Doyle: I recently rebuilt the nose strut on my Alon which should be similar to your 'coupe. The first time I tried to add hydraulic fluid after purchasing the plane, it leaked like a sieve. Removing and disassembling the stut is straight-forward, but pulling the large metal plug out of the top of the strut can require some ingenuity and brute strength. I didn't have to deal with the steering collar, but I did have to fix leaks at both the top end and lower end (which are the only two places where it can leak).
(1) At the lower end, there is a common "O" ring which provides the seal
against a smooth chromed surface. On my strut, the chrome was pitted, so
at certain angles of the wheel and depression of the strut, the fluid
would just gush out. To get rid of the pitting, I chose to have the inner
strut re-chromed and re-ground by an FAA certified shop ($270.00). That
worked. [[A used strut should be inspected very carefully - to both
purchase it and get it re-chromed if it is pitted can cost more than a new
one.]]
(2) At the top, there is a metal plug which is a press fit and really
difficult to remove. Heat and force will get it out. Below the metal
plug is a thick soft rubber plug which really provides the upper seal.
After re-assembly and putting it back in the plane, I had a giant leak
from under the upper collar of the engine mount (where the upper end of
the strut is secured). There was only one place it could come from - it
was coming from the two screws which secure the press-fit metal plug to
the outer tube! While the manual said to secure and stake the two screws,
it didn't say anything about using sealant on them. The threaded holes go
right through the metal plug as does the filler hole for the strut. When
the strut is depressed, there is probably hundreds of
pounds-per-square-inch of hydraulic fluid trying to push throuh the screw
threads. Some Permatex black goop on the screw threads fixed the problem.
While the strut is apart, there are three other "O" rings inside to make
the shock absorber valving seal and do its thing. They are all cheap and
there don't seem to be any critical clearances inside the strut. My strut
really benefitted from refurbishing because some clever person had filled
much of it with grease to hide the leak problem. Now it acts like the
shock absorber it was meant to be.
You mentioned oil - I hope you mean hydraulic fluid.
Do buy a parts book and a Service Manual. They are invaluable for
understanding how stuff works and how to assemble and re-assemble.
Hope my experience helps you.
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David Smoler | __ |
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Alon A-2 | \____/ | N6359V
s/n A35 () () () based at RHV
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At 08:18 PM 10/31/98 -0500, DoyleLawson wrote:
>I am the new owner of 415wp s/n 770
>This is my first ercoupe.
> The nose gear leaks oil as fast as you can
>put it in . It look like it coming from steering
>collar and steering sleeve , not lower bushing
>o-ring. Does anyone have a good used one for
>sale or advice on rebuilding gear. Steering collar
>and sleeve has a lot of play. No shimmy yet.
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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