Steering tube inner diameter for early (or all) Mooneys

[AndreiC]

I ordered a Bogert Bogi-bar tow bar for my 1970 E-model, and it came with 1" wide steering tube inserts. They don't fit. I talked to Bogert today, and they said their spec sheets show all Mooneys having a 1" inner diameter for the steering tube. This is weird. I am pretty sure mine is 3/4", and this is what I have heard from others before when people recommended to me to make myself a make-shift tow bar from 3/4" pipe. Are the Bogert people wrong, or is my Mooney a weird one?

See below for the email from Bogert. What should I tell them? I don't really feel like driving back and forth 30 minutes each just to measure the steering tube. 

 

[EricJ]

I have a J model and it's definitely 1" ID on that tube.    The difference between 1" and 3/4" is significant, so just putting a tape measure on it should tell you what you have between those two.    If they gave you a towbar with a 1" tube and it doesn't fit, but it's close, you can try removing any paint that may have gotten applied too thick on the gear tube, or take some emery cloth (or something) and file down the tube on the towbar.

 

[Hank]

I had my towbar powder coated, it still went into the gear leg easily.

[Hank]

Forgot to check the other day, but it looks to be 1" under the (scratched) powder coating.

[Shadrach]

On 4/23/2024 at 5:02 PM, AndreiC said:

I ordered a Bogert Bogi-bar tow bar for my 1970 E-model, and it came with 1" wide steering tube inserts. They don't fit. I talked to Bogert today, and they said their spec sheets show all Mooneys having a 1" inner diameter for the steering tube. This is weird. I am pretty sure mine is 3/4", and this is what I have heard from others before when people recommended to me to make myself a make-shift tow bar from 3/4" pipe. Are the Bogert people wrong, or is my Mooney a weird one?

See below for the email from Bogert. What should I tell them? I don't really feel like driving back and forth 30 minutes each just to measure the steering tube. 

 

Mine is 1”

[laytonl]

A lot of us use 3/4” black pipe to make towbars.  This pipe has a 1” outer diameter and is a perfect fit for the J model.  Lee

[bcg]

I used 3/4 pipe to build my tow bars. I'm not sure exactly what the OD is but, it's pretty close to 1".

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[Shadrach]

According to Google the OD of 3/4” steel pipe is 1.05”.

[AndreiC]

Yeah, in the end I went and measured the tube on the Mooney. The ID is about 1 1/16”. For some reason the ends of the Bogert Bogi-bar just barely do not fit in. I guess it’s the powder coating that is just barely too thick. I am talking to Bogert to come up with a solution. I could of course just scrape off the powder coating, but I am worried that then they will rust. 

[Hank]

29 minutes ago, AndreiC said:

I could of course just scrape off the powder coating, but I am worried that then they will rust. 

Mine is powder coated, fits well, and after a while scratches appear then they rust. It's been 10-12 years now, and only the part.that goes into the nose gear is rusty.

Before that, the whole thing was rusty, especially where the lower half slid into the upper half for stowing.