueing from the bottom on the bolt head, right? Do you use a higher torque reading taking into account the resistance of the bolt?

[Bubblehead]

Here's a couple of pictures of how I do it.





I pull the front seat back out so I can stretch out, and clamp a little light on the gear tower lightening hole to shine in about the right spot but it is mostly done by feel.

Take a cheap socket and grind the heck out of one side of it. You also need to shorten it in a band saw on the nut end. Get some 3/8" bar stock and grind off the edges so they will fit into the socket OR us a short 3/8" extension. i like the bar stock better. I kept the bar stock so it is a little bit of a press fit into the open end wrench.

Reach in find the nut, put the socket over the nut with the ground away portion so that the other screws in the area are cleared. The top picture shows that pretty well. Insert the bar stock/wrench and tell your buddy to torque it. Then go on to the others.

It takes about 15 minutes.

[Kevin Horton]

Originally Posted by Bill Anton

Right it's an 8. I was upside down too long yesterday. Jamming a modified wrench in the gear box sounds good. You are then torqueing from the bottom on the bolt head, right? Do you use a higher torque reading taking into account the resistance of the bolt?

I put my bolts in with the nuts on the bottom. That way I can put a socket on the bolt head, and torque the nut on the bottom.

My upper gear leg fairings are probably a bit different shape than some others, to make room for the nuts. But they look OK as far as I am concerned.

[Bavafa]

My question is why do you need to re-torque every year?