FlyingMonkey Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 Hey all... I pulled my wheel pants for the first time today. Everything looked okay, except my left tire is showing excessive wear on the outside, probably due to my tendency to land left of the centerline (not enough right rudder?)... The question is, do I need to go ahead and change it, or should I keep flying on it until just before my long Michigan trip? The picture: http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj277/MrMorden00/image_zpsbf43880f.jpg How hard is it to change tires? I have the Marc brakes and 4.00-6 tires. How the heck would I jack the plane to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 That's some kinda ugly! Give her new tires. I don't jack the plane, I walk out to the wing tip and pick it up by hand. Then I have someone stick a bottle jack under the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 6, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 Cool. Any special trick to things with the brakes, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 I'll let someone respond that actually gets their hands dirty. In the meantime I will guess that the you leave 1/2 the wheel mounted split the wheel change tube and tire re-assemble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 Time for tires. Placing something under the axle does work and I used to use a scissor jack here, but you need to be careful you don't know it off yanking and pulling. Just use a 6' step ladder and some padding like a blanket or whatever under the wing. Place the ladder right next to the tie down ring, but not right on it. This is where the wing is beefed up. Lift the wing by hand and slide the ladder underneath. I can do it by myself so it isn't difficult. The wing will have no issues supporting the plane. It does it all the time in the air. The ladder setup will never fail and you can't accidentally knock it off. I use two ladders when I do a wing inspection. You can use an engine lift too with a tire on top instead of the hook underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted August 6, 2013 Report Share Posted August 6, 2013 This is another one of those times you should call so I can tell you how to pull the wheel and not beat yourself up. I should mention how to do the tire too or you may not get it back together. It's easy, but there are a couple tips and tricks to make life easy. you should also balance the tires. They will absolutely be out of balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandpiper Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Yep, replace very soon. If those are original, and I suspect they are, you will be amazed how thin they are and how weak the sidewalls are. One picture reminded me-when you call Roger find out how to check if your BRS firing pin is properly connected and make sure the 'chute risers are from the airframe are connected to the BRS. Easy things to check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Do I need to take them to a shop for balancing, or is there an easier way? I'll give you a call Roger, thanks. How many landings do tires typically last? This plane only has 120hrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Those Aero trainers don't last too long but they look right which is way important. If you don't like the economy next time look into some Monsters. Your tires are all cracked, did they wear because the rubber is failing? Number of landings has to do with how you land and taxi and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well, until I get better I am probably landing harder than I should. Combined with my off centerline landings and probable side loads, that will accelerate wear. Though the right tire looks very good with even wear...I hope I don't have something misaligned or bent on the left side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Downs Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Use this link to go to a thread that discusses flats and how to jack the plane up. If you have the hole on the back side of the wheel mount then you can use one stands like I made to jack it up by yourself. I carry one in the plane in case I get a flat away from home. http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/1107-flat-tires/page__hl__flats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josjonkers Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hey all... I pulled my wheel pants for the first time today. Everything looked okay, except my left tire is showing excessive wear on the outside, probably due to my tendency to land left of the centerline (not enough right rudder?)... The question is, do I need to go ahead and change it, or should I keep flying on it until just before my long Michigan trip? The picture: I doubt in the short time you have flown this, you caused this type of wear. I would not even fly with this , to me they look completely worn. My guess is these are 400-6 6ply. I would highly recommend the 400-6 8ply and they last for hundreds of hours and are much sturdier and do not wear much. If you do go with this make sure to increase the tre pressure to 40psi to avoid slippage on braking between tube and main tire and subsequently tear off valve stem. Changing the tire is easy once you remove the one half of the split drum. Make sure to deflate the tire before splitting the drum! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hey jonkers, I already ordered the 6 ply based on others' recommendations, but if they wear fast I will try the 8s next time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 I have a balancer if you need it. Tire talc is also a good idea. Baby powder is a golden oldie substitute. You probably will want to inspect and grease the wheel bearings. And cotter keys should never be reused. You really should try to find someone who's done this before to guide you through it the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug G. Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Desser sends a packet of tire talc with your order, "free!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Meade Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 You're getting new tubes, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 With the Marc wheels if you have the brake disk removed you can balance pretty close with the wheel on the axle. The bearings have to be in good shape to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Yes, I have new leakguard tubes coming. Bearings are probably okay, there's only 120 hangared hours on the airplane, but I can check them. I'm going to call Roger and get the skinny on how to do all this, I'm not going to do it blind. That said, I have assembled and changed airplane wheels before, including packing bearings. Balancing them properly is the only part I'm kind of fuzzy on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Meade Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Get yourself three bolts about 3/4" longer than the one's holding the rims together. Use those instead of clamps to squeeze the rims together until the OEM bolts will fit. Much simpler and neater and cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 When you remove the rotor, check the pins it rides on. Mine got corroded to the point the rotor could no freely float: I wire brushed off the corrosion, and now make it a monthly ritual to clean and lube them lightly with disk brake lubricant on a Q-tip. Allowing them to continue in this condition may have caused the ovalling of the rotor holes referenced in another thread. BTW. here's my balancing setup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hi Eddie, Lightly grease the pins. The corrosion and smooth operation should be better. You can also lightly open the hole with a Dremel and sanding disc so the slight corrosion or disc alignment isn't an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 It isn't just trying to get the halves together, but not pinching the tube. With the clamps you can tuck the tube back inside the tire edge and then just drop the halves together. I just had a aircraft company (a big company) send me two CT tires because they couldn't get the wheels together without pinching a tube. I told them how to do it with the wood clamps, but they paid to send them back and forth to me anyway. Took me about 30 minutes to mount and balance both tires. Easy money for an easy project. Below is an example. Makes life putting the halves together and not pinching a tube easy. How to mount a tire the easy way.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted August 7, 2013 Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Just my experience, but... ...with just enough air in the tubes to give them some "shape", I've never pinched a tube. I sprinkle some talc in the tire and mix it around, put some air in the tube, and that seems to hold it clear of the rim halves. I was also taught to slightly overinflate the tire once the halves are together, then take all the air out, and then refill back to specs. This may be a holdover from when there is a bead to seat, but it may also work to smooth out any wrinkles. And Roger, I did lightly sand the rotor holes - probably just enough to remove to corrosion, not noticeably enlarge them. So far, so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 I used Eddie's "inflate slightly" method with the tubes last time I did an aircraft wheel assembly, it works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted August 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2013 Based on the picture I posted, so folks think I can safely keep running that tire for a few hours until I get the new one on, or is that a safety of flight issue that should ground my airplane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.