Today, with the help of Eric, I removed the too-short outboard bolts and got ready to install the new, longer ones (see previous entries.) To do this, I had to completely remove the gear legs, since the fit of the outboard bolts was so tight through the saddles. The bolts couldn't be tapped out without putting undue strain on the inboard attach points.
Since the gear had to come completely off, this gave me a final opportunity to do something with the bare steel gear saddles. I decided to clean them up and prep/prime the non-contact surfaces. I used a SEM high-build primer, and now they look really nice.
