Separate Tail wheel Halves

[MoonlightVFR]

I am going to install a new tire and tube on tail wheel on C170B year 1954

Looking for sage advise.

Decades ago this same tail wheel would not separate after bolts removed and tire bead broken. Tire was physically cut with knife.It was like wheel Halves welded.

Suspected original factory install. Tire condition was atrocious.

Will take wheel to Auto tire store to have bead broken.


I hope the Scott separator gasket 0442010-27 is reusable.

Certainly Admire the design of Scott 3200 tail wheel assembly.

[gfeher]

Grady, please don't reuse that gasket (Cessna p/n 0442010-27). It's Scott p/n 2602 and available from Spruce for only $5.55. (It's likely the same as Alaskan Bushwheel's p/n ABI-2602 available from Spruce for $4.35, as most (if not all) of the Alaskan Bushwheel parts are the same as the Scott parts. I just haven't purchased and used that particular Alaskan Bushwheel part to confirm that it is interchangeable with the Scott part. So I don't want to say for sure. Perhaps someone else can chime in on it.)

Will take wheel to Auto tire store to have bead broken.

I'm not much of a fan of Harbor Freight tools, as in my experience they are poorly made, don't last and aren't worth the admittedly cheap price. But, I've made one exception. I've found that their Pittsburgh Automotive bead breaker is excellent for use on small GA aircraft tires, and it's only about $50. It's dirt simple to use, reasonably convenient to store, and very well constructed FOR SMALL AIRCRAFT TIRES. Compare it to the aviation bead breakers sold by Spruce and others for well more than 3 times the price (for the cheapest one). You can also use it for your garden tractor tires, though I'm guessing its too small and lightweight for auto tires -- what it's actually marketed for.

Harbor Freight Bead Breaker.jpg

[c170b53]

Well after 3 bolts are removed the wheel halves should separate easily. They could be corroded inside and now welded together but that would be a latent failure about to happen so I would address that for my piece of mind.

[ghostflyer]

I would soak the halves in penetrating oil or a product that helps cleans gaskets off components . Brute strength is not always the answer. A good indicator if corrosion if there internally is have a look at the bolt holes , are they corroded or pitted or is there white powder around the holes.

[flyboy122]

Will take wheel to Auto tire store to have bead broken.


.

Unless the tire guy happens to be knowledgeable about airplanes, this sounds like a really good way to end up with a broken wheel.

DEM

[c170b53]

You know this might just be me, my tailwheel inner tube gets patched or replaced on a regular basis. If yours has been together long enough to wear out the tire, you 're d,owing good. I wouldn't go anywhere without a spare on board.

[ghostflyer]

I would make sure my tire pressures are correct and regularly check them . But on assembly of a tire and tube i use talcum powder liberally . When assembling my wheel halves i always use new bolts and nuts . One little trick i use is the use of metal[valve] tube caps and not the plastic ones. They are nipped up with a 3/8 ring spanner. The reason being it stops the cockroaches [2 legged ones ] walking past your aircraft and letting down your tail wheel [or main wheel] and giving you a bad day.

[GAHorn]

Sometimes the gasket between the halves becomes soaked with grease and then acts as adhesive to keep the halves from separating.
I've seen this several times, and in one case there was NO gasket....which created corrosion keeping them stuck... but each time I was able to separate the halves by simply putting a little inflation/air into the tire. Don't over do this, obviously...and it won't work on a totally destroyed tire, of course.
The HF tire tools aren't the best but they work on everything I own. (Trucks, cars, tractors, trailers, go-carts, etc. Never needed it on the airplane.)

Another way to get a tire bead in-stuck, is to drive a vehicle over the deflated tire, avoiding the rim, of course.
Also, since the tire is being thrown away, you can always just cut it off. Careful with those aluminum and magnesium wheels.

[170C]

What is the purpose of the tail wheel gasket (prevent halves from sticking)? My tail wheel hasn't had a gasket in 27 yrs. don't remember ever seeing one. Should I get one?

[GAHorn]

It's supposed to keep grease from getting to the tube and tire where the petroleum product will damage the rubber.

[DaveF]

Gene, thanks for the tip on the HF bead breaker tool. They have a few tools worth buying, like the small wheel puller that I used once to remove magneto drive gears. That was a tip from my mechanic, by the way.

[gfeher]

Thanks Dave. Post a pic or link to that wheel puller if you can. I'm always open to a good tip on a tool.

[cessna170bdriver]

I always used my bench vise to break the bead on the tailwheel tire. I don't recall ever having a problem separating the wheel halves.

[hilltop170]

I have run across stuck wheel halves a couple of times, both times when a gasket has been used between the halves. I do not use a gasket in my tailwheels. One was on a new wheel that had the bolts tightened apparently before the paint fully cured on the wheel halves. When the wheels were finally separated, the gasket sheared in two requiring scraping the gasket off both halves with a putty knofe.

In both cases, nothing worked until the nuts were evenly backed-off a couple of turns and air pressure increased until the wheel halves popped apart. Then as Miles described, break the beads off the rims with a bench vise.

[edbooth]

I always used my bench vise to break the bead on the tailwheel tire. I don't recall ever having a problem separating the wheel halves.

That works, also a big "C" clamp.