Jump to content

Does your SW or LS track straight during taxi?


Roger Lee

Recommended Posts

Hi All,

 

Does your CT (SW or LS) track straight when you taxi and take your feet off the pedals or does it pull to one side or the other?

If it pulls to one side or the other this is easy to fix. Take the cowlings off. There are two control rods part 4010400) that come out of the firewall and attach to the steering head arm at the bottom of the fuselage. You will need to remove the steering head screw (9996218). Let's talk about an example here:

If it pulls to the right slightly then the control rod end (9997006B) on the right needs to be lengthened 1/2 - 1 turn, or the one on the left needs to be shortened that much. If that isn't enough after a taxi test then do it again a half turn.

If you pull to the right really fast then you may want to do the above procedure at least one full turn. You can do a little on one side and then the opposite on the other side, but one side adjusted is usually good. For example shorten one side and lengthen the other.

One thing to consider. If the one side you want to turn is all the way turned in or all the way out then adjust the other side. Adjusting either side can work to correct a pull. All you are trying to do is push the wheel in the direction of travel to correct the problem.

Here is a something you absolutely need to pay attention to when loosening or tightening these control rod nuts (99996336). If you turn the nut on the outside (9996336) and the control rod (4010400) comes loose on the other end then someone needs to stick their hands way back inside the tunnel where you can't see and put a wrench on the loose nut (9996334) and hold it while someone on the outside tightens the control rod back up. Failure to keep the control rod secured will cause the threads to wear and get loose.

So to prevent the above fun time just hold the control rod (4010400) on the outside where you are making your adjustment with a pair of vise grips. Now you can loosen or tighten the nut and not ever cause the rod to break loose.

The control rod lock nut (9996336) gets 80 in/lbs of torque. I find these loose from time to time so they should always be checked during an inspection.

One last note. When replacing the steering head screw (9996218) back into the steering head (4010001) apply a drop of Loctite 243 blue and be extra careful to line it up and DO NOT FORCE IT IN AND STRIP IT. If it doesn't go in easy then don't force it,

re-align it.This screw needs to be checked during an inspection, too.

This is a very easy adjustment and you only need to pay a little attention to what's going on.

 

If this is as clear as mud you can call me and I'll see if I can make it more clear.

Steering control picture.pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...