Nose leg Spring

[Mac Bowden]

Roger,

Was trying to remove the nose leg spring support rod. After sliding the unit off the airplane, removed the nut from the underside of the fork and then the internal nut from the top but the rod supporting the spring refuses to budge. Am I correct in thinking that it's screwed through the bottom and not just sitting in the hole?

Mac

[Roger Lee]

Howdy Mac,

 

There is no real reason to remove the bolt through the down tube on the front nose just to remove the spring or new red palstic dampeners.

Many of the springs that I have had come through here that have come form a humid climate have been rusted in place. Here is how to remove it. First spray some WD40 down inside and let it soak for 10 min. The tap on the side or bottom of the fork tube with a hammer to help break up some of the rust. Then I take a stainless steel 1/16" rod that i have bent a small hook onto on one end. Make this rod about 18" long. Slide the rod down along side the bolt or into the center of the spring area. Go down about 2/3 way and turn the rod so the hook slips between the spring coils. Put a set of large vise grip pliers on the other end. make sure the fork is in a vise and yank hard. The spring will come out and it will be rusty. Then just follow the instructions to install the new nose dampener kit. I have had one or two springs removals that didn't want to come out unless you cussed at it once or twice , but they all come out.

Once you have done this once all the rest are easy.

Problem is if you are an owner you only have to do it once and the practice never helps again.