tailwheel swivel bearing - removing old bush

[Bluebeard]

My tailwheel bush (that is, the vertical swivel) is very worn. However removing it for replacement seems to be easier said than done. Tapping the exposed part at the top (where the detent pin goes) has not helped. Heat has not helped. It could be cut out with a reversed hacksaw blade but I dont want to damage the steel ....

Suggestions welcome!

[rocketbob]

I would stick it in a lathe and turn the flange off the bottom so you can have a surface to press against. Then I'd press out what's left with a press using some sockets that match the ID and OD.

Or you could completely cut the bushing out with a lathe and boring bar.

[Bluebeard]

Ah - but there is a lip at the top of the steel housing so you can't press out the bush. The only way to apply axial down-force to it is at the small cut-out in the lip, where the detent pin goes.

And I dont want to take the assembly off the tail spring, unless totally unavoidable, as it is very very tight. I had it off once before and getting it back so the two bolt holes in the spring lined up was a 'mare!

So no lathe solutions, if possible!

[Richard@Langair]

There is no easy way to remove the brass bushing unless you bore it out.

Whenever I need to replace one, I just bore it until the brass is paper thin and then pick out the rest with a small knife or sharp pick.

The brass is pressed in with a pretty good interference fit, so it will not come out easily at all.

Once you have it out though, the new brass piece still needs to be pressed back in and bored to size. Well that is unless you have another idea of something to use besides brass.

Richard

[Bluebeard]

OK I suppose I will have to detatch the housing from the spring in order to do this, a bit of a pita.

[vfrazier]

We have replacement sockets that use a higher quality, engineered plastic bushing. The plastic bushings that we use have a different flange thickness than the bronze ones, so they aren't an option for you.

Obviously, you'd have to match drill the new socket to the spring, so it's not quite what you're asking for. Most customers are using them to replace crooked mounting sockets (vertical misalignment).

You're gonna have to remove the socket from your tailspring to do any meaningful work. Might as well just do it.

Don't worry about removing that lip at the top of the socket. It's not an important part. Don't change the overall height though, just bore it out.

Get the old bushing out and then install a new one. You can get the bronze ones online or at any decent bearing house.

Assuming that you have the usual (and nearly useless) grease zerk on the back of the housing, you'll have to reinstall it later if you use a bronze bushing. My opinion is that the zerk, which is useless for greasing, is intended as a redundant way to lock the bushing in place.

And finally, I'm betting that most of your wear is at the bottom half of the bushing. Consider just boring out the bottom half and replacing only that part, leaving the top half untouched. You can get a 1/2 height flange bushing much easier than a full height anyway! In other words, you'd likely be looking at a 2 piece bushing anyway, so why bother the top part where the machined groove is located if you don't have to?

Good luck!