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Strange Sound / Vibration from Nosewheel during Landing

L

lr172

Well Known Member
My plane taxis great, up to 30 MPH on the GPS. No noise, no shimmy, no vibration, etc. However, during landing I get a noise vibration when the nosewheel comes down. Initially, I was getting a wear mark on the tire and the clearance was not where it should have been. I have since cleaned that up (5/8" or finger width all around) and don't notice new wear. Based upon searching here, I also checked the tire pressure. Most of the flights were at 35 PSI, but when I checked today it was down to 30. I filled it up to 45, checked again for clearance or rub marks and all good. Went in the pattern and did some touch and go's. Each landing, I get the noise/vibration when the nosewheel comes down. It seems to come and go at times, but there on every landing. As I slow down, it goes away.

Has anyone else experienced this? Everyone talks about shimmy, but I am not sure I know what this feels like. Both I and my QP/CFI think that it feels more like rubbing / dragging. It is a cyclical sound, meaning what ever is causing it is stopping / starting at a rapid rate.

As I am writing this, it seems prudent to pull the Nosewheel fairing and do a few T&G's. My first flight was sans pants and I don't remember noticing it then.

I appreciate any assistance you can provide.

Larry
 
Bill.Peyton said:
It sounds like the nose wheel bearing is spinning on the shaft
Click to expand...

I am struggling to recall the sight picture from this morning and I just can't remember the visual from assembly. I moved the plane and observed the bearings today. The al. spacers did not rotate, but the piece that they press against on the wheel was rotating. It didn't seem odd at the time, but know after some research, it appears that piece should not be rotating. I guess that I need torque that up. You're suggesting that would cause this issue? Is it likely that I caused any meaningfull wear? I have 45 hours and several touch and go's. Guess I should take it apart and inspect.

Larry
 
I don't have drawings of the assembly for your model, but on the RV10 that was a common cause of bearing failure. In fact, most builders are replacing the kit supplied parts with a Matco axle assembly for the RV-10. The inner race of the bearing should not rotate. The axle assembly should hold the inner race tight. I would suspect if you were to search the RV6 forum for this you will find some suggestions. I believe that Anti-Splat aero has a modification for the -6 and -7 nose wheel assemblies, you might check also with them.
 
I fly a 9A that has the MATCO axle and bearing mod, the improved fork, new nose wheel tire inflated to 45 psi, and the anti-splat nose gear rod mod. Break out force is 23 lbs. Even with everything being nominal, occasionally (1 in 10 landings) the nose wheel makes odd sounds and vibrates a bit on landing. Not 100% sure why it does that.
 
Or install one of these, another advantage of the Beringer is it's Tubeless

IMG_5744a.jpg
 
video or actual viewing of the action?

can you mount a cam to get video of the event?
....or a buddy with good binoculars to watch as you touchdown etc?
would think that would be pretty informative....vs trial & error.
lots of good suggestions here, but would be a shame to spend $600+
on a new nosewheel, and find out breakout or tire pressure still causes a shimmy eh?
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all of help here. I am going to order the Matco axle and try to get this rigged up properly and see if my problem goes away. I prefer not to buy a new nosewheel unless I need to.

Thanks,

Larry
 
lr172 said:
I saw that in my research last night. Is all of that action causing the noise or is that my bearing spinning?

Larry
Click to expand...

I don't know about the gear and it's dynamics, just thought the picture (video) might help you put the two together.
 
BJUST said:
I also recommend the Grove tubeless Nose wheel. Very happy with it.
Click to expand...

Add me to the list of happy Grove users. From first taxi, I've never had noise, shimmy, or any other issues with the nose wheel. The Grove axle/wheel uses shims to establish the correct clearance and preload on the axle, eliminating the basic problem evidenced by the Vans axle.
 
lr172 said:
My plane taxis great, up to 30 MPH on the GPS. No noise, no shimmy, no vibration, etc. However, during landing I get a noise vibration when the nosewheel comes down. Initially, I was getting a wear mark on the tire and the clearance was not where it should have been. I have since cleaned that up (5/8" or finger width all around) and don't notice new wear. Based upon searching here, I also checked the tire pressure. Most of the flights were at 35 PSI, but when I checked today it was down to 30. I filled it up to 45, checked again for clearance or rub marks and all good. Went in the pattern and did some touch and go's. Each landing, I get the noise/vibration when the nosewheel comes down. It seems to come and go at times, but there on every landing. As I slow down, it goes away.

Has anyone else experienced this? Everyone talks about shimmy, but I am not sure I know what this feels like. Both I and my QP/CFI think that it feels more like rubbing / dragging. It is a cyclical sound, meaning what ever is causing it is stopping / starting at a rapid rate.

As I am writing this, it seems prudent to pull the Nosewheel fairing and do a few T&G's. My first flight was sans pants and I don't remember noticing it then.

I appreciate any assistance you can provide.

Larry
Click to expand...


Larry,

Like many of us you are experiencing nose wheel shimmy that seems to occur intermittently or continuously depending on several factors. My RV-7A has been flying for over 9 years and I've had to deal with shimmy occasionally. I thought that I had solved the problem a few years back when I tightened the nose wheel break out force enough so as to prevent the shimmy. this worked until grease was put into the nose wheel fork's grease fitting, loosened up the mechanism, and the shimmy began again. Last year at annual I decided to try the Anti-Splat Aero nose wheel bearing mod... Since last year when I began flying with the nose wheel bearing mod i've not experienced any more hint of nose wheel shimmy. From what I understand & notice, the original taper bearing that's used on the RV wheels (nose and main wheels) does not rotate nearly as freely as the sealed bearing used in the mod from Anti Splat. When the taper bearing is under force pressure (and although may be well lubricated) it may tend to hang up and not rotate, causing the shimmy until the taper bearing releases and rolls again. this does not happen to the sealed bearing installed by Anti Splat... It worked well for my RV-7A.

Good luck.

Victor
 
Camera evidence

Do you have access to a GoPro camera you could mount on a tie down point aimed at the gear? You may be surprised what you see but could help diagnose your problem.
 
Rupester said:
Add me to the list of happy Grove users. From first taxi, I've never had noise, shimmy, or any other issues with the nose wheel. The Grove axle/wheel uses shims to establish the correct clearance and preload on the axle, eliminating the basic problem evidenced by the Vans axle.
Click to expand...

Add my "me too" to this statement.
 
Bill.Peyton said:
It sounds like the nose wheel bearing is spinning on the shaft
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help here. Thought I would post an update. I installed the Matco axle and also trimmed off the inner ridge from the seal. This has solved the bulk of my problems. After more investigation, I found that a nut plate was rubbing and the bolts in the frame were a bit too long and also rubbing occassionaly. I will leave of the fairing this weekend to be sure that there are no issues remaining.

Larry
 
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