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Aileron and Flap Bearings


Tom Baker

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I know this subject has been talked about before, but I just had to re-glue some bearings on a CTSW. Both of the bearings on the aileron were loose allowing it to slide side to side on the airplane. As I proceded with the project I found 2 more loose bearings on the flap. After a close inspection I found no evidence that they had ever been glued in place. The bearings were OK, but I did clean them with Acetone.

 

Now the fun part gluing them in. I have seen others comment that it was difficult to glue them in without getting glue in the bearing itself. After a little head scratching I found that a AN5 bolt would slide in the bearing and the head and AN5 washer would go through the hole in the bracket. I next made a trip to the local hardware store to buy some O-rings. I found a O-ring whose outside diameter was smaller that the bearing, with a inside diameter slightly smaller that the ball. I coted the O-rings with a thin coating of dielectric grease. My assemble went like this, bolt, washer, O-ring, bearing, O-ring, washer, and nut. I tightened the nut until the O-ring was in contact with the outer bearing race. I then cleaned the bearing surface one last time and glued in place. The bolt and O-ring assembly kept any glue from getting into the bearing. Here is a picture of the set up while I was waiting for the glue to set up. I glued in 4 bearings, and no hint of glue getting where it shouldn't.

post-40-0-84363700-1476402416_thumb.jpg

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I bet I have glued 60-80 of these in place. I put my allen wrench through the bearing center, rotate the bearing with the tip of the Loctite 480 bottle and slide the bearing in place. The only time I have seen any glue get near the bearing center is when you apply too much glue. If you hold the bearing vertical and a drop or bulge of glue forms on the bottom edge of the bearing you have too much glue on. It doesn't take much and because the tolerance is small in the mounting hole if you apply too much glue it wipes it off and it runs into the bearing center.

It's an easy job. The only thing for me is I don't wear gloves so sometimes I get a little black glue on my fingers.

 

Bottom line if your glue runs you have too much on.

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Well Roger, your way has worked for me in the past as well. I was simply looking for a better way of doing it. Having done it both ways I think I succeded. For the record, I didn't use to much glue. I didn't get any on my fingers, because I had something to hold on to. It made positioning the bearing easy. The added plus was that the bearing was protected from the possibility of getting any glue in it.

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I like Tom's method for the novice installer.  My first attempt at gluing a bearing resulted in aborting the installation before the glue set up because I used too much and tried to do it with just my fingers.  Consequently, the glue ran into the gap between the ball and housing, down my fingers and then dripped on and ruined my shirt.  My next attempt was better because I knew about the watery consistency of the glue.  I now use a bolt as Roger uses an allen wrench and go real easy with the glue and all's well.  It is a fine line to keep from using too much glue.  For the newbie or even for someone who'd done this a few times, I would recommend Tom's method.to insure a trouble-free installation.  Besides, if someone sees that black glue on my fingers they might think I'm a mechanic and that would be a BIG mistake.

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  • 4 years later...

Aileron Bearings / Pivots - Airframe/Exterior/Interior - CT Flier Forum

I have some extras if you need just a couple.  The order process is through Europe, but they ship from USA stock and arrive in a few days.  Easy once you navigate the language barrier.  There are posts on the gluing with appropriate loctite 480 adhesive as well, if you can't find them in search holler back.

Darrell 

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