Greasing Comanche Wheels

Note: The following procedure is not elementary maintenance! This album is not for instruction, and is solely for entertainment purposes only. I am not an aircraft mechanic and am working for my grandfather, an experienced and licensed AME. He was assisting me verbally and physically through the processes to ensure a satisfactory result.

You are looking at the right main landing gear.

Start by removing the lockingwire and four foreward most bolts (left in image) of the caliper, which hold the brake pads and spacers in place. The wire is already removed in this pic.

The brake pads and spacers fall out and onto the floor when the bolts are removed. We kept the small components in an old tuna can.

Caliper and brake pads removed and checked for wear (They were almost like new and so we didn't replace a single one of eight [four pads per main wheel])

Extra Info: If you wear down your break pads down to the rivets which hold them in place, its possible for the rivets to score the brake disc because they protrude out further than the brake pad. You will usually hear the typical high pitched squeal of the brakes too.

Remove bolt and cups which hold the spacers and axle in place. You can see the bolt partially slid out of the axle in this image.

With the Bolt and Cups removed, you can slide the axle out. Friction between the gear forks and the spacers kept the tire in place.

This is to help show what holds the wheels onto the landing gear fork, this is one of the two spacers that go on either side of the wheel. The axle slides inside the spacers and wheel. This is a good time to inspect the brake disc closely.

We washed the old grease off the Axle and Spacers. This is what they look like. They appear so flimsy!

A clear view of a "Dual Forked" Landing Gear, with an oleo strut. Brakes lines and caliper still attached.

This is a good time to replace the tires, since most of the work is already done. Our treads were still good so we decided not to replace the tires.

This is also a good time to clean the oleo's because they are extended. Dirt on the oleo's can cause the seal to wear, and eventually leak.

Remove the seal which keeps grease in the roller bearing/axle and dirt out.

There is a felt pad inside the seal which absorbs excess grease. This is the old grease, its quite clean and we determined it was unnecessary to do the job, however it is impossible to know without taking them off and looking.

Last time the bearings were packed with grease was around 2011. That is spectacular! However we only fly about 40h/year and pretty well exclusively on tarmac.

Made In USA... what a nice sight!

There are two roller bearings for each wheel, one on either side. This is the right side of the right main gear.

Gotta clean up as much of the old grease as possible.. soaking the bearing in varsol and wiping the wheel with shop towels works fine.

Here is a clean tapered roller bearing, cleaned in varsol, air dried, ready to be greased with Aeroshell #5 Aviation Grease.

Its kinda fun to pack grease in there. Your hands become a mess, and you carry the scent of Aeroshell #5 on your hands for the rest of the day.

My First Lockwire Job Ever! This is the left main if you havn't noticed. I didn't take a picture of the assembly of the right main landing gear as it almost takes three hands to hold the spacers in place and lift the gear in place between the forks, then slide the axle through.

I will update this album showing us greasing the rest of the landing gear.

However, for time's sake, our next task will be to replace bungees (they are assist bungees, which help take the load off the electric motor/transmission which powers the gear.

Additional Info: We did not check the hydraulic lines or seals because you have to bleed the lines again after, it's a big job and Al (Grandpa/AME) felt comfortable in their condition. He has been an AME since the 1950's and has owned and maintained this aircraft since 1975 so I feel very comfortable an relieved with his decision to forego inspecting the brake lines.

Thanks for reading.