Dukes Motor Overhaul. Where? Who? What?

[Echo]

So, anybody had there Dukes Motor worked on?  I heard a company in California USED to do them, but that is no longer available.  What is process for those that have recently completed?

[Fritz1]

call Maxwell and Lasar on Monday and see what they say, check BAS salvage and a couple MSCs to see if they have a motor or an actuator sitting around, I keep fingers crossed!

[kortopates]

A new motor is/was $25K. I know someone that bought one not long ago when there were only 4 left.


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[Bartman]

Aeromotors LLC

[PT20J]

Is this a motor for a gear actuator or a fuel pump? Aeromotors lists capability for Dukes fuel pumps but not actuators. Wouldn't hurt to call. Do you know what is wrong with the motor?

[PT20J]

1 hour ago, kortopates said:

A new motor is/was $25K. I know someone that bought one not long ago when there were only 4 left.


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Where did he source it, Paul?

[kortopates]

Where did he source it, Paul?

The factory.


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[201Steve]

I don’t understand why there isn’t tribal knowledge about an alternative option from the former California shop. It’s just a basic motor. There are thousands of motors across airframes and would assume they are typically refurbished with off the shelf parts. Are there no more electric motor shops in America? Is it more complicated than I assume? 

[1980Mooney]

6 hours ago, Bartman said:

Aeromotors LLC

Products - Aeromotors

As @PT20J says, the list has lots of Dukes fuel pumps but no Dukes actuator motors for some reason.

After you open the link above, click on this:

https://aeromotorsllc.com/home/products?type=actuator

Edited November 28 by 1980Mooney

[1980Mooney]

Dodson "might" have a salvage actuator.  I say might because it is missing the last 2 numbers of 4196-00-10.

[PT20J]

16 hours ago, kortopates said:

The factory.


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Was that for just the motor, or an entire landing gear actuator?

[Echo]

16 hours ago, PT20J said:

Is this a motor for a gear actuator or a fuel pump? Aeromotors lists capability for Dukes fuel pumps but not actuators. Wouldn't hurt to call. Do you know what is wrong with the motor?

Thank you.  My question was regarding a gear actuator motor.  $25k?  Impressive number. 1/4 the value of my plane.  No thanks.  Interesting replies.  I would agree that this is just a motor and replacement of brushes should not be difficult for an entity that does overhaul repair work.  Sourcing proper brushes may prove challenging.  The brushes are unique in that the contacts are on opposite side of the majority of brushes currently manufactured.  Old Briggs and Stratton lawn mower may be your friend...

[Matthew P]

Call https://www.aerofluidproducts.com/ they bought out Dukes in 2018, they may be able to provide some insight

[Echo]

6 minutes ago, Matthew P said:

Call https://www.aerofluidproducts.com/ they bought out Dukes in 2018, they may be able to provide some insight

thanks. I am good. I just wondered what everyone else is doing.

[EricJ]

1 hour ago, Echo said:

thanks. I am good. I just wondered what everyone else is doing.

If it's just the motor, you can take it to any electric motor shop willing to work on it.   An A&P just needs to "supervise", which isn't really defined anywhere.

 

[kortopates]

Was that for just the motor, or an entire landing gear actuator?

New production gear actuators that didn’t get used.


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[podair]

Very interested too to know where to overhaul the Dukes motor. Tried everywhere, a local electric motor shop needed the brushes to proceed.

I ended up buying at great expense a complete actuator set from salvage, 5k , I guess I have a spare set of gears now as slight compensation.

[201Steve]

I guess since nobody knows who works on motors, the probably better question is - who has identified the exact replacement on Mouser etc

[N201MKTurbo]

What’s wrong with it?

 

[PT20J]

It's a problem with equipment that has been out of production for half a century. There may not be any spare parts around anymore for wear items like brushes unless someone has some new/old stock sitting on a shelf somewhere.

[N201MKTurbo]

55 minutes ago, PT20J said:

It's a problem with equipment that has been out of production for half a century. There may not be any spare parts around anymore for wear items like brushes unless someone has some new/old stock sitting on a shelf somewhere.

You can make brushes by finding a larger brush with a similar flexible wire coming out the back and machining it down to the desired size. Springs and contacts can be salvaged from the warn out brushes or fabricated.

[N201MKTurbo]

There are videos out there on how to rewind armatures on small motors too. It is not as hard as you would think. And it doesn’t require any special equipment.

[Echo]

i am fortunate to have found a motor repair shop locally that has a VERY persistant employee.  These motors are small and have small screws and assemblies that require finess to get properly disassembled and assembled.  With regard to the brushes.  They are unique and it is not easy to find the right brushes and make them fit.  They found an old briggs lawn moweer brush that could be made to fit.  Getting reassembled with proper connection to the drive was also a challenge.  I quickly gave a second motor to them, as the "kit" came with two sets of brushes, and  wanted to give them the business and take advantage of the knowledge learned from the first "ordeal".