The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Hello all. I am in need of some information regarding the rear elevator bellcrank Cessna Part number 0510108 page 110 and 111 in the parts manual. During my annual inspection the IA noticed a significant lateral wobble in the bellcrank induced by reaching your hand through the inspection port and moving the bellcrank side to side by maybe 3/8 of an inch either side of center. Searching the forums it seems that others have this wobble as well and checking another 170 on the field it to has a wobble. There does seem to be some contact with the supporting brace as evident by removal paint on the bell crank. My question is have others out there dealt with this issue. Should the bell crank be rebuilt and if so are there part numbers for the bearings out there somewhere. Anyone having experience with this issue please chime in! It's getting warm out and the airplane should be flying...

Sorry. I mixed up part numbers. The bellcrank is part number 0510108 page 110 item 36 in the parts manual.

The flanges this bellcrank mounts on have been known to crack. See here to find more information. Personally I would ground the plane until this discrepancy is taken care of. My guess is you will find the bearing frozen and the holes which the pivot bolt go through in the flange elongated. Is the pivot bolt rotating when you move the elevator up and down? It shouldn't. There should be no lateral play in the bearing; it should be clamped between the flanges.

Thanks Gary. Very helpful post. I don't believe the bolt was turning. Now that I have thought about it for awhile I'm going to take another look at the specifics of it. I made the assumption the parts would be unobtainable but if it's as simple as finding a Torrington bearing then I think it will be an easier issue to fix. It's definately grounded until we resolve the issue.