Broken Exterior Overhead Vent Cable

[HRM]

On 5/21/2018 at 8:04 AM, egarcia77035 said:

Common failure.  This happened to me 3 years ago.  The cable broke at the bend point on the vent flap. 

So, today I went flying, nice cool day. I stayed below 3000', but about 30 minutes into the flight I realized that I was getting a cold draft from the ceiling vents. I looked up at the control knob and started to reach up to bring the flap down and then thought better of it. That whole thing is a beyotch to work with (as you have discovered). I decided a bit of cold air now was fine vs having to fix the damn thing if that cable broke. In Southeast Texas having it closed is just a small amount of time against wanting it full open!

Next time I fly I'll just wear a fuzzy hat.

[Shiny moose]

When I bought my F the air door was screwed closed ! Yes 2 screw holes on forward edges of door, I have left the holes incase my cable breaks and I need to secure the door, the cable was broken, PO stated he never used the door and it was like that when he purchased the plane 20 years earlier.

 A few hours work and I had fished a cable core through, I was very lucky no corrosion no kinks and new core went in without to much problem, shin up with scotchbrite and lube when feeding it then keep it lubed. I use Houdini spray ( made for locks and does not accumulate dirt or dust) I operate the door often to keep it moving and lube maybe more than I need to 

[Prior owner]

If you're truly obsessed, you can order up an inner wire that is Teflon coated. It Costs more to ship it than to buy it. Mine works great, and is actually a slightly larger diameter than the stock wire. Probably a total waste of money, but I was prepared to do anything to never have to replace that wire again

[TTaylor]

I had one stick open on a flight in January with -20F temperatures outside over northern Utah and Nevada.  Had to land, bend the wire to close it and use duct tape to seal it until I could get it fixed.

The wire you have currently is not original and is not connected correctly to the vent door.  When you do the repair make sure it is done properly and connect with the correct hardware to the vent door. There should be a wire thimble and crimped sleeve or cable clamp making a loop where the door attaches.  Usually these can be purchased at a bike shop or industrial supply or your local mechanic.  Replacing the housing with a Teflon interior coated one is a nice addition to minimize the force required to operate the vent.  The wire should be stiff (won't bend when pushed out), either multi strand or solid "piano".  Bike shift cables work, but not brake cables.

Not a simple fix, but done right should last for many years.

 

[DXB]

That stupid vent gives me minimal airflow in the cabin, and so I never use it.  And it is a corrosion risk from water entry. I don’t know if I’ll have patience to fix it when my wire eventually snaps.  Anyone ever remove it entirely and rivet a plate over the opening?

[DualRatedFlyer]

9 hours ago, DXB said:

That stupid vent gives me minimal airflow in the cabin, and so I never use it.  And it is a corrosion risk from water entry. I don’t know if I’ll have patience to fix it when my wire eventually snaps.  Anyone ever remove it entirely and rivet a plate over the opening?

Mine was a pain to replace, but not all that difficult.  Mainly just frustrating.  I had airflow before I started the project, but after getting into it and taping closed all the seams on the plenum, I now have huge airflow and it makes a big difference.  If you ever decide to drop the headliner make sure you tap up those gaps.  Makes the summer all that more bearable. 

[ArtVandelay]

Mine was a pain to replace, but not all that difficult.  Mainly just frustrating.  I had airflow before I started the project, but after getting into it and taping closed all the seams on the plenum, I now have huge airflow and it makes a big difference.  If you ever decide to drop the headliner make sure you tap up those gaps.  Makes the summer all that more bearable. 

Do you have pictures?


Tom

[DualRatedFlyer]

3 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

Do you have pictures?


Tom

The pictures I took during the process I posted earlier in this thread.  Anything your looking for specifically that you didn’t see?  The plenum had some type of cracked sealant material around most of it that was hodgepodge.  I just used aluminum tape to close the gaps and cracks (not pictured)

[RobertGary1]

I've done it a couple times and managed to avoid removing the headliner. YOu just have to have nimble fingers. I just removed a couple screws to drop it enough to get my hand in there. From there I used a small 90 degree screw driver to remove the HVAC access panel where the cable attachment is. Its a lot of fine finger work but saves a lot of time.

-Robert

[Prior owner]

I poked my $40 Amazon iPad borescope bough one of the manifold outlets to help me see the wire while I was threading it through the little clamp fitting... Made it go a lot faster, as I couldn’t see what I was doing otherwise. Pop the cap off the side of the box and you can access the wire clamp.p with a long screwdriver.

Edited November 6, 2019 by PilotCoyote

[carusoam]

Looks like a piece of vinyl (Tygon) tubing on the drain tube...

If you change it, think of getting something to last another 50 years... a rubber oil hose something with a slightly better quality...

PVC gets hard over time and may not stay connected... or it may break...

PP thoughts only,

best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

The pictures I took during the process I posted earlier in this thread.  Anything your looking for specifically that you didn’t see?  The plenum had some type of cracked sealant material around most of it that was hodgepodge.  I just used aluminum tape to close the gaps and cracks (not pictured)

The plenum (repair) was what I was looking for, thanks for the description.


Tom

[Cruiser73]

Sorry for responding to an older thread but thought someone who had addressed this might be able to help.  I have a 1968 G with the knob/dial, the last few weeks I noticed it getting harder to rotate.  Yesterday the tension was gone so I rotated will no resistance.  I can open and close the vent by hand so I assumed the cable broke at the knov/dial end in the cabin.  Opening it was a real pain in the butt.  I can see the cable isn't broke but can get a good view of the top side.  The cable seems to be sliding through a something that should be cabling it. There doesn't seem to enough length to get a good look at it. I am thinking I need to tight it but can't tell if it is an Philips head or Allen?  An ideas or explanation why it is slipping and/or how to tighten it?    

Thanks for reading.

[N201MKTurbo]

5 hours ago, Cruiser73 said:

Sorry for responding to an older thread but thought someone who had addressed this might be able to help.  I have a 1968 G with the knob/dial, the last few weeks I noticed it getting harder to rotate.  Yesterday the tension was gone so I rotated will no resistance.  I can open and close the vent by hand so I assumed the cable broke at the knov/dial end in the cabin.  Opening it was a real pain in the butt.  I can see the cable isn't broke but can get a good view of the top side.  The cable seems to be sliding through a something that should be cabling it. There doesn't seem to enough length to get a good look at it. I am thinking I need to tight it but can't tell if it is an Philips head or Allen?  An ideas or explanation why it is slipping and/or how to tighten it?    

Thanks for reading.

You need to pull the headliner panel which will give you access to the mechanism. You will be able to see if the ends of the wire have broken off, if not you will be able to lube the mechanism which probably hasn't been lubed in 40 years.

[Ragsf15e]

Also, it’s some kind of piano wire.  You can get some silicon spray down onto the wire where it pushes up the vent on top (outside the airplane).

[gmonnig]

My 65' has a different kind of door on top. It's stuck in the open position. The knob has friction but doesn't do anything to the door. You also cannot push the door closed, so I gets cold in winter flying. I get to finally do this "mod" too! Yay

[Ragsf15e]

2 hours ago, gmonnig said:

My 65' has a different kind of door on top. It's stuck in the open position. The knob has friction but doesn't do anything to the door. You also cannot push the door closed, so I gets cold in winter flying. I get to finally do this "mod" too! Yay

Definitely want to get that closed and get your 0.5 knots back!