Ovation nose linkage wear issue

[Mark89114]

Occasionally I would get a slight vibration on TO.  Got the airplane up on jacks poked around and decided it was worn so purchased the LASAR stc mod for the resized bolt, etc.  Upon disassembly found another really loose and worn part that looks like it is going to be really problematic.  The problem is the steering horn attachment point, this point is welded on to the main welded structure and does not appear to be replaceable....easily.  The pivot point appears to be worn, there is a slight shoulder on it.  Not sure what direction to go.  My mechanic is going to call dugoush and get their opinion.  Any thoughts?

[Fritz1]

Maxwell, factory service center, Cole in Georgia, Oasis in Wilmar, Air Mods in Robbinsville and Brian Kendrick in San Marcos come to mind, one of them has dealt with this before and knows what to do

[StevenL757]

@Mark89114, @Fritz1,

Personally, I’d start with Kendrick.  You’ll be surprised what a (hopefully) single phone call to him will accomplish.  PM me if you want his phone#.

[Mark89114]

14 hours ago, StevenL757 said:

@Mark89114, @Fritz1,

Personally, I’d start with Kendrick.  You’ll be surprised what a (hopefully) single phone call to him will accomplish.  PM me if you want his phone#.

I have his number.  just wanted to try and educate myself a bit.  seems to be bit of an odd duck issue.  

[1980Mooney]

1 hour ago, Mark89114 said:

I have his number.  just wanted to try and educate myself a bit.  seems to be bit of an odd duck issue.  

Here is an earlier discussion of the repair of one on a K in much worse condition

 

[PT20J]

Since it is just worn and not broken, could you rebush the steering horn with a smaller ID bushing? 

[Bolter]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

Since it is just worn and not broken, could you rebush the steering horn with a smaller ID bushing? 

Or even chrome plating if the wear is within a few thousandths of a inch.  Either would require refinishing the post on the frame to remove the step so the undersized bore can fit again.   

[Mark89114]

I talked to the LASAR folks, the bolt on pin contraption is fundamentally no longer available.  

Maxwell and Kendrick both referenced the LASAR part as the solution. 

I suspect the wear is more than a few thousands, will take the mic out this evening.  also don't know if out of round yet.

The problem is that pin is welded in best I can tell.  The manuals and IPC aren't super informative.

I would be all for grinding in place, and then putting an oversize bushing in, but I don't think that is available to get any accuracy on roundness on an in place installation.

The other thought is to drill it out, tap and run a new pivot in with threads.  I read the other thread about accuracy and alignment and I get that but as I understand this nose steering linkage is just a transfer mechanism, hell the arm doesn't even have a bolt on the end, it floats up and down a bit.  

will try to get some videos this evening.

 

[PT20J]

How loose is it? There is some play in the Mooney steering even when new. If it's not really bad, it might be better to just leave it alone. The bushing is softer than the steel pin. If it were mine, I'd replace the bushing and put it back together and see how it works. 

If I decided I really had to replace the pin, I'd have a machine shop reproduce the LASAR part. It doesn't look difficult to recreate. You'd have to talk to your mechanic about whether he'd consider it an OPP.

Skip

[N201MKTurbo]

On 8/27/2023 at 11:33 AM, Mark89114 said:

Occasionally I would get a slight vibration on TO.  Got the airplane up on jacks poked around and decided it was worn so purchased the LASAR stc mod for the resized bolt, etc.  Upon disassembly found another really loose and worn part that looks like it is going to be really problematic.  The problem is the steering horn attachment point, this point is welded on to the main welded structure and does not appear to be replaceable....easily.  The pivot point appears to be worn, there is a slight shoulder on it.  Not sure what direction to go.  My mechanic is going to call dugoush and get their opinion.  Any thoughts?

Did you clean this real good? It is normally kind of greasy. Maybe it hasn’t been getting it’s annual shot of grease.

A greasy Mooney is a happy Mooney.

[Mark89114]

Well this will be a test of my YouTube and social media skills.....

https://youtube.com/shorts/CySduQDJZos?feature=share

[Mark89114]

16 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Did you clean this real good? It is normally kind of greasy. Maybe it hasn’t been getting it’s annual shot of grease.

A greasy Mooney is a happy Mooney.

It has all been cleaned for the picture session and troubleshooting, everything looked like it was lubed properly. 

[PT20J]

It doesn't look like the steering horn has a bushing unlike the no-longer-available LASAR version. LASAR used to rebuild factory steering horns, so maybe someone still there knows what they used to do (I'd talk to Dan Riesland in parts because he's been around a while and most of the Prineville OR people are new. Dan's still in Lakeport working from home.) Personally, I don't think it looks that bad, but I would look into refurbishing or replacing the steering horn before messing with the pin.

Skip

[Mark89114]

An update....I now consider myself an expert on this.

My machinist did some measuring and built a bushing that was sized for the new wear dimension.  Took probably 75% of the slop out of it.  The existing shaft was worn in an oblong shape, I am guessing due to the loads on it.  My mechanic called the factory, Dugosh and no one really had a solution.  Basically was told to live with it, but I had some weird vibration that existed.  Also did the LASAR STC on the center pivot so that slop is gone.  The whole thing has gotten much tighter, haven't flow it yet, but it is on the agenda soon.  

[PT20J]

How does the bushing get lubricated? I wonder if the wear was due to a lack of lubrication. It takes a lot of grease every year to get grease to flow out of the bushings. I believe the steering horn is hollow. Somehow, the grease has to get through the bushing to lubricate the pin.

[Mark89114]

It is hollow and there are internal passages in the bushings.  This pin is relatively straightforward on the grease flow as it would fill the main cavity and then this one.  There is a pivot point further "downstream" that in my opinion has a very convoluted grease flow to get to.  During the disassembly process everything appeared to be nicely lubricated which I consider a miracle as has a lot of turns.  This was the only pivot that was worn badly.