Replacement Cowl Latch Assembly?

MeeksDigital · Post by **MeeksDigital** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:55 pm

On the way out to Oshkosh I had my front left cowl latch assembly break completely off of my 170A. I've been told that these are the Cessna 140 or equivalent cowl latches, and I saw a lot of them in OSH but never got a chance to talk to someone who really knew much about them.

I'm looking for a replacement assembly, most likely through univair, and I was wondering if anyone knew what part number I should be looking for. I don't have an image of the latch at the moment but I should be out at the airplane tomorrow and I'll post a photo here if I take one.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

MeeksDigital · Post by **MeeksDigital** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:58 pm

After a brief search, I turned up the latch assembly on A/C Spruce. I guess I'll need to buy all of the parts except for the recess, but now the question is... has anyone here done this repair? Any advice?

Here's the assembly so you know which one I'm talking about: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/a ... llatch.php

Thanks in advance!

aturner · Post by **aturner** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 11:34 pm

You should probably check out the Dip Davis cowl latch STC before you spend all that money on new latch parts. Dip's latches that use cam-loc type fasteners. I installed a set on my 140 recently, and I'm very pleased with them.

http://www.cessna120-140.org/forum/view ... cowl+latch

http://www.cessna120-140.org/forum/view ... cowl+latch

-Andy

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:05 am

Trevor,

You said you needed to buy all the parts except the recess... In case you missed it, you can also buy the two assemblies (hook & lever) from Spruce as well. It ain't cheap, but if you need the entire assembly it might be worth it vs. try to assemble one from all the parts. Whichever works out better for you in the end...

MeeksDigital · Post by **MeeksDigital** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:30 am

andy, where can I get the dip davis latches? my friend has them on his 170 and encouraged me to get them as well!

Thanks so much for the replies!

(for the time being, i've got duct tape holding the front left cowl down... haha)

aturner · Post by **aturner** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:45 am

I contacted Dip via email, and he replied promptly: birddr@mc.net

Although the installation doesn't look like too much work, it still took me a weekend to do the conversion. Take off the cowl, bring it home, clean it up, remove the old latches, fit the new ones, rivet them in, take the cowl back to the airport, do the final fitting and trimming, more riveting, etc. It was fairly straightforward (and fun), except for a few rivets that were difficult (impossible) to buck because of the stiffener bar. If your AP does it, he will be faster, but it will still take some time. As I recall, the four latches and paperwork were $180 or so.

Good luck, -Andy

MeeksDigital · Post by **MeeksDigital** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 1:54 am

Awesome! Thanks so much. I just e-mailed him, looking forward to a response. According to the other forums you posted, the STC'd latch set is $189 - sure beats buying parts for the other latches over and over!

johneeb · Post by **johneeb** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 2:43 am

We all need to watch these latches, even the later style on the pressure cowling.

Jr.CubBuilder wrote:I just thought I'd put this out here. If you are using an older style cowl with the swing up doors, and have converted it to a pressure cowl after upgrading the motor BEWARE! The latches can't take the pressure, mine were fine, and yes I ALLWAYS checked them twice during preflight and when stopping cross country. Last Saturday one came loose while flying home. The flailing of that one corner popped the other one loose, and the door beat around so hard that it broke the second side loose. I was fortunate in that I didn't have far to go, the CHTs were coming up as it was even only over about 25 miles.

MeeksDigital · Post by **MeeksDigital** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:24 pm

wow..... so sorry to hear about that john. no pressure cowl here, but i'm certainly going to be a lot more careful about the latches until i get home... i've got about 25 hours of flying to get home from michigan...

johneeb · Post by **johneeb** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 6:39 pm

Trevor,
The airplane in the picture belongs to Jr.CubBuilder. My cowling has the new style doors and latches, I also have had issues with the doors wanting to open in filight.

mrpibb · Post by **mrpibb** » Tue Aug 07, 2007 3:28 pm

Hey, 190 dollars for a latch's and stc!! I paid over $250 just to replace 1 latch and 2 hours of my time.

hilltop170 · Post by **hilltop170** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 7:48 am

Air Repair has original Cessna L-19 cowl latches that are the same part as the 170 latches. They have a parts catalog on their website that has the part numbers. There is an upper assembly and a lower assembly. They have plenty of them. I just replaced all four of mine after 56 years of service. I think that is an acceptable service life.