Gear Overhaul

[ksmooney]

I just had the donuts replaced on my gear, but of course that caused other issues. After just purchasing the aircraft we have found that they hadn't been replaced since 1970. With a long time of bad wear on nose gear she now has a lot of slip and slop in the nose gear, and isn't ideal when I am taxing, flying, and landing in a lot of crosswind. I have heard that LASAR is the place to send in the gear for an overhaul, what do y'all think and recommend?

[kortopates]

First it needs a good inspection to see the source of the looseness and in which directions. It may only need shims and/or proper torquing. If its truly worn to the point it can't be corrected with conventional means then absolutely sending off to LASAR for whatever it may need such as an oversize bushing. But that seems premature until someone goes through it first.


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[ksmooney]

Unfortunately my shop has done everything that they can, since they aren't a Mooney specialist shop. They as well as myself know the reason it is so sloppy is from the bad wear over the years. New rod ends, fittings, etc..., are all going to be needed to tighten it up. All I know is that my Mooney was solid and stable before the new rubbers were put in and now with the change something needs to be replaced before I really feel comfortable in my baby again. 

[lamont337]

On jacks it should be easy to pin point. Just grab the tire and try to move left to right, fore and aft, and turn right to left. Might help to clamp the rudder pedals in place for the left and right as it will help point out play in the steering horn although on mine it was obvious without doing so. There is a shim kit for that if it's not too bad. Pic below if from the J parts manual but the exploded view is much better. Good luck.

 

[DonMuncy]

Don Maxwell in Longview, TX (GGG) is closer than LASAR, and is as good or better than anywhere in the country.

[BKlott]

When my Dad purchased his 1964 C model in 1970, the first annual required him to get the gear re-bushed. An unhappy surprise!

[N201MKTurbo]

Just get a new LASER  steering horn. Put in the LASER oversized bushing and replace all the bushings and bolts. LASER will sell you all that for about 1AMU or so. You can do it all in an afternoon 

[Andy95W]

1 hour ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Just get a new LASER  steering horn. Put in the LASER oversized bushing and replace all the bushings and bolts. LASER will sell you all that for about 1AMU or so. You can do it all in an afternoon 

They also have their own PMA'ed bushings for less money than factory parts, as well as PMA'ed oversized bushings. 

[Guitarmaster]

Just get a new LASER  steering horn. Put in the LASER oversized bushing and replace all the bushings and bolts. LASER will sell you all that for about 1AMU or so. You can do it all in an afternoon 

Yep. Super easy job!

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[Drumstick]

“Loose and sloppy” are not typical descriptions of mooney ground handling problems.   Typical is “shimmy” and worse is “unstable/unpredictable”.  Nose shimmy can be corrected with various new parts but I suspect what has happened is that the nosewheel geometry has been changed with the new gear pucks.   Read Don Maxwells 8 second ride article.  

The nosewheel steering inputs should be linear and predictable.   If you get the sensation that a rudder input is giving you more turn rate than expected and you need to counter correct with equal/greater opposite rudder pedal than this is the likely culprit.  Another analogy is if you feel like a seal balancing on a beach ball while taxiing.  What is causing this is the axle is now in front of the steering pivot point.

Read the article/ look up the Bulletin and any shop should be able to correct this deficiency.   If you encounter shimmying that will need the oversized bushings and LASAR parts but make sure you are attacking the correct problem first.

This is how I learned about it...

 

Edited February 7, 2018 by Drumstick
Added link

[Yetti]

Holding back pressure on the yoke and slowing down on taxi should also help with the shimmy