HELP--FBO may have broken nose wheel tie rod

[par]

Gents,

We flew into New York (KISP) on Friday and as I taxied out I noticed the rudder pedals very easy to move. I came back to the line and took a look and saw a broken tie rod. It appears the plane was moved by a tug and I'm suspecting that's how it broke. Everything was working fine when I landed on Friday.

So, at this point, I may need that part to fly out. What's a good source around here?

[par]

[bonal]

Hope you can get fixed quickly, what did the FBO have to say about it

[pirate]

I stopped into a Nashville Signature FBO years ago and they moved my Mooney with a tug, bent my truss. They did the we didn't do it routine and I was stuck with the repair. Since then know one ever moves my plane withought me being there EVER........

[N5756v]

I always tell the line guys about the no towing thing and they always say "yep we get a lot of moonyes thru here so we know". I have been lucky . But if something happens at least I made them aware of it 

 

[par]

Man you guys are life savers. The truss is indeed bent. fortunately the FBO is picking up the tab.

Edited November 14, 2016 by par

[KSMooniac]

Definitely start with LASAR and make sure you clean and inspect everything before you order so you can make sure to get everything needed at once. Good luck!

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

[par]

Yes I'm glad I was familiar enough with my plane to know it didn't feel right. I think I've also just added a pre-flight item to my list as well! I think it was an honest mistake but the FBO could not be more accommodating. It's Hawthorne at KISP for you guys and they have always been great.

[par]

They are going to look at the entire mechanism when they open everything up. Aside from the obvious stuff, what else can be damaged in this scenario? What else should I have them go ahead and replace as well? My pedals had a small amount of slack prior to this. What should be replaced to alleviate that problem? The shock discs are new so that's not an issue. 

[Guest]

Everything related to the steering and rudder system should be inspected.  Nose gear truss, linkage, rudder pedal torque tubes, rudder push rods, rudder travel stops in the tail and rudder.

Clarence

[carusoam]

NeilPilot has posted similar damage here before...

The break was in the same place.  

usually dents in the nose truss are a common result, not snapped steering rods.

 

Read some here...   

PP thoughts only.  Not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

[larryb]

I made this little sign and attach it to my nose wheel when I park somewhere I think the FBO might want to move it.

[takair]

On nose gears with stops, the stop tabs will break before the tubes dent.  I don't think you have the tabs.  Clarence has good advice up above.  It takes a lot to break that link.  If you had slop in the nose wheel steering, it is typically in the steering assembly. As someone else said, LASAR has the parts and they even have upgrade kits.  I suspect that the FBO will only pay for what is broken.

if you are in a jam, I have a couple of the links that you show broken.  They are from my E, slightly worn, but would get you home. I'm just across the sound...

[carusoam]

Modern mooney tow bars extend through the nose gear out the other end...  with a hole for a locking device....  locks the tow bar in place.  

Best regards,

-a-

[takair]

7 hours ago, par said:

Man you guys are life savers. The truss isn't indeed bent. fortunately the FBO is picking up the tab.

Did you mean to say that the truss IS bent?  It looks to me that it is dented in the place that usually gets dented.

[N601RX]

There is more damage than just the steering link.  The truss tube appears to be crushed as well. There may also be other damage anywhere between the front wheel and rudder.  I would tell them I wanted it inspected and repaired by a 3rd party who was familiar with the Mooney linkages.

[par]

8 minutes ago, takair said:

On nose gears with stops, the stop tabs will break before the tubes dent.  I don't think you have the tabs.  Clarence has good advice up above.  It takes a lot to break that link.  If you had slop in the nose wheel steering, it is typically in the steering assembly. As someone else said, LASAR has the parts and they even have upgrade kits.  I suspect that the FBO will only pay for what is broken.

if you are in a jam, I have a couple of the links that you show broken.  They are from my E, slightly worn, but would get you home. I'm just across the sound...

Thanks for the offer but i'm going to leave the plane here until it is repaired. I plan to have a talk with the shop tomorrow to relay the need to check everything throughly, which they already said they were going to do. Also, the tube is dented, not bent as stated previously. I am by no means looking to take the FBO's money. I only want them to pay for what they damaged but since everything will be open, I want to replace any minor things that are part of the system at my expense.

 

[takair]

12 minutes ago, par said:

Thanks for the offer but i'm going to leave the plane here until it is repaired. I plan to have a talk with the shop tomorrow to relay the need to check everything throughly, which they already said they were going to do. Also, the tube is dented, not bent as stated previously. I am by no means looking to take the FBO's money. I only want them to pay for what they damaged but since everything will be open, I want to replace any minor things that are part of the system at my expense.

 

Thanks for clarification.  Since they will need to replace the truss it makes sense to do the steering linkage if you had slop.  LASAR has the rebuilt basic link for a reasonable price and an STC kit for an improved link for a little more.  I recently did the STC link since I grew tired of my original links getting sloppy every few years.  That said, only time will tell how the new link does over time.  If they EGT the truss from LASAR you will likely get the improved version with the turn limit stops.  I can't recall if they are optional, but you can get. Turn limit indicator as well.  Really just a needle and stickers, but better than nothing.

[Piloto]

Aircraft Spruce has the rod end as p/n M34-14M: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/heimmbearings.php?clickkey=73570

The rod connects from the nose steering mechanism to the pedal. It does not look to me that it will break by towing but by tight turns taxing. Most likely broke due to metal fatigue.

To prevent dents on the truss I wrapped around the truss a piece of thick hose and secure it with ty-wrap. This prevents metal-metal contact.

You can probably fly the plane out by using differential braking for making turns

José

Edited November 14, 2016 by Piloto

[neilpilot]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

NeilPilot has posted similar damage here before...

The break was in the same place.  

usually dents in the nose truss are a common result, not snapped steering rods.

 

Read some here...   

PP thoughts only.  Not a mechanic...

Best regards,

-a-

After inspecting our broken steering link, it appeared that it failed due to previous damage and not as a result of mishandling at the location of failure.  Corrosion at the point of the break indicated that the link had been partially separated for some time, had held on by the proverbial thread, and eventually failed.  It appeared that the damage had occurred much earlier, possibly even prior to our purchase in 2012.  Of course that was not revealed during our PPI, so the timing of the initial damage is just speculation based on the appearance of the link's break point.

[jetdriven]

If the didn't find dented nose gear tubes for the PPI what else did they miss?

[neilpilot]

29 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

If the didn't find dented nose gear tubes for the PPI what else did they miss?

If your responding to me, then you have it wrong.  The steering link broke, which is different from the "nose gear tubes".  BTW the PPI was done by a leading and well respected MSC, and I'm not faulting their PPI.

[par]

All I know is that the plane was parked by me on the previous flight in working condition. I would not have been able to make the last 90 degree turn to the parking spot as I did with a broken link. The way they had parked the plane when I returned, would absolutely have required a 180 degree turn. 

Also, my discs were replaced just a year ago and I highly doubt this level of damage would have been missed. I am very careful about not over turning and I'm the only person who operates this aircraft.

[neilpilot]

14 minutes ago, par said:

All I know is that the plane was parked by me on the previous flight in working condition. I would not have been able to make the last 90 degree turn to the parking spot as I did with a broken link. The way they had parked the plane when I returned, would absolutely have required a 180 degree turn. 

Also, my discs were replaced just a year ago and I highly doubt this level of damage would have been missed. I am very careful about not over turning and I'm the only person who operates this aircraft.

Inspect the broken link.  If the break shows shiny metal then it was likely due to mishandling at KISP, with no prior damage.  If, like our line, the break point shows significant dirt & corrosion, than the initial damage occurred earlier and became progressively worse.  I'm convinced our link had been damaged for some time before it finally broke, went undetected and was "in working order" from the pilot's perspective until the final break.

[Andy95W]

11 hours ago, Piloto said:

You can probably fly the plane out by using differential braking for making turns

José

This is horrible advice and should not be attempted, not even if you leave the gear in the down position.  And attempting to retract the gear with the broken steering linkage is asking for additional damage and a potential for a jammed gear.

I doubt anyone was seriously considering doing this but had to throw in my $.02 just in case.