Mac, I, too, feared that the conduit encasing the trim wire might be kinked, but -- with the aid of *loads* of lithium grease, and loads of advice from members of this List, and patience wiggling the wire up & back using vise grips at each end -- we were able to get the old wire out and a new wire in. Yes, work from the back and round the leading end of the new wire first (file, sandpaper), ditto the trailing end of the old wire. I also found it helpful to open up the fairing at the front of the horiz. stab. and unscrew the fitting where the parts of the conduit meet that's under that fairing, and squirt even more lithium grease into the conduit there (both directions) using an aerosol version of lithium grease that came with a little drinking-straw-like extender. (See photos that Hartmut linked to, on his web site.)
The "gotcha" in removing elevator, etc., can be found in Ercoupe Service Memorandum #38, which clearly warns that when R&R the elevator, tipping it up more than 80 degr. can kink the conduit. I'm pretty sure that that's what caused the problem when the painter R&R'd my 'Coupe's flight controls during painting. After we got the old wire out, it formed up into a loose circular coil like the new wire....except for 2 right-angle bends that were my evidence he'd kinked it! But I was lucky: the new wire is pretty stiff and when glopped up sufficiently with the grease, pushed its way into the conduit just fine. I'm guessing it straightened out any bends in the conduit on its way in, by virtue of its stiffness. BTW, WD40 did not provide adequate lubrication: it took real grease, and lots of it. Linda N3437H (Sky Sprite) L.A. From: pilotmac818 Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 2:46 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Installing new trim tab wire The new wire goes through the conduit in the fuselage just fine but gets stuck in the conduit in the elevator (horizontal stabilizer). I think the conduit might be twisted. I bought a new conduit from Skyport but I'm chicken to remove the old one for fear that the new one won't go through cleanly (there is no opening in the elevator to help guide it; by the way, how do we check for corrosion when we can't see the inside of the elevator? A subject for a separate note). I have some ideas of how to do this but I would benefit greatly from hearing from someone who has actually done it. Mac McMahon N94184 VKX Friendly, MD
