Marauder Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 I have owned my Mooney since 1991. The donuts on it were manufactured in 1988 and installed in 1989. I decided to update them during the annual this month and before they became $300 each I went out to check out some other work done on the plane and saw it for the first time since the new donuts were installed. I swear that the plane sits 2 to 3 inches higher. Has anyone else replaced donuts and noticed this? Quote
MARZ Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 I quick grabbed a fresh cup of coffee before I opened the thread - imagine my disappointment when I didn't find any glazed doughnuts..... Update us on the difference in taxi and landing..... 2 Quote
carusoam Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 They definitely ride and sit differently with fresh doughnuts... And landings get a little softer and taxiing is noticeably smoother... Get a cup holder for your coffee, it won't get jostled. ( I made this one up) My experience was from my '65 C. Not done yet for the O. Best regards, -a- Quote
Wildhorsesracing Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 I just did mine last year - definitely taller, stiffer and smoother landings - less bouncy*! *or that could be because I am getting better at landing a Mooney - who knows?!?! Quote
Marauder Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Posted May 17, 2013 They definitely ride and sit differently with fresh doughnuts... And landings get a little softer and taxiing is noticeably smoother... Get a cup holder for your coffee, it won't get jostled. ( I made this one up) My experience was from my '65 C. Not done yet for the O. Best regards, -a- I just did mine last year - definitely taller, stiffer and smoother landings - less bouncy*! *or that could be because I am getting better at landing a Mooney - who knows?!?! Thanks for the PIREPS. Definitely was a surprise to see it sit that much taller. I have had a lot of PM stuff this time around (including tires and tubes all around). Over the last couple of years I noticed the rough runway a bit more than I remembered. Thought it was just the runway getting worse. Be interested to see how it does. Quote
PMcClure Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 If you don't mind me asking.... How much were the parts and labor? I am almost at the spec limit on my O and deciding to do this annual or next. Thanks! Quote
John Pleisse Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 Ya know....I , too, had a sweet, confection smart-ass comment to make, but arrived to late.. And Chris, re: I swear that the plane sits 2 to 3 inches higher. Has anyone else replaced donuts and noticed this? This is entirely possible. It'll help everything in your plane, especially the likelihood of tank leaks. Quote
1964-M20E Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 If you don't mind me asking.... How much were the parts and labor? I am almost at the spec limit on my O and deciding to do this annual or next. Thanks! I think the doughnuts are running over $100 each these days maybe around $120. The time to change them is not too much no more than 2 hours per wheel with the correct tooling and some experience doing them. So I guess the labor charge should be around 6 hours. Make sure your work with your MX and have all the discs there and ready to go to minimize down time. The only other thing that could jump up and bite you during the change would be shock link collar and bolt, shock disc links, landing gear bushings and bolts. However, LASAR has the parts usually in stock ready to ship. 1 Quote
BigTex Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 When they pulled mine apart to replace the donuts, it was discovered that the large bolt holding the disks had to be replaced... The entire bill parts and labor was around $2500. Quote
TTaylor Posted May 17, 2013 Report Posted May 17, 2013 I think the doughnuts are running over $100 each these days maybe around $120. The time to change them is not too much no more than 2 hours per wheel with the correct tooling and some experience doing them. So I guess the labor charge should be around 6 hours. Make sure your work with your MX and have all the discs there and ready to go to minimize down time. The only other thing that could jump up and bite you during the change would be shock link collar and bolt, shock disc links, landing gear bushings and bolts. However, LASAR has the parts usually in stock ready to ship. Mine cost about $1025 for a set of 11 through SW Texas Aviation and no more than $500 for install two months ago. Quote
Marauder Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Posted May 17, 2013 If you don't mind me asking.... How much were the parts and labor? I am almost at the spec limit on my O and deciding to do this annual or next. Thanks! I will know later today when I go through the final bill. The labor will be mixed in with the annual work but I will ask my mechanic what it would have taken labor wise with just the donuts changed out. Quote
Marauder Posted May 17, 2013 Author Report Posted May 17, 2013 Ya know....I , too, had a sweet, confection smart-ass comment to make, but arrived to late.. And Chris, re: I swear that the plane sits 2 to 3 inches higher. Has anyone else replaced donuts and noticed this? This is entirely possible. It'll help everything in your plane, especially the likelihood of tank leaks. When I get out there again today, I'm going to see where the shin mark lines up with the new shin mark. I don't have the step any longer, so I have banged my shin a few times on the flap. I'll see where they line up. Hopefully nothing changes with my tanks -- I have bladders... Quote
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