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tonyjohnson

Well Known Member
My wheels wont fit over my axels on my 8A main gear.

The manual says that you may have to reduce the size of the axle by using emery cloth in order to get the brake flange to fit over it. I did have to use emery cloth for that purpose, it took about 2 minutes per axle to make the flanges fit.

The wheels are another story. The wheels will not slide over the axle. More specifically, the axle will not go through the bearings on either side of the wheel. It appears that the axle is just under one mm too large.

I have been working for over an hour on one of the axles with emery cloth to remove enough metal to make it fit through the bearing on the wheel. It is not even close yet.

Did any of you have this problem? Any suggestions on how to do this without spending hours and hours using emery cloth?
 
micrometer

Put a micrometer on it to be sure exactly how much yur dealing with. The threads might be a bit larger than the barrel. Running the nut on and off might reduce the threads a bit.
 
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Claude,

Actually, the threads are smaller than the diameter of the axle. The bearing slips right over the threads but will not go onto the axle. I used a micrometer to determine the .5mm oversize.
 
wow

wow thats a lot. I was hoping it boiled down to a few thousandths. we had a tight fit on the 9 and bought a roll of crocus cloth and using it in long strips loop it around the axle and polish it like the chattanooga shoe shine boy. keep them arms workin. im not sure about this, but I think that plumbers cloth is a bit more coarse than emory. It also comes in rolls. it sounds like maybe you need to step up one level of coarseness if you can, and then polish away. thats how we did it on the 9 :( Also If you blue it, then you can easily see where youve been, and where you havent.
 
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Are you sure it was 0.5mm

Are you sure it was 0.5mm. Did you use a micrometer or a set of calipers. .5mm comes out to .019 inches. A gear leg with an axle that much oversize would have never made it past the quality control inspections.
 
Axle woes

Tony:

I had the same problem with one of my axles when I was building my -8. Being new at building, I at first thought it was something I had done wrong. Then I tried the other axle and the wheel slipped on easy as pie.

In trying to get the first wheel on, it got stuck and getting it off was a problem to the point where I bent the retaining clip in the wheel which I had to replace. I called Van's (this was probably five years ago) and was told that this happens sometimes and that I could use emery cloth to reduce the diameter. I told them I'd rather not since someone went to the trouble of bluing the axle and making it look nice, and quite frankly I think it indicated poor quality control. They sent me a replacement at no charge.

So what you're running into isn't a first and I suspect is not unusual. I had hoped that this issue would have been addressed by now, but apparently not.

You might trying calling Van and requesting a replacement. I suggest you check the other axle first to see if it has the same problem.

Chris
 
good catch

Good catch Richard.

My initial measurement was off, I misinterpreted the scale. I just rechecked it and found that it is only off by a little less than .005
 
all my axles are oversized

Chris,

Thanks for your post. I did try my other main axle and found it to be oversized to about the same degree as the first one. I then tried to fit the nosewheel fork onto the nosewheel strut and found it also to be oversized, but only by a small amount that should be no problem with a little emery cloth work.
 
Is that .005mm? .005 inches would never pass the current quality control either. When did you receive your gear legs? Also, if you are able, there should be two different numbers on the very top-end of the gear leg. (The part that goes into the gear mount socket first) There should be a 4 digit number and either a two digit or three digit number. These numbers are simply engraved in place and may be difficult to read, but they are there. Can you tell me what the second number is? (The two or three digit number)

Thanks,
Richard
 
RV-8A Axels

I did my -8A gear this past weekend. One wheel went on fine, the other was a pain. Repeatedly used emory paper to smooth the axel; finally felt a bit of give and used a rubber mallet to get the wheel on. Took it off and put it on several times.

The initial scare factor was the fact that the problem wheel didn't gradually tighten up - it seemed to hit an obstruction an inch or so beyond the threads. If you listened carefully, that dull roar you heard was my colorful choice of words loudly describing wheels, Vans, construction plans and the initial decision to spend lots of time building an airplane vice, say, finding a cosmological explanation for dark energy or a way to make backpacker's freeze dried beer.

But all ended well - except I carefully stored the U-813C brackets somewhere and don't remember where.
 
Richard,

85357 are the numbers engraved on the top of the gear legs. The numbers are all in one row.

The legs were shipped in 1998.

Does that information mean anything to you?
 
Yeah, the numbers both mean something. The 2 or 3 digit number that is not on your gear legs is a date stamp. Your gear legs were made before that was used though. I was just wondering how long ago the gear were made. The problem you are experiencing has since been remedied.
 
Little_Richard said:
Is that .005mm? .005 inches would never pass the current quality control either. When did you receive your gear legs? Also, if you are able, there should be two different numbers on the very top-end of the gear leg. (The part that goes into the gear mount socket first) There should be a 4 digit number and either a two digit or three digit number. These numbers are simply engraved in place and may be difficult to read, but they are there. Can you tell me what the second number is? (The two or three digit number)

Thanks,
Richard
Click to expand...


I have this problem with one of my gear legs as well. The other one was fine. The two digit number on top of the bad gear is 84. I just received my finish kit about a year ago. Wheel goes on about 1/4" past the threads and stops.
 
your gear legs were right in the middle.

Your gear legs were right in the middle of when it would have been caught and corrected before they were shipped out. You should be able to fairly easily fix it with some 150-200 grit emery cloth. It is a little bit of a pain, but it is not too bad. Use a little bit of oil (WD-40 or other light oil) with the emery cloth and it will help leave a nice finish and make it go a little faster. Hope that helps.
 
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