toolmanmike

toolmanmike

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OK, I’ve got the engine mount bolted on and I’m ready to insert the main landing gear. These are the round main gear, which should slide right into the engine mount sockets. However, I’m having a difficult time getting them inserted. I thought maybe I would cool the gear and some ice, but that didn’t work. I have greased the sockets and that didn’t work. Is there some simple technique that I am missing? Sorry, but I don’t have a picture handy and I’m traveling. Anyone done this recently that can give me a pointer? As far as I see, there’s no way to tap them in because the bottom of the gear leg is bent, and it will put as side loads on the engine mount.
 
toolmanmike said:
OK, I’ve got the engine mount bolted on and I’m ready to insert the main landing gear. These are the round main gear, which should slide right into the engine mount sockets. However, I’m having a difficult time getting them inserted. I thought maybe I would cool the gear and some ice, but that didn’t work. I have greased the sockets and that didn’t work. Is there some simple technique that I am missing? Sorry, but I don’t have a picture handy and I’m traveling. Anyone done this recently that can give me a pointer? As far as I see, there’s no way to tap them in because the bottom of the gear leg is bent, and it will put as side loads on the engine mount.
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This happened with me at install. Make sure that the powder coating at the top of the leg is not the interference. I had to remove about 3/8" down all around the top of my leg so it would slide into the socket.
 

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+1 to the powder coat interference. Even once that was cleaned up mine were super tight. I slathered them up with marine axle grease and once I got them started I stuck a wooden dowel into the axle end so I could get a little leverage to rotate them back and forth a bit as I heaved upward.
 
The fit will be very tight, but before you make the effort it is worth checking the bolt tolerance to make sure you will be able to put the bolt through the gear and cuff. We had to have someone with a wider variety of machining tools than we had open the bolt hole in the gear ever so slightly because no amount of grease/freezing was going to allow us to insert the bolt.
 
Yep. Remove any coatings. Polish the surface to remove any surface rust. I also cleaned up the sockets.
If memory serves, the bolt holes are a special size reamer. Seems like .311"? I know I had to buy one.
 
Back in the day, it was recommended that you use strips of fine sandpaper to clean up the gear legs. Take a strip of 600 grit sandpaper and loop it around the end of the gear leg in a "U" shape, then use a back and forth sawing motion to clean up the gear leg. Repeat in multiple positions so you're keeping the gear leg round.
 
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