[mlwynn]

I am launching into my first condition inspection. Much has been written about problems with the tail wheel locking mechanism so I decided that the assembly should be taken down, carefully inspected and parts replaced as needed.

A couple of questions arise for me.

1. Best lubricant for the shaft and locking mechanism
2. The wheel itself is the original Van's on a Doug Bell fork. The wheel has a zerk grease fitting but I can't see the little sealer ball in it. It is a press fit so no way to change it. What is the appropriate way to service the bearing? Just shooting grease in the zerk didn't seem adequate.
3. The tail wheel had a round profile when I started flying the plane last year. Now it is square, so obviously there is significant wear. What is the wear tolerance? When does this get changed?

Thanks for everyone's help on this forum.

 

[Sam Buchanan]

I am launching into my first condition inspection. Much has been written about problems with the tail wheel locking mechanism so I decided that the assembly should be taken down, carefully inspected and parts replaced as needed.

A couple of questions arise for me.

1. Best lubricant for the shaft and locking mechanism

Various lubricants in use for the tailwheel mechanism, but I find a medium weight wheel bearing grease works fine. Most important is to keep the mechanism free of grit and old grease so it won't jam.

2. The wheel itself is the original Van's on a Doug Bell fork. The wheel has a zerk grease fitting but I can't see the little sealer ball in it. It is a press fit so no way to change it. What is the appropriate way to service the bearing? Just shooting grease in the zerk didn't seem adequate.

The zerk is useless because the bearings are sealed. Go figure. Replace the bearings when they get noisy, they are inexpensive. I have a used tailwheel on the shelf with new bearings that gets swapped out when the one on the plane sounds tired.

3. The tail wheel had a round profile when I started flying the plane last year. Now it is square, so obviously there is significant wear. What is the wear tolerance? When does this get changed?

When you are rolling on the metal hub.

I swap out wheels when I get tired of looking at a tailwheel that is a lot smaller than a new one.

 

[skylor]

TW Maintenance

See comments below...

I am launching into my first condition inspection. Much has been written about problems with the tail wheel locking mechanism so I decided that the assembly should be taken down, carefully inspected and parts replaced as needed.

A couple of questions arise for me.

1. Best lubricant for the shaft and locking mechanism

For the steering shaft I use heavy grease. I service my tailwheel several times a year. I thoroughly clean the shaft, steering bushing, and locking mechanism to remove all of the old grease and grime prior to re-lubing. I make sure that there is a good coating of grease on the thrust surface at the bottom of the shaft, and I take care to keep the grease away from the locking mechanism parts. For the locking pin, spring, and steering arm I use LPS1 dry lubricant because grease here can trap grit and dirt and eventually cause the locking pin to jam. When I service the pin, I inspect it very carefully for raised metal burrs and clean them with a fine file and scotch bright wheel if I find any. I also check the steering arm and pin cavity in the fork for burrs and clean those up as well, if needed. Also, keep an eye on the recess inside the steering arm, because if the corners become worn and rounded the pin will disengage under steering loads instead of being actuated by the cam mechanism built into the knuckle. I spray the steering linkages and the steering arm with dry lube about every 20 hours or so to keep it well lubricated​

2. The wheel itself is the original Van's on a Doug Bell fork. The wheel has a zerk grease fitting but I can't see the little sealer ball in it. It is a press fit so no way to change it. What is the appropriate way to service the bearing? Just shooting grease in the zerk didn't seem adequate.

On my circa 2003 tailwheel, the bearings are shielded, but not sealed. When I have the wheel off for maintenance, I hand-work Aeroshell 5 grease into the bearing from the outside until I see evidence of grease working out of the inside of the bearing.​

3. The tail wheel had a round profile when I started flying the plane last year. Now it is square, so obviously there is significant wear. What is the wear tolerance? When does this get changed?

Per Van's accessory catalog: "If the rubber has worn off replace it."​

Thanks for everyone's help on this forum.

 

[vfrazier]

It sounds like the maintenance tips have been well said above, so all I can add is that we have replacement parts when the originals inevitably wear out.

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