Seat rails for a 79 M20J

[sixsixX]

At this years annual i have decided to look for a set ot replacement pilot side seat rails due to wear and plan to replace them next annual.   Does anyone know where i may locate a set of these before i try and contact the factory?  Thanks in advance!

[carusoam]

There are a few planes being parted out here.

Alan has a short body. Scott from Kansas has an extra J.

Try searching using the area at the top right of this page.

Let us know if you need help finding these.

Best regards,

-a-

[Rwsavory]

Why not contact a MSC for new ones?  Otherwise you're just getting another set of worn parts.

[KSMooniac]

Why not contact a MSC for new ones?  Otherwise you're just getting another set of worn parts.

 

Not only that, but I suspect these are drilled in place when the planes were built, and thus the rivet holes in a salvage seat rail might not match those in your plane.  I think getting a new part (if necessary) is the best choice here.

[N601RX]

Mcfarland sells several profiles of seat railing cut to length.

[sixsixX]

Contacted Mooney, and they have one side in stock the other will need to be produced with a lead time of a month. If all this works out its nice to see Mooney going the distance to keep our parts supplied.  

[KSMooniac]

How bad is the price?

[sixsixX]

I was told around  $300 per side , so $600 for a pair.  

[N601RX]

http://www.mcfarlane-aviation.com/Products/?ID=94830059&PartNumber=STE101&

[KSMooniac]

Not awful, IMO.  Not sure McFarlane has the right profile for a Mooney judging from their pics.

[N601RX]

I try to remember to measure them next time I at the hanger.  The one with the carpet lip would be nice.

[kortopates]

I acquired all 4 through Lasar a few months ago. I too had to wait 2 to 3 weeks for 2 of them (inner's or outers) to be made up. My recollection is that they we're ~$190 each, so just under $800 for the full set of 4. I recall they came pre-drilled, but would have to look again to be sure.

[jbgood11X]

I HAVE A SET OF USED IF INTERESTED   THEY ARE OFF A K MODEL    JOHN  815 210 2675

[zerotact]

How did you make out?   I am needing a set now for my '82 m20j.    

[kortopates]

Now that I have been through this job I can say because its such a huge job, I am very thankful I did all 4 seat rails. I'd hate to have gone to all that effort and only have done one side. My co-pilot side was actually more worn than the pilot side. I am also thankful I got the rails from the factory. I've heard horror stories on Cessna's pre-drilled rails not always lining up but the Mooney rails lined up really well for me. At the start I didn't realize to the extent that I was going to need to disassemble the gear as well as open up the bottom side skins by removing all the rivets all the way to the nose so I could peel back the skin enough to be able to get a bucking bar in there. Even after all that I still had to use a small number of cherry max rivets near the front of all of them but the finished product came out great. I also changed out all the deldrin rollers in the 2 seats (4 each), and re-webbed the seat belts and now the seats slide back and forth with ease and of course can't slip out of there holes. But don't even think twice about the cost of the rails, because its minuscule compared to labor to do the job. Thankfully I am A&P and only had to pay for the second person since every bucked rivet is a 2 person job. Plus with a pneumatic river squeezer the bottom side skins went back on very quickly - thankfully that was a one person job. 

[carusoam]

Thread creep, or additional factoid...

Great description, Paul.

As a C driver, it took me years to figure out I was missing some roller parts.  The plastic wheels broke and dissapeared...

It is a Simple fix for the seats that don't want to roll back and forth the hardware is probably still there.

Best regards,

-a-

[zerotact]

So you bought the Rails Direct from mooney?

[rbridges]

wow.  Had no idea it was so labor intensive.  Thanks for the write up.

[zerotact]

does anyone have part numbers so I can. Start searching 

[DonMuncy]

What is the thinking on cherry max rivets vs bucked rivets. It would seem that on the outer surface of a plane, you would want the smoothness of regular rivets, but I wonder about structural strength of the two.

[jetdriven]

a lot of those rivets in that area are regular universal head rivets.  But they make Cherry Max rivets in flush and universal head. The strength is comparable to an -AD driven rivet.

[KSMooniac]

Byron is correct.  There should be no structural issues using Cherry Max on seat rails, except to REALLY anger the next guy that has to replace the rails.  They're awful to remove.

[cliffy]

I'm trying to remember but isn't there something in 43.13 that says that pull stem rivets (blind rivets) can only be used in areas where the manufacturer says they can be used? 

I just found it as I was writing this   4-57 f (2)

(In bold type and underlined in 43.13)

CAUTION: For metal repairs to the airframe, the use of blind rivets must be specifically authorized by the airframe manufacturer or approved by a representative of the FAA

If the repair is being signed off according to 43.13 wouldn't this restriction be in effect?

[kortopates]

Byron is correct.  There should be no structural issues using Cherry Max on seat rails, except to REALLY anger the next guy that has to replace the rails.  They're awful to remove.

Yep, they are all over the place in your wing if you care too look closely. I've replaced many.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[N601RX]

I believe the Chery Max have higher shear strength than a driven rivet.