has anyone replaced or rechromed their johnson bar?

[RLCarter]

40 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

I will never replace or rechrome my Johnson Bar handle.  Somewhere on there a little bit of Bill Wheat's DNA was left behind after he test flew my airplane in January, 1964.

He flew mine a year later....hopefully any DNA was cleaned over the past 54 years, although from the looks of my old handle it was cleaned often

[M20F-1968]

When you loosen the nut on the J-Bar handle, you will need an open end wrench ground down to fit into the hole in the Johnson Bar.  You may be able to grind dows the sides of a box wrench as well to make it fit.  HOWEVER, remember to put some tape on the underside of the wrench and stick the nut to the tape when installing the nut, or use the tape when taking the nut off.  Otherwise, it will fall inside to Johnson Bat never to be seen again.

John Breda

[59Moonster]

4 hours ago, Andy95W said:

I will never replace or rechrome my Johnson Bar handle.  Somewhere on there a little bit of Bill Wheat's DNA was left behind after he test flew my airplane in January, 1964.

Ummmmm. Hate to break it to you. But it’s gone. Long gone. 

[Andy95W]

4 hours ago, Rinj said:

Ummmmm. Hate to break it to you. But it’s gone. Long gone. 

Yeah, I know.  Along with any skin cells that got imbedded in the Johnson Bar handle.  But that and the throttle knob are original to the airplane, and I'm glad of their history, and that I met and shook hands with the guy that used them first.

Maybe I'm just hoping something will rub off and help make my landings better.

[MoonFlyer68]

Reviving this old topic to ask a question. My situation is that the handle on my J-bar has gotten very difficult to slide up and down. I am planning to jack up the plane and tackle the job of removing the handle for cleaning, lubrication, and reassembly. From this thread as well as others, I was able to get some great information and tips for completing the job.

The question that I was unable to answer in my reading is what lubricant people are using? Is there a specific grease or other lubricant I should be looking for?

Thanks

[Andy95W]

You really shouldn’t need to remove the sliding handle.  Silicone spray works very well, every couple of years at annual I will spray it where it can get worked around the sliding part of the handle, as well as in the small hole in the handle for good measure.  Then I exercise the handle a bunch until it feels nice and loose.  Works great.  While you’re there with the gear unlocked, make sure you spray some silicone spray on the thumb slider on the lock block as well.

Honestly, you could do it in flight if you have someone who can control the airplane as you spray the lube and work it into the J-bar.  Definitely not recommended by yourself.

Let us know how it goes.

Edited January 21, 2023 by Andy95W

[MoonFlyer68]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:39 PM, Andy95W said:

You really shouldn’t need to remove the sliding handle.  Silicone spray works very well, every couple of years at annual I will spray it where it can get worked around the sliding part of the handle, as well as in the small hole in the handle for good measure.  Then I exercise the handle a bunch until it feels nice and loose.  Works great.  While you’re there with the gear unlocked, make sure you spray some silicone spray on the thumb slider on the lock block as well.

Honestly, you could do it in flight if you have someone who can control the airplane as you spray the lube and work it into the J-bar.  Definitely not recommended by yourself.

Let us know how it goes.

I finally got the plane up on jacks today and did exactly as you recommended. I bought a can of WD-40 Silicone Lubricant spray and once the J-bar was horizontal I sprayed right along the bottom edge of the handle. Gave it about 30 seconds to seep in and then started moving the handle up and down as well as rotating it.  Did that sequence 3 or 4 total times and it was moving really well.  Once it was locked back vertical all that was left to do was clean up any runoff with a rag. Thanks for the great advice.

And now for the explanation for the slightly less mature among us.

My Johnson was getting very stiff so I lubed it up and played with it until it felt really good.  Enjoy

[carusoam]

@Gagarin might appreciate the WD-40 humor…

WD-40 makes a great cleaner… there are probably better lubes for your Johnson…

Best regards,

-a-

[oregon87]

Yep, I read the title and my immediate thought was, "how many posts until the jokes start?"

 

[RLCarter]

16 hours ago, MoonFlyer68 said:

My Johnson was getting very stiff so I lubed it up and played with it until it felt really good.  Enjoy

Hopefully the logbook entry reads differently ………