What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Tailwheel shifts to "castering" mode too easily

Leopold

Member
Hi, all.

I've got an RV8 with (I think) a Bell tailwheel. Lately, when taxiing, and turning right (right rudder), the tailwheel shifts from steerable to castering with only minimal pressure. Going left, it does not have that problem.

I took the tailwheel assembly apart yesterday, cleaned all the parts (including the spring and the dog that it fits into, and the rectangular hole in the bolt that the dog fits into) with solvent, re-greased, and put it back together. Same problem.

Took it apart, cleaned it, and looked at it (should've done that first time). There is some metal wear; the rectangular hole really is not exactly rectangular, and the place where the dog "breaks" from steering to castering also looks slightly worn.

I was thinking of just replacing all those parts...does anyone think there is an easier solution that I am missing?

Thanks,

Seth
 
The most important thing is to lightly file or sand the long edges of the pin. Wear creates burrs on those edges making the pin stick and causing the issues you are seeing. I'm still using the original pin and spring in my 1999 RV-6 with Bell fork...it has been serviced several times.
 
Last edited:
The most important thing is to lightly file or sand the long edges of the pin. Wear creates burrs on those edges making the pin stick and causing the issues you are seeing. I'm still using the original pin and spring in my 1999 RV-6 with Bell fork...it has been serviced several times.

Ditto Sam's reply, I pull my assembley out every 25hrs. to clean and lube. Might keep an extra spring and pin in stock, Flyboys has them.
 
Ours is doing the opposite.

Just changed to the Flyboys tailwheel with new pin and spring and it is reluctant to break out.

10 years old - may just replace the whole stinger/knuckle.

Does anyone know if it comes pre drilled from Vans ?
 
Dear Sam, Jake, Steve, Dan, and Mike,

Thanks for the great suggestions. Will give the steps in the article a try (need to go buy a little file) and see if that helps. I did not notice any burrs. But I will look again.

Seth

Fine-grit sandpaper will work, you just want to smooth off any sharp edges on the pin.
 
That pin just wears out. It starts out with a more squared profile they call bull-nosed. They are cheap, around $7 with a new spring.
 
A friend had a similar problem, he flipped the arm over and the easy breakout went to the other side. Looks like the plate arm is very sensitive to a little wear that rounded the corner ever so slightly. Temporary, I filed the notch square and it works fine. I would say to try flipping the arm to see if the problem changes sides, but just changing parts is cheap insurance too..
 
A friend had a similar problem, he flipped the arm over and the easy breakout went to the other side. Looks like the plate arm is very sensitive to a little wear that rounded the corner ever so slightly. Temporary, I filed the notch square and it works fine. I would say to try flipping the arm to see if the problem changes sides, but just changing parts is cheap insurance too..

Thanks, Tom! I?ve ordered a new arm. Not expensive.
 
Yes!

A friend had a similar problem, he flipped the arm over and the easy breakout went to the other side. Looks like the plate arm is very sensitive to a little wear that rounded the corner ever so slightly. Temporary, I filed the notch square and it works fine. I would say to try flipping the arm to see if the problem changes sides, but just changing parts is cheap insurance too..

Yes to this! Rounded corners on the pin detent in the arm will cause the steering pin to release prematurely! Keep in mind that the locking pin release is supposed to be a function of steering angle, not force.

Skylor
 
Ours is doing the opposite.

Just changed to the Flyboys tailwheel with new pin and spring and it is reluctant to break out.

10 years old - may just replace the whole stinger/knuckle.

Does anyone know if it comes pre drilled from Vans ?

Mike,

Don't replace the entire assembly... no! The fix is probably very simple. First check to make sure that the pin retracts ALL the way into its square hole. If anything is still sticking out, just file a bit off of the back of the pin.

Of course, the pin should work smoothly, in or out.

As another poster said, the unlocking is a function of the rudder angle, not force. If your rudder isn't moving far enough, then it may be reluctant to unlock. A little brake assist may be needed to push it past the unlocking angle.

This is good though, so it doesn't unlock on the runway!
 
Thank you, Ralph. I was misspelling "castoring", which is why I didn't get those threads.
Not spelling it wrong, just spelling it with an alternate spelling. Castering and castoring are both used to describe the same thing.
 
Not spelling it wrong, just spelling it with an alternate spelling. Castering and castoring are both used to describe the same thing.

Perhaps the search engine preferred Ralphie's colourful dialect of "Canadian"! :)

Emory cloth, grease and Vince's spare parts are the ticket here, just to support what's been said above! Great info!

Cheers,
Bob
 
Last edited:
Tail wheel issue

Hi there
I had a very similar issue and did exactly what you have done. Took it all apart, clean and regreased everything. But the easy unlocking issue persisted. Took it all apart again and what I found was that the slot in the steering arm had worn allowing the pin to slip out without much effort. I tried filing the rounded edges square but that didn?t really work. I purchased a new steering arm from FlyBoy Accessories..the arm with the Integral tie down ring. That solved the Unlocking issue instantly.

Cheers
Dave C
RV-7. C-GCPD
 
Back
Top