[Billvt]

The tail wheel assembly on the RV-4 I am working on, does not have a grease fitting (Zerk) as I have seen on other RV's.

Is that something that I can add?

I suppose I could leave it without the zerk then disassemble and grease it during condition inspection.

 

[JonJay]

The zerk fitting does absolutely no good. There is no channel cut into the bushing to allow grease to flow down the post, so you just end up squeezing grease out the top and none get's down to where it is needed.
I take mine apart every 25 hours and service it.

 

[vfrazier]

The grease zerk on the tailwheel housing is a bushing retainer. It is useless for greasing.

Even if it were to grease the shaft, it is impossible for grease to reach the locking mechanism.

To properly maintain your tailwheel, you should disassemble it, clean it, and grease it. Once a year is enough for most RVers.

We have a tech sheet available, free for the asking. It may be useful to the tailwheel flyers out there. Simply send an email to [email protected] to receive a copy. No strings attached.

 

[JonJay]

The grease zerk on the tailwheel housing is a bushing retainer. It is useless for greasing.

Even if it were to grease the shaft, it is impossible for grease to reach the locking mechanism.

To properly maintain your tailwheel, you should disassemble it, clean it, and grease it. Once a year is enough for most RVers.

We have a tech sheet available, free for the asking. It may be useful to the tailwheel flyers out there. Simply send an email to [email protected] to receive a copy. No strings attached.

Vince, how tight do you recommend the axle bolt to be? My old vans wheel I left a little play. On your wheel (deluxe model) I need to compress the fork (Bell) down a bit and put some pressure on the bearings (spacers) or it wobbles. I have torqued mine just to the point that the wobble disappears. Is this correct?

 

[Skysailor]

Bell tailwheel spacers

Depending on the year the tailwheel was made, Bell offers different spacers. He told me Vans switched tailwheels in 2010 and the width is different. They have both spacer sizes. You may want to make sure you have the correct spacer size.

 

[JonJay]

Depending on the year the tailwheel was made, Bell offers different spacers. He told me Vans switched tailwheels in 2010 and the width is different. They have both spacer sizes. You may want to make sure you have the correct spacer size.

Yep, I do. There is not even enough room for a thin washer, it still takes some tightening up to keep the bearings from wobbling. I'll call Vince.

 

[JonJay]

Yep, I do. There is not even enough room for a thin washer, it still takes some tightening up to keep the bearings from wobbling. I'll call Vince.

Per Vince, there should be a little wobble regardless of how tight you make the axle bolt. The bearing spacers should touch in the middle preventing any side load on the bearing. Mine may not be touching as designed. No worries, I will back off a bit and let it have its little wobble.
I have been flying the tailwheel with the little wobble for some time and it works great.