Heim rod ends for nose gear doors

[Mooney65E]

Can anyone tell me if the Heim rod ends used on the pre 201 nose gear doors are a Mooney specific part. Has anyone used Aircraft Spruce P/N F34-14M?  (M designates inspection hole).  Mooney parts catalog specifies P/N F34-14. Currently I have rod ends mfg'd by Kirsch P/N KE38F4.

[Igor_U]

Quote: Mooney65E

Can anyone tell me if the Heim rod ends used on the pre 201 nose gear doors are a Mooney specific part. Has anyone used Aircraft Spruce P/N F34-14M?  (M designates inspection hole).  Mooney parts catalog specifies P/N F34-14. Currently I have rod ends mfg'd by Kirsch P/N KE38F4.

I have recently purchased F34-14M rod ends and installed those in nose wheel & rudder control system. These are not Mooney specific parts, you should be OK ordering them. IIRC, M stands for magnetic particle inspection (form of non-destructive testing) and to my understanding, all new Heim red ends are now tested. This is really from my memory, as I can not find this in Heim cataloge.

 

Regards,

Igor

N9514M @ KPAE

[Mooney65E]

Thanks for the info Igor,

The spherical center ball on my current rod ends appear to be rather brittle and hairline cracks are visible after wiping grease from them.

[Wooly]

Our M20J left nose gear door was becoming loose at the forward hinge.  The two forward most screws were actually pulled through the hinge attach point.  During the annual I noticed that the left door rod end was jammed and wasn't rotating.  The parts manual calls for F34-14N.  This part isn't available, so I ordered the F34-14M.  After installation I tested the gear and rod end again jammed and wouldn't rotate after one gear swing.  I called LASAR and they told me that the F34-14N was replaced by MW-3M-54.  The MW-3M-54 allows for much further rotation and doesn't jam.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Wooly

[Guest]

The nose gear door rod ends have a narrower body which allows for greater angular rotation.

Clarence

[M20F-1968]

You do not want to vary from the Heim bearings called for in the parts manual.  There are differences, and you would be hard pressed to understand, forty years after the fact what tensions be intended to be relieved by certain bearing designs.  They are all somewhat different and chosen specifically to accommodate their task without inducing load forces. 

When I rebuilt my landing gear, I learned of a specific Heim bearing used in the nose gear that was no longer being produced regularly, and was produce sporadically for another vendor.   The Mooney shop in D/C happened to have the part.  I bought what I needed and a set for the shelf.  As I remember, part of the head of the Heim bearing was grounded to be narrower. 

In any case, it would be wise to not invent the wheel on this one.

John Breda