Tailwheel Spring attach bolt - Page 2

cguarino · #11 08-22-2011, 11:38 AM

This is how I fixed my RV-4. Might work for you.
http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ight=taper+pin

gear1 · #12 08-24-2011, 11:57 AM

Gil, Lars, Vince, and Charlie,

Thank you all for your suggestions. The taper pin idea seems to be the best of all worlds. I did not know of their existance for this purpose, futher showing that the older one gets, the less one knows! I have ordered the tapered pins and reamer and hope to have the problem fixed next week.
I will follow up with a post on the result!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply. What a great resource we have in Van's Airforce.

gear1 · #13 09-13-2011, 09:22 PM

To everyone who helped with my tailwheel spring fix: We just returned from a long cross country in our RV8 after completing the Taper Pin modification suggested. It does require patience to install so as not to overdo the tapered reamer work, but what a slick fix. I was amazed how much the ground handling improved with the slop removed!

Thank you all!!

With that success, I will be replacing the two AN3 bolts that hold the tailwheel assembly in place with taper pins.

Ain't Van's Airforce great!

PS: if anyone needs the loan of the tapered reamer to do the mod, I would be happy to share.

Greg Arehart · #14 04-24-2015, 06:35 PM

I'm finally getting around to doing this for my tailspring, but am still very much confused about which reamer and bolt to purchase.

Both post #9 and #10 suggest an AN386-2-9A taper pin (from Aircraft spruce). From the ACS website, that part number indicates a 10-32 thread on this pin. Doesn't seem quite right to me to put into what is starting out as a 1/4" hole and will be reamed to be larger. Maybe I'm missing something here but shouldn't this be an AN386-3-9A (presuming the length is correct here) taper pin (1/4-24 thread)?

Then I start looking at the reamers, and again, these don't seem to match up with what the bolts require. The #2 reamer seems possibly too large (i.e., will oversize the hole) for the smaller pin, but will barely even start in a 1/4" hole. And then I've gone looking at a couple other places for a less expensive reamer, and most of the #2 reamers from other vendors (for example MSC) are significantly smaller diameter than the one from ACS.

So, I've been scratching my head (and other parts) periodically trying to figure this out without spending an unnecessary $50+shipping for the wrong reamer/pin combination for this job.

Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks,
Greg