woodman86 Posted June 26, 2022 Report Posted June 26, 2022 I had to replace tangled cables on my retractable step it seems to only project 6”, did I do that wrong? Quote
takair Posted June 26, 2022 Report Posted June 26, 2022 36 minutes ago, woodman86 said: I had to replace tangled cables on my retractable step it seems to only project 6”, did I do that wrong? Is that extended or retracted ? Electric or vacuum? One end of the cable should go to a fixed point on the airframe and the other tot he step. If both ends go to to the step you will get half travel going up. Can you post pictures of the installation? Quote
woodman86 Posted June 26, 2022 Author Report Posted June 26, 2022 It’s a push pull both ends of cable go to step on one side and the other sides are connected to a wheel it’s very specific and the wheel doesn’t look like you can wind more then 1 revaluation Quote
takair Posted June 26, 2022 Report Posted June 26, 2022 7 hours ago, woodman86 said: It’s a push pull both ends of cable go to step on one side and the other sides are connected to a wheel it’s very specific and the wheel doesn’t look like you can wind more then 1 revaluation Ahh, the crank style. They are somewhat painful to rig. Seems like your cable is short. I replaced mine with electric. Quote
carusoam Posted June 26, 2022 Report Posted June 26, 2022 16 hours ago, woodman86 said: I had to replace tangled cables on my retractable step it seems to only project 6”, did I do that wrong? Since you are incurring the cost of maintenance… for this challenge… Other Mooniacs have taken the next step…. (?) Pun wasn’t intentional at first…. There is an incredible number of these things in the field over the last decade… http://flightenhancements.com/auto-step.html Great product… Great support… Great pireps… All around here… Best regards, -a- 1 Quote
BobbyH Posted June 27, 2022 Report Posted June 27, 2022 10 hours ago, carusoam said: There is an incredible number of these things in the field over the last decade… http://flightenhancements.com/auto-step.html Great product… @carusoam has a good idea here. Down the road I'm hoping on replacing the vacuum gauges with electronic ones and while at it plan on changing to the auto-step/electric activated step. Unless you want to stay original, any time the step needs $$ could be a good time to move to an electric one. 1 Quote
Igor_U Posted June 27, 2022 Report Posted June 27, 2022 Perhaps this will help. It seems you have a short cable as it's a very simple system. Quote
steingar Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 I hate mine, pain in the six and always breaks in the winter. I only use it when flying Mrs. Steingar. Quote
Andy95W Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 15 hours ago, Igor_U said: Perhaps this will help. It seems you have a short cable as it's a very simple system. That’s a different system. Pre-1965, the step retracted via a crank handle by the pilot’s left knee, where your emergency gear extension crank is. Quote
47U Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 On 6/25/2022 at 7:16 PM, woodman86 said: I had to replace tangled cables on my retractable step it seems to only project 6”, did I do that wrong? The cable is pn 840000-11, ‘Cable, galvanized steel.’ Next time you’re at the airport, walk over to LASAR and ask Dan if he has a print that will tell you what the length the cable is supposed to be. He might even have some in stock. It takes about 2 1/2 turns to raise/lower the step. I would think there needs to be room for three wraps around the pulley as it feeds in and out of the assembly at the same time. Caveat, I’ve never taken mine apart and hope to never have to. If must have been tricky to feed the replacement stranded cable through the Bowden cable housing. Did you feed both ends from the crank end rearward? I’m guessing there would be some trimming of excess cable length at the step-tube end. I hope mine never breaks, but if it does, I’ll probably go electric and put a chart pocket where the crank was. 1 Quote
EricJ Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 I kinda like that mine is fixed in place. Evidently that was one of LoPresti's improvements for the J models. Quote
Shadrach Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 4 hours ago, steingar said: I hate mine, pain in the six and always breaks in the winter. I only use it when flying Mrs. Steingar. Weird how different ownership our experiences can be...Mine has been in service for 55 years without failure and virtually no maintenance other than lubrication. It has hung up on the way down a few times over the years, but a squirt of triflow cures that in short order. Quote
Andy95W Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 Ross- do you have the vacuum step or the old crank step like steingar and me? I lubricate my crank and cables regularly and it is still noticeably stiffer to crank up in the winter. Quote
Fly Boomer Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 4 minutes ago, Andy95W said: noticeably stiffer to crank up in the winter Curious if you can just leave it down like the later models? Does it make a difference in your cruise speed? Some genius removed my fixed step from the airplane -- not good for an old fart like me. Quote
Shadrach Posted June 28, 2022 Report Posted June 28, 2022 2 hours ago, Andy95W said: Ross- do you have the vacuum step or the old crank step like steingar and me? I lubricate my crank and cables regularly and it is still noticeably stiffer to crank up in the winter. Vacuum. Pretty much trouble free. Quote
Lionudakis Posted June 30, 2022 Report Posted June 30, 2022 Has anyone weighed the removed crank type system vs installed electric actuator ? Quote
woodman86 Posted July 12, 2022 Author Report Posted July 12, 2022 Thanks to everybody who replied on this thread very informative I did fix it I had to loop the cable around the pulley more than once works great 2 Quote
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