tail wheel spring bracket

[william halford]

I have a A model and the bracket that is above the tail wheel spring. ( this bracket has about a dozen or so bolts in it ) has a crack. I understand that this is common for this to crack. Instead of repairing this I would like to make this out of stanless. Has anyone did this before .....Gary

[GAHorn]

If you have the early "box" bracket you would probably be happier to convert to the later "fishmouth" aluminum bracket. Cessna, Hill Aircraft, and the L-19 folks can help you with this. http://www.jtaco.com/

[william halford]

I talked to my local I/A about this, he claims this has been an on going problem not only with the 170 but 180 and others also. Since the crack was on the aft portion of the boxs with the lip that keeps the clamp from sliding aft. This was removed filed and cleaned. A piece of stainless was cut & trimed to lay inside the box, & beyond. a 90 was was bent up at the end to hold the clamp in place. The SS was only attached to the box thru the main spring bolt. everything was clened, zinc and repainted. THe I/A was happy. Next week Bill and I will be back in the air.

MR Gahorn thank you for your info. That website was some type of integration firm..

[zero.one.victor]

That comment about the bracket having a dozen or so bolts in it leads me to believe that you have the later-style "finger" bracket. My ragwing has been fitted with one,and it's installed with a whole bunch of bolts,& not rivets like was used on the later 170's that came with that style bracket from the factory.

Eric

[william halford]

I do not know about it being a later style bracket, with the aft portion of the bracket following the contour of the spring it will break, it is just a matter of time when. With that in mind there has to be a better style bracket design out there..gary

[3958v]

following up on the discussion dose any one have a part # for the bracket piece above the spring? Mine has 4 small bolts in each side and 2 small bolts in the front with the U bolt on the back holding the spring. Mine has broken and I would like to replace in but it is not listed in the ragwing parts book. Bill K

[3993v]

That part number is 0510000-31 channel, tailwheel spring retainer. I know univair has them priced very proudly but I would try JTA aircraft. There price is much better but you will get a 170 part with a L-19 Biddog part number0642136. Hope this helps. nick

[3993v]

Bill I found the phone number for JTA its 970-221-4230. nick

[zero.one.victor]

I talked to my local I/A about this, he claims this has been an on going problem not only with the 170 but 180 and others also...................

Gary &/or Bill: Rereading your post,I'm puzzled. Your IA claims that cracking of the tailspring bracket is a problem with the 180 also--the 180 has a completely different type of tailspring arrangement. It is a tubular "stinger" & penetrates the tailcone area from behind,bolting into place inside. Sounds like he's not too familiar with 180's,or maybe I'm misinterpreting what part of yours is cracking?

Eric

[william halford]

That just came up in the discussion, But I will ask him about it and get back with you Gary

[jefouche]

I talked to my local I/A about this, he claims this has been an on going problem not only with the 170 but 180 and others also. Since the crack was on the aft portion of the boxs with the lip that keeps the clamp from sliding aft. This was removed filed and cleaned. A piece of stainless was cut & trimed to lay inside the box, & beyond. a 90 was was bent up at the end to hold the clamp in place. The SS was only attached to the box thru the main spring bolt. everything was clened, zinc and repainted. THe I/A was happy.

Here we are 13 years later!

I have this exact problem. How did the IA sign it off? Is there any supporting documentation for a repair of this sort? Any reference in 43.13? I'm looking for a way to avoid around $500 in the part and several hundred dollars in labor to replace it.

[Ryan Smith]

I talked to my local I/A about this, he claims this has been an on going problem not only with the 170 but 180 and others also. Since the crack was on the aft portion of the boxs with the lip that keeps the clamp from sliding aft. This was removed filed and cleaned. A piece of stainless was cut & trimed to lay inside the box, & beyond. a 90 was was bent up at the end to hold the clamp in place. The SS was only attached to the box thru the main spring bolt. everything was clened, zinc and repainted. THe I/A was happy.

Here we are 13 years later!

I have this exact problem. How did the IA sign it off? Is there any supporting documentation for a repair of this sort? Any reference in 43.13? I'm looking for a way to avoid around $500 in the part and several hundred dollars in labor to replace it.

I am in a similar boat. We just replaced tailwheel springs, and when I was removing the rudder to repair damage from the tailwheel beating the bottom of the rudder to death, I noticed that my (steel) bracket was also developing a crack. The fish mouth bracket would be nice to add to the airplane to replace the old steel one.

Anyone (Del) have an idea of how long it takes to replace this bracket correctly (with rivets versus bolts)? My IA is a bit hesitant to attempt the repair given the amount of disassembly required...

[edbooth]

I talked to my local I/A about this, he claims this has been an on going problem not only with the 170 but 180 and others also. Since the crack was on the aft portion of the boxs with the lip that keeps the clamp from sliding aft. This was removed filed and cleaned. A piece of stainless was cut & trimed to lay inside the box, & beyond. a 90 was was bent up at the end to hold the clamp in place. The SS was only attached to the box thru the main spring bolt. everything was clened, zinc and repainted. THe I/A was happy.

Here we are 13 years later!

I have this exact problem. How did the IA sign it off? Is there any supporting documentation for a repair of this sort? Any reference in 43.13? I'm looking for a way to avoid around $500 in the part and several hundred dollars in labor to replace it.

I am in a similar boat. We just replaced tailwheel springs, and when I was removing the rudder to repair damage from the tailwheel beating the bottom of the rudder to death, I noticed that my (steel) bracket was also developing a crack. The fish mouth bracket would be nice to add to the airplane to replace the old steel one.

Anyone (Del) have an idea of how long it takes to replace this bracket correctly (with rivets versus bolts)? My IA is a bit hesitant to attempt the repair given the amount of disassembly required...

Ryan, drilling off the old bracket and riveting on the new one is a couple hour job. The worst part is removing and replacing the tail feathers. The time for that I guess depends on how fast you work, and whether you find something else that needs attention.

[c170b53]

Been beat to death, might describe this topic but that shouldn't be a surprise, there's more than a few posts seeing that the tailwheel works hard every flight.
The 13 years poster; post number one: Welcome to the club. Sounds like you're describing the tang has broken off on the aluminum horizontal bracket that closes out the top of aft portion of the fish mouth, trapping the spring assembly. It's an easy fix with a new part, just ensure everything inside is serviceable and maybe it's time for a new main spring as well.
Ryan your post sounds like a crack somewhere, maybe a pic would help us to see your issue

[Ryan Smith]

Eddie and Richard - thanks.

I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow. At first, I wasn't sure that it wasn't just a paint crack. I had my IA look at it, and he confirmed that the bracket, is indeed, cracked. I don't know how old the crack is, nor do I have any idea how fast it's propagating. I would love some opinions on how urgent this repair is. The airplane is due for annual at the end of March, I've convinced the owner to do the repair then. The IA doesn't really want to do it then. I don't want to have a bigger repair when that bracket finally fails.