The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Where I live ,Brisbane Australia we have had massive floods from rain fall that’s totally unbelievable . My hangar and others on the airfield were flooded . I was lucky in some ways as the water only got to 12ins deep in my hangar and I had my tail of my aircraft elevated up and sitting on a bench to put the aircraft in the flying position.as I was doing a careful inspection of tail wheel ,steering and bottom of elevator . So flood salt water only covered my main wheels for 3 days . I had also just finished repackaged my bearings in the main wheels with Aeroshell 22 grease. [100hrly] This grease had not started to break down at all . My rims are made of magnesium and the aircraft is fitted with twin spot brakes [cleveland ] . So the Main wheels removed again after the flooding and rims split ,new tie bolts fitted and brake callipers inspected and washed . I noticed the brake pads seemed very rusty looking . I now have done a very close inspection 10x mag glass and found the brake compound has started to break down . First look they seemed ok but closer look it’s bad news . The moral of this issue is when the wheels,brake callipers ,axle are inspected check the brake pads for breakdown of materials .
My total loss is about 10,000 dollars for my hangar. I lost manuals ,fridge [very important item in a hangar] electrical power tools , office furniture and a transponder.
The fridge remained sealed and the “drinks “ were safe . But hot. My new compressor was up on a bench having the drive belts adjusted and I need 3 other persons to help me put it back on the floor .
Please do not ask about insurance .. I was insured but insurance are ducking and diving around this .

Noticed a red oil leak at my r/h wheel today. Further investigation showed my twin spot calliper was leaking under pressure . Removed it and removed the pistons and I have some pitting on the pistons and on the calliper . Spent nearly 2 hours on the phone trying to buy a new one or a used one . No luck. The only other alternative is come up with a repair scheme and have it approved. You can only hone out a bore so far . Maybe be pressing in a stainless steel sleeve into the bore and then honing out to original dims. The calliper is made of magnesium.

Sorry to hear of your troubles, we just missed disaster around the airport (many others were not as lucky throughout the province) this winter when a Hawaiian express stalled over BC. Fortunately the dykes held around the airport, otherwise I would have experienced your dilemma.