Pa-28-151 struts

I have a sticky main strut in my Pa-28-151. My engineer has suggested
changing the o-rings and valves of both struts. I was curious about the
whole structure and have looked everywhere in the internet with no luck Any
suggestions where I could find them?

Gus

Apologies, I ";looked everywhere in the internet for diagrams, with no luck"


Gus
"Gus Cabre" wrote in message
...
I have a sticky main strut in my Pa-28-151. My engineer has suggested
changing the o-rings and valves of both struts. I was curious about the
whole structure and have looked everywhere in the internet with no luck Any
suggestions where I could find them?

Gus

On Feb 10, 12:13 pm, "Gus Cabre" wrote:
Apologies, I ";looked everywhere in the internet for diagrams, with no luck"

Gus"Gus Cabre" wrote in message

...

I have a sticky main strut in my Pa-28-151. My engineer has suggested
changing the o-rings and valves of both struts. I was curious about the
whole structure and have looked everywhere in the internet with no luck Any
suggestions where I could find them?

Gus

Gus: I have an exploded diagram of the mains in my warrior parts
catalog if that is what you are looking for. If you don't turn one up
send me your email and I'll zap a scanned copy to you. Leo

I have a sticky main strut in my Pa-28-151.

Where do you live?

If it's in a cold weather climate, having sticky main gear struts on a
Cherokee is NORMAL at this time of year.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
I have a sticky main strut in my Pa-28-151.


Where do you live?

If it's in a cold weather climate, having sticky main gear struts on a
Cherokee is NORMAL at this time of year.

They stick a lot less if you fly it frequently (at least once a week),
and keep the struts free of dirt. if you do have it rebuilt, have the
A&P check to make sure the strut bushing isn't worn so that the strut
gets cocked slightly, jamming it position. If it is, the only solution
is to replace the strut bushings that the strut rides in.

If it's in a cold weather climate, having sticky main gear struts on a
Cherokee is NORMAL at this time of year.

They stick a lot less if you fly it frequently (at least once a week), and
keep the struts free of dirt. if you do have it rebuilt, have the A&P
check to make sure the strut bushing isn't worn so that the strut gets
cocked slightly, jamming it position. If it is, the only solution is to
replace the strut bushings that the strut rides in.

The last few flights, with the temperature near zero, our left strut stuck
up after landing, only compressing back down when we made the right turn
onto the taxiway, forcing it down with some centrifugal force.

At these temperatures NOTHING moves easily. The yoke moves hard, the flaps
don't retract, the knobs on the radios turn stiffly... You should hear the
noises coming out of my truck.

Hard to believe last Valentine's Day we had to scrub some of our "romantic
sunset flights" because it was *raining* all the time. This year, liquid
water is only possible indoors...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 2008-02-12, Jay Honeck wrote:
At these temperatures NOTHING moves easily. The yoke moves hard, the flaps
don't retract, the knobs on the radios turn stiffly... You should hear the
noises coming out of my truck.

The first time I took my shiny new Lexus out in subzero weather, I thought
something was broke. It *never* made that kind of noise before.

I'm already planning on how to seal up the air leaks in whatever I wind up
buying so the cabin heat has a chance to keep up.
--
Jay Maynard, K5ZC http://www.conmicro.com
http://jmaynard.livejournal.com http://www.tronguy.net
http://www.hercules-390.org (Yes, that's me!)
Buy Hercules stuff at http://www.cafepress.com/hercules-390

Gus Cabre wrote:
I have a sticky main strut in my Pa-28-151. My engineer has suggested
changing the o-rings and valves of both struts. I was curious about the
whole structure and have looked everywhere in the internet with no luck Any
suggestions where I could find them?

Gus


As others have said, these things sticking is fairly normal. You
generally don't rebuild them until they start to leak. Since they
already leak somewhat, you just wait until the amount becomes a bit
messy and/or servicing them with air (or nitrogen as some prefer) gets
to be a chore.

I was surprised to find they stuck about the same after rebuilding all
of them as they did before.

If one is really sticking way more than the other you might be tempted
to change them both. But their "stickiness" will vary quite a bit from
strut to strut depending on the temperature and how much bouncing around
the bird gets when parked on the ramp for weeks at a time.

You may want to invest in a service manual and parts manual. Both are
now available on CD-ROM. It helps to have these to review before (or
after) you discuss matters with you mechanic. Just remember that the
mechanic has the benefit of actually DOING these operations, often many
times. They can tell you when the chapter and verse in the book ain't
quite how it REALLY happens.

Good Luck,
Mike

I routinely put both forearms under the center of each wing tip and lift to
unstick the main struts before each flight. I also do a little bounce on
the step to pull up the nose strut before boarding. It just seems to be a
normal part of owning a Cherokee.

--
Best Regards,
Mike

http://photoshow.comcast.net/mikenoel


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:NV6sj.29495$9j6.24433@attbi_s22...
If it's in a cold weather climate, having sticky main gear struts on a
Cherokee is NORMAL at this time of year.

They stick a lot less if you fly it frequently (at least once a week),
and keep the struts free of dirt. if you do have it rebuilt, have the
A&P check to make sure the strut bushing isn't worn so that the strut
gets cocked slightly, jamming it position. If it is, the only solution
is to replace the strut bushings that the strut rides in.

The last few flights, with the temperature near zero, our left strut stuck
up after landing, only compressing back down when we made the right turn
onto the taxiway, forcing it down with some centrifugal force.

At these temperatures NOTHING moves easily. The yoke moves hard, the
flaps don't retract, the knobs on the radios turn stiffly... You should
hear the noises coming out of my truck.

Hard to believe last Valentine's Day we had to scrub some of our "romantic
sunset flights" because it was *raining* all the time. This year, liquid
water is only possible indoors...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

You could try brushing some STP on the outside of the exposed strut.
It is amazing how a tiny amount of STP will reduce elastomeric seal
friction for many cycles, but it will probably have to be replaced
(rebrushed) every few weeks. From my experience in hydraulics, it
would cut friction easily in half for many cycles.