brian
Well Known Member
There was some talk on a couple other lists about the idea of trying to do the Van's nose gear SB in place. I'm not sure why, but it seems the Eggenfellner customers are especially interested in the idea. Personally, I 'd much rather pay as much as several hundred dollars for some sort of carbide die that I can use to cut the new threads, even if one use ruins it. For me, that's much better than what appears to be a HUGE undertaking to remove my engine, at least to the small extent that all the wiring & lines will let me, just to get it out away from the firewall enough to TRY to drive out the very-tight gear leg bolt that I used a 6x rivet gun to drive into place.
For me, I'd do/pay most anything to not have to try to remove the leg. Even if I can get the engine frame out away from the firewall enough to clear the nose gear leg bolt, I think that bolt is going to be VERY difficult to remove. It was driven in from below, and there isn't a lot of access from the top for trying to drive it out. It was driven in with the intention of never loosening or coming back out. I suspect that the force required to drive it out will inevitably swell/mushroom the shank, making removal even more difficult.
Several people are talking about trying to modify the gear leg in place. Cutting off the 1" should be rather trivial. Cutting another inch of threads is the tricky part. People have talked about trying to find a carbide thread die. I haven't heard yet of anyone who's found one.
For me, the idea of partially removing the engine to remove the gear leg is a very discouraging thought. One idea I had was to lay out the threads by hand, very carefully use a Dremel cutter to partially extend the threads by hand, then apply the die as a final cut. That way, the die would be working through much less steel.
I've heard the gear leg is extremely tough and hard to cut. Because I have an Eggenfellner engine and frame, I started with a gear leg with NO hole in it, and I had no problems at all drilling the hole. It didn't seem to me to be that difficult to work with. To me, it seems feasible to cut the threads in place, especially if a carbide die can be found.
Has anyone attempted adding the threads in-place? Does anyone plan to try? Does anyone know of a source for a carbide die? (I believe we need 1 1/4 x 16). Does anyone have any other ideas on doing this threading in-place?
For me, I'd do/pay most anything to not have to try to remove the leg. Even if I can get the engine frame out away from the firewall enough to clear the nose gear leg bolt, I think that bolt is going to be VERY difficult to remove. It was driven in from below, and there isn't a lot of access from the top for trying to drive it out. It was driven in with the intention of never loosening or coming back out. I suspect that the force required to drive it out will inevitably swell/mushroom the shank, making removal even more difficult.
Several people are talking about trying to modify the gear leg in place. Cutting off the 1" should be rather trivial. Cutting another inch of threads is the tricky part. People have talked about trying to find a carbide thread die. I haven't heard yet of anyone who's found one.
For me, the idea of partially removing the engine to remove the gear leg is a very discouraging thought. One idea I had was to lay out the threads by hand, very carefully use a Dremel cutter to partially extend the threads by hand, then apply the die as a final cut. That way, the die would be working through much less steel.
I've heard the gear leg is extremely tough and hard to cut. Because I have an Eggenfellner engine and frame, I started with a gear leg with NO hole in it, and I had no problems at all drilling the hole. It didn't seem to me to be that difficult to work with. To me, it seems feasible to cut the threads in place, especially if a carbide die can be found.
Has anyone attempted adding the threads in-place? Does anyone plan to try? Does anyone know of a source for a carbide die? (I believe we need 1 1/4 x 16). Does anyone have any other ideas on doing this threading in-place?
