Landing gear shock disk replacement tools

[planebones]

Any of you Mooneyophyles have the tools you could rent me.? My 63 still has the Firestones and they have got to go! Thanks Ken 307-699-0087

[Hank]

I rented them from www.hangartoolbox.com when I replaced mine last fall. Shipping charges are a b!tch!

[BigTex]

Any of you Mooneyophyles have the tools you could rent me.? My 63 still has the Firestones and they have got to go! Thanks Ken 307-699-0087

Ken, when going from the original Firestone to the Lords, there's more to it than just swapping them out. There is a conversion process you have to do. I'd recommend you work with your nearest MSC to make sure you have it done correctly.

[1964-M20E]

I believe LASAR has the conversion kits to do this.

 

Hangar toolbox is a great place to go to rent tools.

[N601RX]

From what I've heard other people say the retrofit kit is expensive. It may be worth looking around for some used parts. I think I remember seeing the service bulletin on the Mooney website that describes what parts has to be changes and the PN for them.

[Roger O]

With all the great Mooney mechanics out there, does anyone have plans to build the rig necessary to change the disks?  

The part (at least the picture on Hanger Toolbox) does not look particularly complex, and it sure would keep the costs down.  Heck, if some of our members built them, we could even loan them out to each other.   In addition, if the parts are readily available and reasonable in cost, they would be changed out more oftem, increasing safety and comfort.

[ArtVandelay]

How can I tell which shock discs I have (Firestone, Lord, other?)

[carusoam]

By counting them and by their shape and by the metal washers between each donut.

And the paint on the rubber....

If you don't have a log book entry that says they have been changed in 10 years. Or 20 years.

Or post a picture of what you have.

New donuts are always appreciated.

Old style were cylinders that get squeezed. New style looks like a rounded donut.

Old stacks have more donuts than new.

Old stacks have washers between donuts.

My 65C got its donuts over sprayed by paint.

This is from old fuzzy memory. Let me know if I missed something.

Best regards,

-a-

[1964-M20E]

I do not have plans but I did build one similar to the one offered at hangar toolbox. I'm still finessing the design. 

[Hank]

My new donuts have brass/bronze washer on both sides of each donut. They were manufactured in 2013 and I opened the box to look at a $100 piece of rubber prior to install. Still don't understand the pricing, but I am in the plastic business, not rubber.

[carusoam]

Raw material cost is 1$/lb? Engineering, mold construction, manufacturing and paperwork are the rest.

Rubber relaxes over years/decades based on the nature of the cross linking. Thermoplastics have no significant cross linking.

Rate of relaxation is temperature and stress dependent. Expect that a heavy O in Josè's neighborhood to have it's donuts extrude out radially before a lighter C's would in Pine Runner's colder clime.

The washers on the older stacks stick out (1/4"?) and are a bit more visible.

Now I'm going to the hangar to see if I have firestones on my O!

Best regards,

-a-

[DaV8or]

I believe LASAR has the conversion kits to do this.

 

Hangar toolbox is a great place to go to rent tools.

 

They will rent you the tools too I believe.

[DaV8or]

My new donuts have brass/bronze washer on both sides of each donut. They were manufactured in 2013 and I opened the box to look at a $100 piece of rubber prior to install. Still don't understand the pricing, but I am in the plastic business, not rubber.

 

Three words- Certified, low volume.

[OR75]

My new donuts have brass/bronze washer on both sides of each donut. They were manufactured in 2013 and I opened the box to look at a $100 piece of rubber prior to install. Still don't understand the pricing, but I am in the plastic business, not rubber.

 

That's how a market economy works:  

 

when you buy something Made in China that you don't need to have and will probably end collecting dust and cluttering your garage, it is cheap. 

 

everything else ... $$$$$ 

[planebones]

I bought a set of used shock towers from a more modern Mooney that had Lord mount rubbers.....I hope that is all I need to convert my old Firestone rig over....I can't tell from the Service bulletin or  ridiculously expensive kits the fancy shops offer??????

[BigTex]

I bought a set of used shock towers from a more modern Mooney that had Lord mount rubbers.....I hope that is all I need to convert my old Firestone rig over....I can't tell from the Service bulletin or ridiculously expensive kits the fancy shops offer??????

Give Don Maxwell a call and discuss it with him. Screwing up the gear can be pretty expensive. If for some reason, you have the gear collapse due to something done incorrectly, insurance might not cover it.

[Wakeup]

I just replaced my old firestone donuts and LASAR is the place to call. They have the spacer your need to reuse your old hardware. They even sent directions on exactly what to do. I was very impressed and saved a ton on parts..the labor was another story/post. 36.7 hours of labor is still is debate . SWTA is the cheapest place to buy your donuts but they will try and sell you a $2,500 bracket for your donuts that you so not need. I replaced the horn as well to help with the chimmy.

Troy

[ryoder]

Thanks for the info on Lasar Wakeup. I have the originals and a spacer sounds like it makes a lot more sense than the alternative.