Mooney shock disc tool (2)

[Shadrach]

8 minutes ago, Fly Boomer said:

Anybody know if there is something that can be applied to these discs to help protect them from the elements and retard the degradation?

In my case, I think it was largely due to lack of UV exposure. Plane has always lived in a closed hangar.  My discs were not deteriorated in the least and were still compressible. When I jacked the plane in August, they expanded normally, in February not so much. Another factor could be weight, my plane is light at <1700lbs. Lots of Mooney sitting on the ramp outweigh it by 600lbs of more.

[Shadrach]

1 hour ago, Gubni said:

A few pics of the jack adapter. The only reason I have square on top is that is what I had available. The purpose of the round tube on the bottom is just to keep it on the jack so it's thin wall.

 

That thing looks like it was welded by a low flying bird.

[RobertGary1]

1 hour ago, Shadrach said:

In my case, I think it was largely due to lack of UV exposure. Plane has always lived in a closed hangar.  My discs were not deteriorated in the least and were still compressible. When I jacked the plane in August, they expanded normally, in February not so much. Another factor could be weight, my plane is light at <1700lbs. Lots of Mooney sitting on the ramp outweigh it by 600lbs of more.

I store my plane outside but right side up so no UV exposure 

[Gubni]

1 hour ago, Shadrach said:

That thing looks like it was welded by a low flying bird.

I knew someone would make that comment, lol. Its two separate welds for each side of the middle plate so it does look ugly.

[Shadrach]

29 minutes ago, RobertGary1 said:

I store my plane outside but right side up so no UV exposure 

I’m guessing that the sun never rises nor sets on your world!

[EricJ]

2 hours ago, Gubni said:

I made this last night from some scrap. It made the job easy. 

That's pretty cool.   Now I'm thinking a single piece of 3/16" steel bent into a U would work similarly.   That's doable.

[RobertGary1]

4 hours ago, Shadrach said:

I’m guessing that the sun never rises nor sets on your world!

Only on Cessnas. The wings are so low the sun is blocked by bushes, grass etc. 

[Shadrach]

9 minutes ago, RobertGary1 said:

Only on Cessnas. The wings are so low the sun is blocked by bushes, grass etc. 

good deal. I can’t say the same here. The paint on my gear doors is noticeably more faded than the underside of my wings (look new). I attribute that fade to 1000 plus days spent out on hot summer ramps while traveling.

[Fly Boomer]

6 hours ago, EricJ said:

 Now I'm thinking a single piece of 3/16" steel bent into a U would work similarly. 

So it wraps around the bottom?

[Kelpro999]

[LANCECASPER]

39 minutes ago, Kelpro999 said:

And now it's $80 per disc plus $20 each for shipping from South Africa paid up front before they are manufactured. No thanks.

https://avunlimited.co/product/mooney-landing-gear-shock-disk/

[MikeOH]

11 hours ago, Gubni said:

I made this last night from some scrap. It made the job easy. 

Bear with me as I have not done this before.  This looks great for compressing the discs, but how do you install the other part of the gear when the bolts holding the 'jack compressor' appear to be in holes where the gear goes?

[Shadrach]

On 10/24/2022 at 8:12 PM, MikeOH said:

Bear with me as I have not done this before.  This looks great for compressing the discs, but how do you install the other part of the gear when the bolts holding the 'jack compressor' appear to be in holes where the gear goes?

The jack presses the shock link (shaft with discs) into the gear assembly so that the collar and collar bolt can be attached. Once the collar is on, the shock remains compressed and the jack can be removed. The trailing link and pivot bolts can then be installed.

[Kelpro999]

2 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

And now it's $80 per disc plus $20 each for shipping from South Africa paid up front before they are manufactured. No thanks.

https://avunlimited.co/product/mooney-landing-gear-shock-disk/

At this rate they’ll be 140 plus 20 by morning 

[EricJ]

6 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

So it wraps around the bottom?

Yes, the jack would sit in the bottom of the U.

[LANCECASPER]

On 10/22/2022 at 6:27 PM, Shadrach said:

Call Herber Aircraft in El Segundo, CA. Ask for Dwayne Johnson (not that Dwayne Johnson).  I think I paid $103 a piece last year. Spruce was selling them for ~$150 then but now they’re $165 and likely climbing.

I requested a quote from Herber over the weekend - got it today

https://www.dropbox.com/s/momwqdggrvzixm0/967396-QUOTE CUSTOMER.pdf?dl=0

 

With their credit card charge it figures out to $141.15 each plus shipping. 

[Fly Boomer]

2 minutes ago, LANCECASPER said:

With their credit card charge it figures iut to $141.15 each plus shipping. 

With your discount?

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Fly Boomer said:

With your discount?

I've never done business with Herber but that's what their quote was, which is still the best deal currently since there's no tax. Of course it depends on what they charge for shipping, which would be free at Spruce

[JimK]

New way to think about shock disc maintenance - The best way to maintain shock discs (donuts) is to keep them from compressing in the first place.  I have an Ovation 3GX so my discs are very highly loaded in compression which should result in their rapid, permanent deterioration but I’ve never replaced my discs.  Like your airplanes, mine sits in the hanger 99% of the hours in a year based on 100 hours/yr flight time.  The discs only deteriorate due to compression while the compression force is applied.  So I made a pair of wing jacks using long ram hydraulic jacks from Harbor Freight and I jack my Ovation main gear off of the floor after every flight (only takes 5 extra minutes while I am putting my airplane away). I’ve never had to replace my shock discs and the gap between the top of the tower and the collars is still 0.2-0.3 under the 0.85 max.

PS: For $800 you can buy real aircraft jacks from Alpha Aviation so you don’t have to make them.  That’s still much cheaper than buying new shock discs!

[Pinecone]

On 10/24/2022 at 11:54 AM, Shadrach said:

I’m guessing that the sun never rises nor sets on your world!

Not directly, but there are reflections.