---------------------------------------------------------- TeamGrumman-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Wed 10/04/06: 2 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 08:39 PM - Annual from hell (teamgrumman@AOL.COM) 2. 09:27 PM - The annual from hell (teamgrumman@aol.com) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 08:39:14 PM PST US Subject: TeamGrumman-List: Annual from hell From: teamgrumman@AOL.COM --> TeamGrumman-List message posted by: teamgrumman@aol.com Initial inspection of log books There is no record of either the mechanical or elecric fuel pump ever being replaced. For some reason, the tach was removed for calibration on two occasions, 2843.81 TTAF and 2863.91 TTAF Aircraft appears to have had poor maintenance prior to September 2006 There is no separate Propeller Log Book. There is no record of propeller times. The fuel selector has been overhauled just about every year since 1992 10 hours since right control rods were inspected for play and found OK in Feb 2006. 30 hours since 2005 annual. Owner complained the controls feel loose or sloppy. The previous annual, done in Minden, NV, cost over $10,000. What I found: Engine 1 (1) Alignment is a little to the right (2) Upper cowling to nose bowl hardware installed incorrectly. (3) Lower cowling is badly deformed due to bending during removal and installation. Forward nut plate for nose gear boot is broken (4) Ignition harness really AFU. Badly frayed, shielding missing in many portions of the harness. (4A) Replaced w/new (5) Right mag is 1/2 degree fast on cylinders 3 and 4. (6) Installation of baffle seals are marginal at best. (6A) Corrected all baffle seals. Repaired baffles. Replaced cylinder baffles. Baffle missing behind alternator. Baffle seals on front not trimmed to fit. (7) Wires are cracked and brittle. (8) Hoses were originally manufactured in 1978. (8A) Replaced this annual (9) Whoever installed the 1 hose to the cabin heat, crushed it. (10) Plugs are badly worn and very rusty. #4 bottom plug is very oily. Watch. Installed new plugs. (11) Rerouted carb heat to airbox SCAT tubing. (12) Crankshaft, behind prop hub, very rusty. (13) Installed snaps for cowling support rods What I found: Engine 2 (1) Alternator belt is frayed. Logbook says it was replaced last annual. (1A) Replaced with new (2) Some play in throttle shaft. Watch (3) Throttle hitch ball installed in the top hole on carb linkage. It should be located in the middle hole. Fixed (4) Carb to Airbox duct was puckered and distorted due to improper installation (5) Replaced support bracket on carb heat muffler (6) Battery low, Added water, charged 24 hours. Battery would not take a charge. Replaced with used serviceable Concorde AGM battery. (7) Someone put brass spacers under the hold-down bracket. This deformed the battery box. What I found: Engine 3 (1) Oil Change previously accomplished on 6/06/06 at 2872.5 TTAF (2) Many pilots have complained of high oil temps. Opened up oil cooler opening. It was never opened up to the full size of the oil cooler. Cooler has a lot of corrosion on it. What I found: Nose gear (1) Several stress cracks and a few cracks all the way through the nose gear fairing Surface stained, cleaned with solvents. Used rubbing compound and polishing compound to polish (2) Nose gear hardware installed in the wrong order (3) Lots and lots of rust and corrosion. Thrust washers installed wrong. O-ring torn. (4) Replaced missing dust seals on wheel bearings (5) Replaced nose fairing seal. What I found: Propeller (1) Prop indexed wrong (2) No washers on bolts. This has caused the doubler on the forward bulkhead to be badly damaged. Worn almost all the way through (3) The bolt holes in the forward backing plate have been deformed. (4) The rear backing plate has been damaged due to being improperly installed. (5) Installed serviceable fwd backing plate doubler (6) Installed new rear backing plate. What I found: Wings (1) Left wing inner panel has had a lot of repair. Right wing, Center panel has had extensive repair. Dings and hangar rash on other panels (2) Hail damage on ailerons (3) A lot of stress cracks and several through cracks on both wing tips. Nav lens cloudy, both (4) Control bearings seems to be in good condition (5) Right outer bearing bracket found cracked almost all the way through. Incorrect hardware installed. The aluminum spacer was for the control stop was replaced with a steel one. The spacer had rusted onto the bolt. The bolt was cut off. The bracket was replaced with a serviceable bracket. A new bearing was installed. The control stop had been filed too thin. A serviceable stop was installed. (6) Lots of repair on left outboard panel. (7) Left wing: Removed a birds nest, 2 feet long, that filled the entire wing tip. Removed nests in aft outer wing panel Removed nest about 6 feet into the spar Right wing: Removed birds nest that filled the wingtip. Remved straw and other debris in outer wing panel (8) Whoever installed the electric aileron trim, failed to install a quick disconnect so the aileron could be removed. (9) All of the wing tip and inspection cover hardware was stripped. Replaced it all. (10) Cracked, screws stripped. (11) Some corrosion on all inspection covers. All screws were stripped out. Wingtip and inspection cover hardware was stripped. (12) Hardware on wheel fairings, sump and brake fairing was stripped. Wheel fairings are badly cracked. (13) The swedged in portion of the inner aileron torque tube bearing mounting (under the back seat) was broken out. The aileron torque tube has been riding on the bearing support. Bracket replaced with used serviceable part. What I found: landing gear (1) Log book indicates the wheel bearings were repacked at 2843.81 TTAF, 7/28/05 (2) Incorrect hardware installed on wheel pants. (3) Wheel bearings disassembled, cleaned, inspected. The bottom line is, based on the extremely poor maintenance on the rest of the plane, I didnt trust the previous wheel bearing maintenance. (4) The brake linings, the mounting plates, the guide pins, the caliper, and all of the attaching hardware was rusty, corroded, and/or packed completely full of crud. Its amazing that the plane could stop at all. (5) Brake disk is very, very rusty. Chips out of the outer edge due to ??? who knows. (6) Brake linings at about 50%. Replaced with new linings. (7) Brake lines have a lot of pitting and corrosion on them. Watch for leaks. The ADEL clamps which support the brake line are not installed because the brake lines have been so badly bent, they would not fit. This does not effect the security of the brake lines. What I found: Fuselage (1) Transponder antenna is cracked and deteriorated. (2) Right elevator trim is badly damaged. Lots of dings in horizontal and elevator (3) Dorsal fin: Crack, lower screw hole, left side. (4) Tail cone: Many cracks. Repaired with some sort of epoxy. (5) Damage along bottom of fuselage. It looks like someone dragged the fuselage along a fense post. It looks like it was covered up with filler on the outside. (6) Tail NAV light wire was routed over the left rudder cable. Chafed almost all the way through. Wire was rerouted, the connector replaced, the damaged portion of the wire was replaced. (7) The linkage which operates the elevator trim was installed so that it was binding on the mounting. Corrected the mounting, shimmed to the proper fit. All bushings and mechanisms rusty and corroded. (8) Trim piano wire has not been lubricated in a long time. Free from the linkage, the elevator trim would not move freely. (9) Trim mechanism disassembled, very corroded, packed with crud. The screw jack was bent such that the tip moved in a 1/2 inch diameter circle. All of the mechanism was binding. (10) The rudder cables were wrapped around the aileron cables. nuf said. (11) The caps are missing on the bottom of the steps. Lots of rust inside. (12) Fixed the way the inspection covers were installed. What I found: Cabin 1 (1) Log book indicates the left return spring was replaced at 2843.81, 7/27/05. Why not the right? (2) The canopy tracks have not been lubed since the Carter administration. Works better now. (3) Windows faded, crazed, cracked, and generally in very poor condition. (4) Windshield is debonded. (5) Carpets on pilots side are saturated with brake fluid. The rest of the carpets are dirty, greasy, and in very poor condition. Interior is very dirty (6) Outer bearing, right side, flap cross shaft, is worn. This lets the right flap come up more than the left, in flight. (7) Rigging was all messed up. Cables improperly routed. Table tension at 12 pounds. Bearing brackets damaged. - corrected all rigging and cable routing. (8) Rudder cables twisted around aileron cables. (9) The fuel selector was very stiff. Disassembled. Found a lot of debris inside selector. The fuel selector was overhauled. New O rings installed. Works very well now. NOTE: The log book shows the fuel selector has been lubed 12 times since 1992 (600 hours). I wonder why? (10) Installed new rudder springs: Left. Log book says Left return spring replaced in July 05, the Right spring was the new one. Odds are, the mechanic didnt know left from right. (11) Added 3 ounces to each reservoir. (12) No side tone in radios. Funky portable intercom. #1 radio plays though the headset even when the speakers are selected ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 09:27:11 PM PST US Subject: TeamGrumman-List: The annual from hell From: teamgrumman@aol.com --> TeamGrumman-List message posted by: teamgrumman@aol.com Initial inspection of log books There is no record of either the mechanical or elecric fuel pump ever being replaced. For some reason, the tach was removed for calibration on two occasions, 2843.81 TTAF and 2863.91 TTAF Aircraft appears to have had poor maintenance prior to September 2006 There is no separate Propeller Log Book. There is no record of propeller times. The fuel selector has been overhauled just about every year since 1992 10 hours since right control rods were inspected for play and found OK in Feb 2006. 30 hours since 2005 annual. Owner complained the controls feel loose or sloppy. The previous annual, done in Minden, NV, cost over $10,000. What I found: Engine 1 (1) Alignment is a little to the right (2) Upper cowling to nose bowl hardware installed incorrectly. (3) Lower cowling is badly deformed due to bending during removal and installation. Forward nut plate for nose gear boot is broken (4) Ignition harness really AFU. Badly frayed, shielding missing in many portions of the harness. (4A) Replaced w/new (5) Right mag is 1/2 degree fast on cylinders 3 and 4. (6) Installation of baffle seals are marginal at best. (6A) Corrected all baffle seals. Repaired baffles. Replaced cylinder baffles. Baffle missing behind alternator. Baffle seals on front not trimmed to fit. (7) Wires are cracked and brittle. (8) Hoses were originally manufactured in 1978. (8A) Replaced this annual (9) Whoever installed the 1 hose to the cabin heat, crushed it. (10) Plugs are badly worn and very rusty. #4 bottom plug is very oily. Watch. Installed new plugs. (11) Rerouted carb heat to airbox SCAT tubing. (12) Crankshaft, behind prop hub, very rusty. (13) Installed snaps for cowling support rods What I found: Engine 2 (1) Alternator belt is frayed. Logbook says it was replaced last annual. (1A) Replaced with new (2) Some play in throttle shaft. Watch (3) Throttle hitch ball installed in the top hole on carb linkage. It should be located in the middle hole. Fixed (4) Carb to Airbox duct was puckered and distorted due to improper installation (5) Replaced support bracket on carb heat muffler (6) Battery low, Added water, charged 24 hours. Battery would not take a charge. Replaced with used serviceable Concorde AGM battery. (7) Someone put brass spacers under the hold-down bracket. This deformed the battery box. What I found: Engine 3 (1) Oil Change previously accomplished on 6/06/06 at 2872.5 TTAF (2) Many pilots have complained of high oil temps. Opened up oil cooler opening. It was never opened up to the full size of the oil cooler. Cooler has a lot of corrosion on it. What I found: Nose gear (1) Several stress cracks and a few cracks all the way through the nose gear fairing Surface stained, cleaned with solvents. Used rubbing compound and polishing compound to polish (2) Nose gear hardware installed in the wrong order (3) Lots and lots of rust and corrosion. Thrust washers installed wrong. O-ring torn. (4) Replaced missing dust seals on wheel bearings (5) Replaced nose fairing seal. What I found: Propeller (1) Prop indexed wrong (2) No washers on bolts. This has caused the doubler on the forward bulkhead to be badly damaged. Worn almost all the way through (3) The bolt holes in the forward backing plate have been deformed. (4) The rear backing plate has been damaged due to being improperly installed. (5) Installed serviceable fwd backing plate doubler (6) Installed new rear backing plate. What I found: Wings (1) Left wing inner panel has had a lot of repair. Right wing, Center panel has had extensive repair. Dings and hangar rash on other panels (2) Hail damage on ailerons (3) A lot of stress cracks and several through cracks on both wing tips. Nav lens cloudy, both (4) Control bearings seems to be in good condition (5) Right outer bearing bracket found cracked almost all the way through. Incorrect hardware installed. The aluminum spacer was for the control stop was replaced with a steel one. The spacer had rusted onto the bolt. The bolt was cut off. The bracket was replaced with a serviceable bracket. A new bearing was installed. The control stop had been filed too thin. A serviceable stop was installed. (6) Lots of repair on left outboard panel. (7) Left wing: Removed a birds nest, 2 feet long, that filled the entire wing tip. Removed nests in aft outer wing panel Removed nest about 6 feet into the spar Right wing: Removed birds nest that filled the wingtip. Remved straw and other debris in outer wing panel (8) Whoever installed the electric aileron trim, failed to install a quick disconnect so the aileron could be removed. (9) All of the wing tip and inspection cover hardware was stripped. Replaced it all. (10) Cracked, screws stripped. (11) Some corrosion on all inspection covers. All screws were stripped out. Wingtip and inspection cover hardware was stripped. (12) Hardware on wheel fairings, sump and brake fairing was stripped. Wheel fairings are badly cracked. (13) The swedged in portion of the inner aileron torque tube bearing mounting (under the back seat) was broken out. The aileron torque tube has been riding on the bearing support. Bracket replaced with used serviceable part. What I found: landing gear (1) Log book indicates the wheel bearings were repacked at 2843.81 TTAF, 7/28/05 (2) Incorrect hardware installed on wheel pants. (3) Wheel bearings disassembled, cleaned, inspected. The bottom line is, based on the extremely poor maintenance on the rest of the plane, I didnt trust the previous wheel bearing maintenance. (4) The brake linings, the mounting plates, the guide pins, the caliper, and all of the attaching hardware was rusty, corroded, and/or packed completely full of crud. Its amazing that the plane could stop at all. (5) Brake disk is very, very rusty. Chips out of the outer edge due to ??? who knows. (6) Brake linings at about 50%. Replaced with new linings. (7) Brake lines have a lot of pitting and corrosion on them. Watch for leaks. The ADEL clamps which support the brake line are not installed because the brake lines have been so badly bent, they would not fit. This does not effect the security of the brake lines. What I found: Fuselage (1) Transponder antenna is cracked and deteriorated. (2) Right elevator trim is badly damaged. Lots of dings in horizontal and elevator (3) Dorsal fin: Crack, lower screw hole, left side. (4) Tail cone: Many cracks. Repaired with some sort of epoxy. (5) Damage along bottom of fuselage. It looks like someone dragged the fuselage along a fense post. It looks like it was covered up with filler on the outside. (6) Tail NAV light wire was routed over the left rudder cable. Chafed almost all the way through. Wire was rerouted, the connector replaced, the damaged portion of the wire was replaced. (7) The linkage which operates the elevator trim was installed so that it was binding on the mounting. Corrected the mounting, shimmed to the proper fit. All bushings and mechanisms rusty and corroded. (8) Trim piano wire has not been lubricated in a long time. Free from the linkage, the elevator trim would not move freely. (9) Trim mechanism disassembled, very corroded, packed with crud. The screw jack was bent such that the tip moved in a 1/2 inch diameter circle. All of the mechanism was binding. (10) The rudder cables were wrapped around the aileron cables. nuf said. (11) The caps are missing on the bottom of the steps. Lots of rust inside. (12) Fixed the way the inspection covers were installed. What I found: Cabin 1 (1) Log book indicates the left return spring was replaced at 2843.81, 7/27/05. Why not the right? (2) The canopy tracks have not been lubed since the Carter administration. Works better now. (3) Windows faded, crazed, cracked, and generally in very poor condition. (4) Windshield is debonded. (5) Carpets on pilots side are saturated with brake fluid. The rest of the carpets are dirty, greasy, and in very poor condition. Interior is very dirty (6) Outer bearing, right side, flap cross shaft, is worn. This lets the right flap come up more than the left, in flight. (7) Rigging was all messed up. Cables improperly routed. Table tension at 12 pounds. Bearing brackets damaged. - corrected all rigging and cable routing. (8) Rudder cables twisted around aileron cables. (9) The fuel selector was very stiff. Disassembled. Found a lot of debris inside selector. The fuel selector was overhauled. New O rings installed. Works very well now. NOTE: The log book shows the fuel selector has been lubed 12 times since 1992 (600 hours). I wonder why? (10) Installed new rudder springs: Left. Log book says Left return spring replaced in July 05, the Right spring was the new one. Odds are, the mechanic didnt know left from right. (11) Added 3 ounces to each reservoir. (12) No side tone in radios. Funky portable intercom. #1 radio plays though the headset even when the speakers are selected ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more.