REFLECTOR: Main gear not locking on dump

Don Johnston numa at comcast.net
Thu Aug 1 08:04:30 CDT 2013


I had this exact same problem (but on the nose gear).  It was caused by an
internal leak in the nose gear hydraulic cylinder.  Rebuilding the cylinder
fixed it.  But that fix was suggested by Scott in the first 10 seconds of
our conversation because "we see this all the time".

Since you're already talking to him, there must be something else going on
or he would have suggested it already.

Don

On Thursday, August 1, 2013, Richard J. Gentil wrote:

> Hi Phil,
>
> I am experiencing the same issue. I replaced the nose actuator about a
> year ago, I found the seals were hard, split, and crumpling. I am planning
> on replacing the seals this year on the main actuator and I have a
> suspicion that will solve my problem there. If I were to guess my actuators
> are around 17 years old.
>
> Richard
>
> Sent from my iPhone 5
>
> On Jul 31, 2013, at 11:36 PM, Phil Hooper <phil at hdmnet.com<javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'phil at hdmnet.com');>>
> wrote:
>
> Dear collective, slow building Hooper here.
>
> I have a bit of a challenge with the main gear.  Everything works fine,
> full lock when hydraulic-driven.  When we test the dump valve release, the
> gear goes down, but stops just short of lock.  Scott Swing thought it might
> be a weak spring and sent me the strongest he had...same problem.  There is
> no drag whatsover on the main gear bolt, nor in the gear pocket sleeves.
> It all moves freely and will lock every time when hand dropped slowly from
> both sides, but with no cables attached.  There is also plenty of slack in
> the cables when using hydraulics, probably too much at this point.
>
> We have found that by giving a manual nudge, pulling the ram out about
> another 1/2" out, bam, it locks.  So the problem points to the ram having
> resistance to coming out to the end of it's travel as the weight of the
> gear pulls the cables, and thus the ram.
>
> Scott speculated that the ram might loosen up with time, but so far, it
> shows no signs of yielding.  I wonder if the seals are too old (about 11
> years) and if the cylinder should be rebuilt...ugh, just when we got all
> the leaks cleared and cleaned up the last of the spilled fluid.
>
> *I wonder if any of you fine folks have had a similar problem and how you
> solved it.  One interesting thing we tested was adding two and half pounds
> of weight to the center of the mechanism...presto, down it came, and
> locked.  I have also thought about adding a downward pulling spring without
> 5 pounds of force, or an emergency cable connection that would pull the
> overcenter down into lock (parts to break).  The easiest solution may be
> g-forces if I'm ever alone and it won't lock, but I don't know if I can
> trust that.
> *
> What say you, and thanks to any and all with wisdom superior to mine.
> Blessings to all.
>
> Phil
>
> --
> **
> --
> *Phil Hooper
> *President*
> * *Harvest Development & Media Inc.*
> 19851 Yorba Linda Blvd., Suite 204
> Yorba Linda, CA 92886
>
> *voice:* 714.693.8745
> *fax:* 714.777.0134
> *web:* http://www.hdmnet.com/
> *email:* phil at hdmnet.com <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'phil at hdmnet.com');>
>
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