Tip: Rod End Spacer Washers

I was having real trouble fitting the small OD spacer washers on the aileron bell cranks on my RV6. Access is limited and the clevises on the horns are tight and need to be sprung open a bit to make things fit. After several attempts I came up with the following.



I split a length of 1/4" OD polythene water pipe and removed a ~1/16" axial strip to form a flexible spiral type pin.



This is fitted into the bore of the rod end and the washers are fitted over the extruding ends of the "spring pin". I cut the length of the pin to be a smidgen longer than the thickness of the rod end and washer stack.

This assembly can be pinched between fingers and slipped between the horn clevis. The poly pin is naturally lubricated and slides easily in the clevis gap while holding the washers in place. The slight excess length also allows it to snap into the bolt holes. Once in place the bolt can be pushed through the stack ejecting the "spring pin" in the process.

It was still a pain but this worked for me. I was getting nowhere with everything else that I tried.

Jim Sharkey
RV6 - Waiting on Registration from FAA

PS - I had to use a shim washer under the head of the bolts on the end of the long aileron control tube so that the tail of the bolt cleared the horn bearing support angles by a minimal margin. I had initially tried using 3/4" grip bolts rather than the 5/8" grip in the plans in order to get more thread engagement with the nut but this was a big mistake. Even with the spacer washer under the head of the 5/8" grip bolts the clearance is minimal - as is the thread engagement on the nut. Has anyone else experienced this?

washers.....

Jim, get yourself a set of the Washer Wrenches available from most tool suppliers. They make installing washers in tight places a piece of cake. And you will find they come in handy at other times during your build when needing to install washers. Just lay the washer on the bench and press the washer wrench right onto it and you're good to go!!

I have some......

52Pop said:

Jim, get yourself a set of the Washer Wrenches available from most tool suppliers. They make installing washers in tight places a piece of cake. And you will find they come in handy at other times during your build when needing to install washers. Just lay the washer on the bench and press the washer wrench right onto it and you're good to go!!

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.....but in this application the technique I described worked much better - at least for me

Jim Sharkey

Clever jsharkey...

...very clever. I did something similar by cutting the head and threads off of a -3 bolt...same basic idea except the shaft length is exactly the same as the rod end plus the two washers.

I like your idea better in that it captures the washers.

Super glue works great also. It is a tip in the Van's plans for the -12.

EAA tips worthy

This is a great solution. I think you should suggest this to the EAA for their instructional videos.

Kerry Stevens

jsharkey said:

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Does anyone know the part number for these small washers? I'd like to order some from Aircraft Spruce but can't find them in their catalog.

Thanks,

apatti said:

Does anyone know the part number for these small washers? I'd like to order some from Aircraft Spruce but can't find them in their catalog.

Thanks,

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I asked this same question in an earlier thread, and no one was able to provide anything like a standard part number OR supplier other than Van's. I ordered a gob of them in different sizes, figuring over the life of the build and then years of maintenance, I'm bound to lose these little itty bitty buggers over time.