Landing Gear Alignment

delarrow · Post by **delarrow** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 3:31 am

I have a 170B, 1956 with a 180 gear that I am rebuilding. The wheels have 8 degrees of positive camber, what is the best way to correct that? it would require a shim about 3/8th inch thick at the bottom, ( not an option ) and no, the gear is not damaged. Can I use a press and bend the gear leg? Is it normal to have a lot of camber with a 180 gear conversion? The tires have been wearing on the outside, ( not good ) I bought the airplane from the ins. co. after it was blown over in a storm, damage was to the wings and vert. fin and rudder, the rest of the airplane was just tired. Almost done except for wheel alignment and to finish the interior. the gear thing has me stumped. Del

c170b53 · Post by **c170b53** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 3:55 am

So after loading the plane up, moving it back and forth on skid plates, it has an eight degree camber? Which 180 gear legs are installed ?

bagarre · Post by **bagarre** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:39 pm

I'm pretty sure all tires wear on the outside first because when the gear is unloaded they bow in (positive camber) so, the outside of the tire touches the runway first. I rotate mine every other year to keep them even. I think Jim's question is going in the right direction.

Needing to bend the gear would imply a damaged gear or something else really of out whack.

delarrow · Post by **delarrow** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:19 am

I have no idea which 180 gear is on the airplane but I am pretty sure it has not been damaged as both sides are the same.
I will try to attach a photo.

Cessna says 0 camber, 0 toe in. This is way to much, what am I missing?

Post by **GAHorn** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 7:42 am

At what weight is the aircraft in the picture?
Ordinarily sufficient camber can be obtained with the correct combination of wedged-shims between the axle and gearleg.

delarrow · Post by **delarrow** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:42 pm

Aircraft has not been weighed yet but is complete and pretty much standard. to shim the axels to 0 would require a shim that would taper from 3/8 in. to 0 and the bolts would have to bend to accommodate that much shim. The 180 gear on the 170 has been done before and has anyone had the problem and if so, what is the fix? I would like to keep the 180 gear if possible.

170C · Post by **170C** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:51 pm

Maybe they are all that way (?), but the lower section of the gear leg where the four bolts are located to attach the axel looks like it is not at a 90 degree angle to the floor. That would account for most of the camber. I am sure some of the other members who have dealt with adverse camber will speak up with a solution. I had just the opposite on my left gear, although not nearly as severe as this one, and we corrected it via shims.

Post by **GAHorn** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 5:32 pm

delarrow wrote:Aircraft has not been weighed yet but is complete and pretty much standard. to shim the axels to 0 would require a shim that would taper from 3/8 in. to 0 and the bolts would have to bend to accommodate that much shim. The 180 gear on the 170 has been done before and has anyone had the problem and if so, what is the fix? I would like to keep the 180 gear if possible.

Get some sandbags, fill it with fuel, and load the airplane to 2000-2200 lbs, then roll the airplane around to relieve the gear and see where they end up.
If that airplane is sitting empty...then that will explain a lot of it. (But even so, the 180 gear was designed for a much heavier airplane....not a 170.)
The other issue is the inboard-end of the gearleg. Is it shimmed also? (perhaps with flat washers?) If so, they may need adjustment.

ghostflyer · Post by **ghostflyer** » Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:01 pm

wow! I have never seen such a angle as that . Has anybody placed washers under the spring where it attaches itself to the fuse large? Something isn't right. There are damage limits written on the allowable deformation of the spring steel leg . This is from memory but with the spring with no weight or better still not fitted to the aircraft the angle that's between the flat surface (where the axle bolts on ) and the flat surface of the spring is 78degs . I will try and find the book on the damage limits . However this book was written by Cessna for the military . We had a heap of Cessna 180,s in the army . Those were the fun days . Nothing like a good ground loop to adjust the toe in/ camber .

bigrenna · Post by **bigrenna** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:17 am

delete

delarrow · Post by **delarrow** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:55 pm

I loaded the airplane with 700# of sand bags, 240 for gas and 400 for people 60 for seats removed to make room sand bags.
that lowered the camber to 5 degrees. yes the wheels are on two grease plates. I am milling 5 degree shims and will see how that works out. How do I identify which gear I have? This aircraft came from Canada, I called the FBO that had been servicing the aircraft for the last few years about some of the thing done to it and no paper work, his response was, O that is stuff
we just do up here, so I have to do a little correcting. Looks like the gear is one of them. Thanks for the help. Del

bigrenna · Post by **bigrenna** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 3:04 pm

delete

wingnut · Post by **wingnut** » Tue Aug 19, 2014 7:57 pm

delarrow wrote:I have no idea which 180 gear is on the airplane but I am pretty sure it has not been damaged as both sides are the same.
I will try to attach a photo.

170 camber1.jpg
Cessna says 0 camber, 0 toe in. This is way to much, what am I missing?

Would you post a picture of main spring attachment bolt/area, and the saddle fitting/shims? Unless both gear legs are damaged equally, you have a problem with improper parts or installation of parts in the gear box. Or possibly some highly modified 200 series springs. Yes, with much "work" and no pride it is possible, although it would be difficult to go unnoticed for years. I would also like to see a photo taken from the wing tips looking toward gear springs (with tires removed)
Did somebody install P.Ponk fittings upside down? This just don't make sense

richard d miller · Post by **richard d miller** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 6:24 am

Hi. Purchased a 1953 170 and my right tire leans out (top) more than the other. Quite noticeably. Tracks alright but looks very strange. There are shims but are equal on both sides? Could my gear be bent? Just joined this forum so hope I have the proper area for asking this question. Thanks

canav8 · Post by **canav8** » Thu Feb 23, 2017 6:37 am

richard d miller wrote:Hi. Purchased a 1953 170 and my right tire leans out (top) more than the other. Quite noticeably. Tracks alright but looks very strange. There are shims but are equal on both sides? Could my gear be bent? Just joined this forum so hope I have the proper area for asking this question. Thanks

Hi Richard. So can you post a picture? The gear on the 170 should have a little positive camber top of the tire tilted out while the gear is unloaded. The proper way to set the gear up is to put the aircraft on grease plates and load the aircraft to the weight that it will normally be flown at. That means basically the gross weight with fuel and load. it is commonly loaded to 2000 lbs. The Cessna 100 series service manual shows the process and the part numbers necessary to shim the axles. if your gear is significantly different then it is possible you have bent gear but dont write it off to that determination till all the other stuff above has been checked. The Service manual shows you how to measure the degrees of toe in and camber. Check this first before you start changing anything. Good luck and welcome to the Association. Doug

The International Cessna 170 Association