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Play with securing nut on refitting wheels

Philly5G

Registered User
England
How much gap should there be between the axle nut and the wheel when setting the cotter pin?

Fitted mine snug in cold temps and felt like it grabbed and swung us starboard on lifting the tail on take off yesterday in much hotter conditions [emoji15] Pretty much nil wind and a very violent swing


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The old school way is to tighten the nut while spinning the wheel. Stop when you just see/feel a resistance to spinning. Back off to the nearest flat that will allow the cotter pin to be installed.

Web
 
The old school way is to tighten the nut while spinning the wheel. Stop when you just see/feel a resistance to spinning. Back off to the nearest flat that will allow the cotter pin to be installed.

Web

Thank you for the lightning fast response Web!! Will that method allow for some heat expansion? I flew right after changing the tyre and no problem, a month later and + 15 degrees C and it FELT LIKE it grabbed.

It was also much harder than normal to push it backwards off the pumps onto the grass, I blamed the new grass and rain 6 days ago for that, but maybe not...........


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I've never had problems with ambient temps and I've used this technique on cars, trucks, farm equipment, and airplanes. You need to jack up the gear leg and spin the wheel by hand. Could be a bad bearing, brakes dragging, etc.

Web
 
I’ve never seen the pre-load on the bearings change to the point of causing the aircraft to depart its path. Jack it up and spin the tire then you will know. If the brake is dragging that hard it won’t even turn by hand. If you can’t jack the plane up take the brake caliper off and roll the plane around a bit. Use some zip ties to hold the caliber in a safe place before moving. My guess is the piston in the caliber is hanging up, maybe a little crap in it.
 
I've never had problems with ambient temps and I've used this technique on cars, trucks, farm equipment, and airplanes. You need to jack up the gear leg and spin the wheel by hand. Could be a bad bearing, brakes dragging, etc.

Web

Hi Web, I jacked up the wheel on Tuesday and it spun really freely...... I removed the cotter pin and checked the wheel nut and it was maybe one flat too tight (maybe a 1/16 of a turn) based on the "old school" method :) but still spinning ok.

I cleaned and repacked the bearings on both wheels and refitted them using the old school method and now each wheel has a slight, just perceptible, movement when rocking them from side to side with one hand on the front and rear of the tyre.

I flew 3 circuits and not a trace of grabbing, although the fact that the wheel had spun freely and the feedback that ambient temps don't usually cause wheel grabs did make me wonder what actually had caused the swing and I'm making further enquiries for possible outside factors............
 
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You still have the stock Scott master cylinders? If so, let a drop of brake fluid out of that side.

Thanks Bob, I experimented with the brakes when the wheel was jacked up and it took a significant movement of the pedal for the wheel to show an effect and I also retested the brakes when initially taxying for the first of the 3 circuits and a very significant push was needed to brake the forward motion, so I suspect the brake cylinders weren't a factor here :)
 
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