flyingchump Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 1966 M20E. I finally had my wife with me at the hanger so I can get a video of the steering horn while she gently oscillated the rudder(1st video) and the rudder peddles (2nd video). The plane has a decent amount of play while taxiing and landing is a "wild ride". I don't know what a new steering horn feels/looks like so I was hoping you all could give me your thoughts. VID_20200724_154428.mp4 VID_20200724_154544.mp4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prior owner Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 Mine was like that. I sent it to LASAR on exchange for an overhauled one (get the hardware package as well), and the difference was night and day..... taxis and rolls out straight with no play. I also installed the Mooney SB kit that is a washer/shim That changes the geometry of the front gear a tiny bit (drops the nose a little bit) when I had the front gear apart. The only drawback is that the kit reduces prop clearance.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchump Posted July 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 33 minutes ago, PilotCoyote said: Mine was like that. I sent it to LASAR on exchange for an overhauled one (get the hardware package as well), and the difference was night and day..... taxis and rolls out straight with no play. I also installed the Mooney SB kit that is a washer/shim That changes the geometry of the front gear a tiny bit (drops the nose a little bit) when I had the front gear apart. The only drawback is that the kit reduces prop clearance.. Thanks! I'll call Lasar tomorrow. Their website states they are currently sold out of these but I'll call and see what they say. I don't know if I want to drop the nose if I don't NEED to. The taxiways are pretty bumpy where I am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 Definitely time for a rebuilt steering “Tee” SB M20-202 covers the nose gear angle and shim if required. https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/4147179/technical_documents/service_bulletins/sbm20-202.pdf Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immelman Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 (edited) That's pretty bad all right, but if you wan to do it right... Jack the plane to get the nosewheel off the ground and repeat the procedure. You can also then turn the nosewheel by hand and block movement of various parts to see what has play and what does not. Take your time, looking for play at each bearing/rod end, and the pivot truss. I wound up replacing the pivot truss, steering horn, and at least one rod/bushing. Of course these were all done one at a time, over several years. Would have been nice just to take it apart once and put it back together once and be done. Edited July 26, 2020 by Immelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchump Posted July 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 4 minutes ago, Immelman said: That's pretty bad all right, but if you wan to do it right... Jack the plane to get the nosewheel off the ground and repeat the procedure. You can also then turn the nosewheel by hand and block movement of various parts to see what has play and what does not. Take your time, looking for play at each bearing/rod end, and the pivot truss. I wound up replacing the pivot truss, steering horn, and at least one rod/bushing. Of course these were all done one at a time, over several years. Would have been nice just to take it apart once and put it back together once and be done. Good advise, thanks. I'm looking into options for jacks so I can lift the whole plane and check all the landing gear. Ive got an engine hoist for the front but I need to locate a set of wing jacks. I don't feel my pre-buy inspection was worth a Damn... I want to see it all myself and see if meets my standards of quality as well as the service manuals. I'm going to check all linkages as you suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Peace Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 It sucks to have this problem,,,I have had it in mine and a friends Mooney....but it feels so so good when its fixed...like a brand new plane....well almost... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchump Posted July 26, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 3 hours ago, Jim Peace said: It sucks to have this problem,,,I have had it in mine and a friends Mooney....but it feels so so good when its fixed...like a brand new plane....well almost... It sounds like, by this point, every vintage Mooney has/had this problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elliott Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 See that lil' bolt that has a slotted screw driver head? Make sure you put it in the same way, or you get to beat out the busted one then buy another to replace it. Ask me how I know.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 26, 2020 Report Share Posted July 26, 2020 (edited) The clevis bolt circled in red is installed correctly, the one in blue is upside down. Clarence Edited July 27, 2020 by M20Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 1 hour ago, flyingchump said: It sounds like, by this point, every vintage Mooney has/had this problem... Based on hours, years, flights, miles, NMs.... Any way you look at it... there is a lot of opportunity for normal wear for those parts.... Anything that moves or slides against something else, gets lubed properly, wears slowly, and has an expected replacement cycle... If you haven’t seen the DMax video for the 8 second ride... it is worth reviewing... Anyone that has less than controlled steering while on the ground can look into this... If your PPI didn’t include a taxi and flight these things are harder to notice... If your PPI ended with an annual... this would have been noticeable by somebody familiar with Mooneys... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic.. Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchump Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 11 hours ago, carusoam said: Based on hours, years, flights, miles, NMs.... Any way you look at it... there is a lot of opportunity for normal wear for those parts.... Anything that moves or slides against something else, gets lubed properly, wears slowly, and has an expected replacement cycle... If you haven’t seen the DMax video for the 8 second ride... it is worth reviewing... Anyone that has less than controlled steering while on the ground can look into this... If your PPI didn’t include a taxi and flight these things are harder to notice... If your PPI ended with an annual... this would have been noticeable by somebody familiar with Mooneys... PP thoughts only, not a mechanic.. Best regards, -a- Thanks. I said it somewhere else that my pre-purchase inspection was pretty poor. It was done by MSC. I specifically whet out of my way and paid more for the PPI to be performed at a MSC... They picked up the plane where it was located and brought it to their center then flew it back when done. They didn't say anything about this and many other things they really should have identified. I'm looking forward to bringing my plane to different MSC in the future. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingchump Posted July 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 13 hours ago, M20Doc said: The clevis bolt circled in red is installed correctly, the one in blue is upside down. Clarence Now THIS is good info!. I'm not sure I would have caught that. The power of Mooneyspace! This website has been one of my best resources! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carusoam Posted July 27, 2020 Report Share Posted July 27, 2020 5 hours ago, flyingchump said: Now THIS is good info!. I'm not sure I would have caught that. The power of Mooneyspace! This website has been one of my best resources! The power of Clarence! Bolt orientation is pretty difficult to pick-up or understand without being a mechanic or mechanical engineer... or really being interested by machinery... An example of this... the bolt is put in place using gravity to hold it there... if the nut happens to fall off in use... gravity may hold it there for a few more minutes.... In pics around here... even if random placement is technically OK... Some people will align all screw heads in one orientation... this allows the user to notice if any one of them has decided to go rogue.... Unfortunately, not all MSCs have stood the test of time... I have a strong feeling that the MSC in Eastern Canada (Tri-City Aero) will be with us for a while! Non-stop, perfection of Mooney technical information delivery.... Always supporting MSers when they ask questions... Go MS! PP thoughts only, not a mechanic or mechanical engineer... Best regards, -a- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrynimmo Posted August 24, 2020 Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 After seeing what you have gone through, I plan to grease my steering horn every 50 hours, and to do 100%...and not just grease it, but to fully flush out old grease from all directions... it’s so easy for me to do...I appreciate you making us aware of this failure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_elliott Posted August 24, 2020 Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 37 minutes ago, larrynimmo said: After seeing what you have gone through, I plan to grease my steering horn every 50 hours, and to do 100%...and not just grease it, but to fully flush out old grease from all directions... it’s so easy for me to do...I appreciate you making us aware of this failure Keep from "dancing" on the rudder while the plane is stopped. I know, I know, you were taught to do that in a Cessna to "make sure" everything works, but this is what really stresses up the steering horn. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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