xrs135 Posted February 17, 2015 Report Posted February 17, 2015 Talked to Kyle at LASAR today... he was astonished that the rubber donuts on my nose gear are originals from 1967. He said that's the first time he's ever seen that. The crazy thing is that they are still in ok condition. I'm going to go ahead and have them replaced with fresh rubber... but I was just wondering if anybody else has original rubber donuts or if I hold an unofficial record? Quote
Guest Posted February 17, 2015 Report Posted February 17, 2015 You may find that they are as hard as hockey pucks and that new ones will actually absorb some bumps while you taxy. Clarence Quote
DXB Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Talked to Kyle at LASAR today... he was astonished that the rubber donuts on my nose gear are originals from 1967. He said that's the first time he's ever seen that. The crazy thing is that they are still in ok condition. I'm going to go ahead and have them replaced with fresh rubber... but I was just wondering if anybody else has original rubber donuts or if I hold an unofficial record? At my prebuy on my '68C in October last year, it was noted that my biscuits were all original as well. I immediately had them changed out, but I am still hoping for runner up in this dubious contest . Wonder if it had any relationship to the long history of tank leak patches in the log before previous owner gave up and got bladders in 2013.... Quote
Alan Fox Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 there are a lot of peeps with the old goodyear stacks , 1965 and earlier.... Quote
Wakeup Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 I think my 1961 M20B had the original firestones on if before I replaced them. I have a pic of them in my gallery. Kyle actually looked at mine when he worked in TN before he went to LASAR. I'm happy for him. Great guy!! Troy Quote
Hank Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 I replaced my pucks in Dec '12; the old ones looked like a date stamp of '96, but were dirty and upside down. When removed, they were 6/69. The ride is much smoother when taxiing, and even my landings are smoother now (when I don't drop it in . . . Quote
HRM Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Talked to Kyle at LASAR today... he was astonished that the rubber donuts on my nose gear are originals from 1967. He said that's the first time he's ever seen that. The crazy thing is that they are still in ok condition. I'm going to go ahead and have them replaced with fresh rubber... but I was just wondering if anybody else has original rubber donuts or if I hold an unofficial record? Sorry, but I think mine are original. The Mistress (N5976Q) was airworthied in October 1965. My IA said that this year is the year--50 years. Quote
RLCarter Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Did the new style update on my 65E three months ago (Lasar parts), noticed them on the pre-buy and just left it on the jacks. They looked fine as well, but I was able to remove the collars off the link assemblies without using the compression tool. Once removed the originals were splitting at the center hole and were as hard as chinese arithmetic. Quote
DaV8or Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Talked to Kyle at LASAR today... he was astonished that the rubber donuts on my nose gear are originals from 1967. He said that's the first time he's ever seen that. The crazy thing is that they are still in ok condition. I'm going to go ahead and have them replaced with fresh rubber... but I was just wondering if anybody else has original rubber donuts or if I hold an unofficial record? Kyle wasn't working there last summer when I replaced my original nose donuts at LASAR. Technically, mine weren't originals. The original four stack was converted to the current three stack back in 1968 by the Mooney factory when they finally got around to selling my plane after the Mitsubishi take over. So mine were 1968. They passed inspection every year and worked fine, but I thought they ought to go anyhow. I have not noticed any difference in ride quality at all. I can't tell the difference between 1968 and 2014. Quote
xrs135 Posted February 18, 2015 Author Report Posted February 18, 2015 Wow. More original rubber donuts out there than I thought! I guess they made some heavy duty rubber back in the day! Quote
ryoder Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 I have the originals in the mains and they pass inspection but make for a rough taxi. At least that is what I hope since this is the on,h Mooney I have ever flown, The nose wheel has new ones. Quote
ArtVandelay Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 How long they last I think is inversely proportional to how heavy you plane is 1 Quote
carusoam Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Things to consider regarding donuts... Rubber flows over time measured in years/decades... The driving forces are weight and temperature... Significant side effects are caused by chemistry like % cross-linking, UV exposure, oxidation, and oil exposure... Similar to tires on your old Mustang, they cost too much to replace often, newer is better than older... Best regards, -a- Quote
Marauder Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Things to consider regarding donuts... Rubber flows over time measured in years/decades... The driving forces are weight and temperature... Significant side effects are caused by chemistry like % cross-linking, UV exposure, oxidation, and oil exposure... Similar to tires on your old Mustang, they cost too much to replace often, newer is better than older... Best regards, -a- Spoken like a true packaging design engineer 1 Quote
smwash02 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Replaced my original '65 ones on my '66 C last year. They technically passed the test per the manual, but they were clearly shot long long before I bought the plane -- my pre-buy missed quite a few expensive things and I didn't know any better. My buddy just went through the same thing on his '68. Quote
LANCECASPER Posted February 18, 2015 Report Posted February 18, 2015 Keeping old shock discs on a Mooney is false economy when you calculate how expensive it is to do tank re-seals, replace landing gear parts, etc. http://www.knr-inc.com/knr_inc_joomla/shoptalk-articles/25-shoptalk/23-200904-does-your-mooney-need-a-chiropractor Quote
ryoder Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 I asked the shop that did my reseal if keeping the old donuts would threaten the integrity of the new seal and he said no it wouldn't. Same thing from Bob Meier and my IA. I still want new ones though. Quote
Andy95W Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 I thought Paul Loewen, Don Maxwell, and a lot of other Mooney experts recommended regular replacement of shock discs to help protect the integrity of the Mooney's wet wing. Quote
ArtVandelay Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 My shop said my old discs while still just within spec was causing the gear doors not to fully close, they were 20 years old. Quote
Alan Fox Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 Keep in mind that corrosion is not uncommon between the pucks and stack tubes , there have been failures due to this.....When you replace the stacks , you can inspect the tubes and paint and blast..... Quote
BigTex Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 Keep in mind that corrosion is not uncommon between the pucks and stack tubes , there have been failures due to this.....When you replace the stacks , you can inspect the tubes and paint and blast..... When they replaced mine, that's exactly what happened... and they're not cheap! Quote
HRM Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 How long they last I think is inversely proportional to how heavy you plane is Don't you mean how heavy your landing is? Quote
Alan Fox Posted February 20, 2015 Report Posted February 20, 2015 No , but I think Lasar makes them under PMA.. Quote
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