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Jims RV-8
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Date:  5-14-2020
Number of Hours:  1.70
Manual Reference:  8-43
Brief Description:  Landing gear bolt installation #1

Given the intel from Bob, I realized that I needed to trim the retainers to fit as they needed to be able to drop into place in the bottom of the gear tower - and they need to sit flush. I already knew this, but making sure that the retainer can sit correctly at go time is of paramount importance. That meant more grinding, deburring, smoothing and priming, again. That took about an hour to get that done. Using a standard size 6A bolt, I test fit that the retainer was a good fit inserting the bolt from underneath just enough to get a good read. I also loosened some of the screws/bolts that might get in the way.

Next it was time to install the real thing. I call the aft bolt on the left side, #1 and that's where I started. I used liquid Boelube on the bolt, set the retainer over the hole, and then inserted the bolt into the hole. I used an 18" drill bit that I scrounged from the tool chest, turning it upside down, the round top fit nicely into the concave bolt head. Pounding with a hammer yielded good results and the bolts was "half-way" installed after a few iterations of pounding and checking progress. When I ran out of room, I had to use a wooden extension on the drill bit and that got me 7/8th of the way there. It wasn’t ideal as it had a 90 degree angle that was robbing some energy from the hammer. As Bob had explained, I needed to turn the bolt head slightly so that it lined up with the retainer channel as it got close to the final ¼”. I just needed something longer and in one piece... then I saw the metal pipe. I ended up using a 1" (x 6 ft) pipe to finish driving in the bolt. Success took 39 minutes on bolt #1 - not bad at all. I hope #3 goes this well…
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4 retainers trimmed to fit - almost

4 retainers trimmed to fit - almost

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this is the initial layout

this is the initial layout

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#1 in position

#1 in position

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