Just changed PA-11 bungees, what a pain

[Alex Clark]

I though it was only few hours from time to back on wheels. Last spring I noticed the PA-11 sitting slightly lower on one side after a student did a hard landing.
So I took off the metal covers and discovered that the last A&P who put on the bungees a year ago used two light ones on one side and two heavier ones on the other side....instead of one of each on both sides.....WTF...

So it was up to Soldotna yestderday afternoon (Saturady) to buy new bungees. Then we discovered that their bungee press was really for the short hyrasorb section. The J-3s and PA-11 use the long leg method....
Oh... No....

So after cussing and injuring ourselves, we used a big vise, lots of C-clamps, vise grips, and a couple huge srewdrivers...plus a 4 foot piece of pipe...

Now the new bungees are in place.

Those things are kinda spendy,,,,I blew all the money for the impending float change-over... Plus the double-puck pistons are still jammed and are still sitting in Mouse Milk as we speak...

I think the Cub will sit on floats in my tie-down for awhile...


xx

 

[bob turner]

Yeah - you can really get hurt with the old C-clamp method. Next time check with folks who do it a lot. There are tools you can make that will reduce it to about 30 minutes. I think the PA-11 uses four 1280HD's, and they really need to be stretched equal amounts all along their length - impossible to do with screw drivers and tire irons. All opinion.

 

[Nathan K. Hammond]

http://www.supercub.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1877&highlight=



Never a problem yet, and takes about 25 minutes for a complete swap.

nkh

hey, that's me when i was skinny.......

 

[Snert]

Alex, Bad luck comes in threes. Heads up for the third one. Glad I was several time zones away when you used that method. Although I understand the fustration level. KY Jelly works as a lube to make the bungee slide on easier. I saw one person use a vise mounted to a trailer hitch receiver to hold the strut. Then used as bifold door and strap to stretch the bungee. Actually a vice mounted to a receiver insert is very handy to have around.

 

[Seaworthy]

Speaking of which----At NH in August when I was leaving SJ sent me a note with the observation taht my plane seemed to be squatting low, or lower than it should be.

Looking at the A/C nose to tail the tires seemed to be sitting evenly. now I periodically notice that the tires are periodically not sitting evenly on the tarmac and the left strut seems to be spread out a bit more than right.
When I pushed the A/C back into the hangar---they were back to where they belong. I got under the A/C and everything looked OK. The bungees were changed three years ago. The A/C has never had a hard landing since I owned it. Am I looking at a bungee change?

 

[Alex Clark]

Mine seemed to do it more with changes in temp.

I still have not installed the landing gear, so I don't know if this is the total fix. Although whoever the person was who put on the last set should have known the color bands were for the tension and not Port and Starboard...

We had hard, cold, rain here all-day, yesterday, real nice to sit outside and work on the brakes...
But I managed to get new o-rings installed. Those babies were really stuck in there...
Gravel bars, beach landings and no hanger really take a toll.

 

[pak]

I had the same problem with my pucks. Now it is an annual routine to clean and put new O rings in the pucks. No problems since. I believe brakes that are not maintained cause accidents.
pete

 

[Alex Clark]

I do mine every year too. In fact these brake pads are from January and have not been on the plane most of the summer.


xxx

 

[bob turner]

Check out Dot 5 fluid. It actually has a Mil Spec #, just like (ugh)5606.

Sometimes going around a corner can pull one gear out a bit - rather than scrub a tire, the bungees give a little.