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Axle jack

bobg56

Well Known Member
Has anyone built or designed some type of fixture to jack aircraft for wheel removal. I had a fixture on my C 170 that would grip landing gear strut and you then would put a small jack under it, the gear strut was tapered and the fitting would wedge, it was also padded and did no damage. I have my RV 12 in my garage so wings are off, I don't have saw horses that are 500 lb rated, just wondering if someone came up with a fixture, I searched and didn't see anything. If need be I'll get out to Lowes and buy saw horses and do it per the M/M.
 
You might consider something like this:

jack-1.jpg
 
Sandwich the lower portion of the gear leg between two padded blocks of wood using a big C-clamp. Lift with a suitable jack.
 
What I made today was two pieces of angle iron that clamp onto gear leg, I then fit another piece on the inboard side to create a flat to accommidate a bottle jack, I welded the pad adapter to the angle iron, works great, thanks for the photos and suggestions to all.
 
I was looking for a light weight method to elevate the axle should I have to fix a flat tire in some remote location, something that would fit in the aircraft tool bag along with a bicycle pump / spare tube and not pay a huge weight penalty. After a few sketches, this was the result.

The screw is 6" long 5/8-16 threaded rod with a 7/16? hex machined on the end for a socket wrench. The OD of my 7/16? socket is just under .625 so it will pass into the tube allowing additional lifting height.

The total weight of the two axle assemblies and screw is less than 1 pound. Not shown is a small swivel pad that is placed on the end of the screw to prevent walking. (Similar to what's used on a a C clamp).

oCi.jpg


oC0.jpg
 
I?ve used one of these for decades, and have been pleased with it. You have to modify your big axle nut, but that took about 1/2 hour per nut. Works very well and is stable. Jack one side, remove the wheel, set that side on a wood block, then jack the other side and do the same thing. Make your wood support blocks out of 4X4?s, four 8? long pieces connected to each other to form a support block. The airplane will sit like this for a long time without worrying about it falling off.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/cata...lO7FfEoaCL11MlcNy3s5cowtDDqp5sjRoC8SUQAvD_BwE
 
I replace my tie down ring with a 3/8? bolt and use a long stroke hydraulic jack to lift the wing I?m working on. I took a 2? aluminum cylinder about 3? long and bored a shallow hole in each end. One end fits over the jack shaft and the other fits up with the head of the 3/8? bolt. That way the bolt can?t slip off the jack. Just be sure to chock the nose and other main wheels.
 
Axle Jack

This is not an original idea, I got it from another RV-12 owner. It consists of a piece of a 4 X 4, cut to an angle so the bottom is parallel to the floor. You then glue rubber or foam to the side that will be next to the landing gear. Then you use a piece of 3/4 plywood or a 1 by 4 would work, and glue rubber or foam on one side of it. The rubber or foam is to protect the paint. Then you put the 4 X 4 on the underside of the gear, the plywood or 1 by on the top side, and use a large C clamp to hold them together. The put a floor jack or other jack under the bottom and jack it up. That is what I use and it works well.

oCj.jpg
 
I?ve used one of these for decades, and have been pleased with it. You have to modify your big axle nut, but that took about 1/2 hour per nut. Works very well and is stable. Jack one side, remove the wheel, set that side on a wood block, then jack the other side and do the same thing. Make your wood support blocks out of 4X4?s, four 8? long pieces connected to each other to form a support block. The airplane will sit like this for a long time without worrying about it falling off.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/cata...lO7FfEoaCL11MlcNy3s5cowtDDqp5sjRoC8SUQAvD_BwE


I have an RV-9A with pants...need a way to jack the plane for tires and brake linings, and would like to avoid wing jacks. Aircraft Spruce (and you) mention a 1/2 hour modification of the axle nut...what kind of modification is required, exactly?
 
The tool sold at Aircraft Spruce in action. In this picture the cotter pin that holds the axle nut has been removed and the tool has been inserted through the end of the axle nut into the axle.

RV6-jack.jpg

The white arrow points to a hole drilled and tapped 10-32 in the axle nut. A matching drilled and tapped hole on the opposite flat of the axle nut.

Strategic stacking of some scrap wood underneath the bottle jack scientifically calculated to accommodate the ram length of my jack. Picture required so that one year later I don't need to recalculate.

As stated before, remove cotter pin, jack it up, unscrew axle nut and slide it onto the steel tube, slide wheel off axle and onto steel tube, put some wood blocks under the axle, lower onto wood, remove tool and wheel.

Axle nut mod shown below.

Axle nut mod.jpeg

Drill hole in end of axle nut to allow insertion of steel tube of tool.

Fabricate steel strap bracket. I think I used 0.063 steel strap. Spruce sells 1" wide strips cut to manageable lengths. Bracket has nut plate on top end to accept bolt/screw for wheel pant. Sides of strap drilled for 10-32 screws used to hold strap onto axle nut. Obviously the 10-32 screws can't be very long, fiddle with washers to adjust depth of screw so that they grip the bracket before bottoming out on the axle.

Hope that helps.
 
I use a long stroke hydraulic ram jack at the tie down point. I replace the eyebolt with a 3/8” bolt and made a fixture with a bored out cavity at one end (to capture the bolt head) and bored out to slip over the jack ram at the other end. I’ve use it for 8 annuals. However, you can only jack up one side at a time safely.
 
The tool sold at Aircraft Spruce in action. In this picture the cotter pin that holds the axle nut has been removed and the tool has been inserted through the end of the axle nut into the axle.

View attachment 2866

The white arrow points to a hole drilled and tapped 10-32 in the axle nut. A matching drilled and tapped hole on the opposite flat of the axle nut.

Strategic stacking of some scrap wood underneath the bottle jack scientifically calculated to accommodate the ram length of my jack. Picture required so that one year later I don't need to recalculate.

As stated before, remove cotter pin, jack it up, unscrew axle nut and slide it onto the steel tube, slide wheel off axle and onto steel tube, put some wood blocks under the axle, lower onto wood, remove tool and wheel.

Axle nut mod shown below.

View attachment 2867

Drill hole in end of axle nut to allow insertion of steel tube of tool.

Fabricate steel strap bracket. I think I used 0.063 steel strap. Spruce sells 1" wide strips cut to manageable lengths. Bracket has nut plate on top end to accept bolt/screw for wheel pant. Sides of strap drilled for 10-32 screws used to hold strap onto axle nut. Obviously the 10-32 screws can't be very long, fiddle with washers to adjust depth of screw so that they grip the bracket before bottoming out on the axle.

Hope that helps.
It helps a lot, thanks. Rather than modifying the axle nut, can I just remove it first and then slide that jack, or some other similar steel bar into the axle?
 
Putting the wheel back on might be difficult to get right because you would be installing the axle nut with weight on the wheel. Not sure you could get it threaded on all the way.

The jack kit from Spruce now includes the steel strap piece with platenut. You’ll just need to drill the hole in the end of the axle nut, and then drill/tap the two screw attach hole for the platenut strap. Easy to do in the aluminum nut.
 
I used a couple pieces of angle iron that I bolt to gear leg, then used a bottle jack, you can use rubber from an old inner tube so you don't hurt the paint, works great. If I knew how to post pics I'd share my device but its pretty simple to make.
 
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