Left tire- Snugged axle nut so there was no side play but wheel rotated freely. Marked and back nut off. Removed tire and reinstalled nut to same location. Drilled 1/8" hole through axle for cotter pin. Deburred and reinstalled tire/ axle nut/ and cotter pin.
Right tire- tried installing wheel but it wouldn't go on easily nor did it want to come off. Raised fuselage a little more to provide more ground clearance. Still wouldn't come off. Raised the force level and the tire came off but left the inner bearing and washers on axle--Not Good! Finally got bearing removed and called the folks at Grove Aircraft for help first because of Van's limited support hours.
The owner called me back within 1 hour with a fix. Spent twenty minutes wet sanding (WD-40 and 220 grit paper) until spindle would just allow bearing to slide into place.
Grove is even replacing the damaged bearing washers for FREE and it was not their fault. Now that is great customer service.
