1966, 20C upper vent cable snapped

[Carmen allocco]

The vent cable snapped and can't seem to find a replacement. Just wondering if a bicycle brake cable would work?

thank you guys 

carmen

[RLCarter]

Isn’t it a solid wire vs a twisted strand?

[ShuRugal]

That's probably all it was in the first place.

AC 20-62E 12/23/10
Page 4 Par 4

n. Owner/Operator Produced Part. Parts that were produced by an owner/operator for
installation on their own aircraft (i.e., by a certificated air carrier). An owner/operator is
considered a producer of a part, if the owner participated in controlling the design, manufacture,
or quality of the part. Participating in the design of the part can include supervising the
manufacture of the part or providing the manufacturer with the following: the design data, the
materials with which to make the part, the fabrication processes, assembly methods, or the
quality control (QC) procedures.

Pull the old cable, measure its length and diameter. Fabricate a new cable of the same length and diameter. You now have an FAR-compliant owner produced part for your mechanic to install.

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[0TreeLemur]

Note to those who haven't done so.  Is your overhead vent cable hard to open/close?  A little tri-flo applied to the vent cable along its accessible length makes operation a breeze.

This non-controversial point could go into a routine maintenance FAQ and help people stop breaking cables.

[Raymond J1]

22 minutes ago, Carmen allocco said:

The vent cable snapped and can't seem to find a replacement. Just wondering if a bicycle brake cable would work?

thank you guys 

carmen

Because it working in two directions (push and pull), it was necessary to use "piano string". Not made of stainless steel, just carbon steel. Oil in period of 100 h...

[47U]

I made a temporary repair to my vent cable with a short section of piano wire spliced onto the end with a collar from the local RC hobby shop.  It was crude, but worked, and hidden behind the panel so nobody laughed at me.  (Until now?)

That was around 2010.  I had my headliner out two years ago so had access to the air vent box.  You might have better access if you have panels instead of a fabric headliner.  Check the condition of the ducts and (especially) the drain tube while you’re in there.  Instead of replacing just the piano wire, I replaced the entire cable with a piece left over when I cut my new PMA’d (Mcfarlane) mixture cable to length.  It’s got a nice sleeve (teflon?) the piano wire rides in.  It should never wear out.  The challenge was threading the wire into the arm inside the vent box.  There’s a plug in the hole for screwdriver access, but the retaining screw was frozen being assembled 50+ years ago.  I sprayed some Aero Kroil on it and a couple weeks (or months… it was a long project) later the screw came out like butter.  If I’d have stripped it, well, that would have been problematic.  The next challenge was lack of visibility inside the vent box to align the wire with the fitting on the arm.  But, it can be done.

Good luck…

    

[0TreeLemur]

Relevant to this discussion:

 

[DJE22]

10 hours ago, Carmen allocco said:

The vent cable snapped and can't seem to find a replacement. Just wondering if a bicycle brake cable would work?

thank you guys 

carmen

Just happened to me!  At 4500’ and it was quite the loud “crack” sound; and noticed sudden change in pressure in cabin. 

in fact I thought the crack sound came from below / right (I was thinking exhaust or a gear door or something like that).

I proceeded, monitoring temps and pressure(s)….engine continued smooth operation. When I landed I noticed the vent door bent all the way back.

Got back to my home base and my A&P is a Mooney guy and just happened to have the correct cable on hand.  (Thanks Nick!)

[carusoam]

Access behind the headliner is what usually makes this job challenging…

Once the headliner is out of the way, check the drain hose for that box while you are in there…

PP thoughts only, not a mechanic…

Best regards,

-a-

[carusoam]

Fred has good active thread memory skills!

Best regards,

-a-

[Carmen allocco]

Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate it. 

Will let you know of my fix.

carmen

[Bartman]

I pulled this screen shot from a 2018 thread and this is exactly what you need. Also you Google search “Mooneyspace vent wire” or something like that you will find many threads with step by step nstructions. 
 

[Yetti]

Bowden cable