Landing Gear Service; General Maintenance - Piper CHEROKEE 180 C Owner's Handbook Manual

PIPER CHEROKEE 180 "C" SECTION VI
SECTION VI

GENERAL MAINTENANCE

INTRODUCTION
This section of the Cherokee "C" Handbook contains information which pertains
to minor maintenance of the airplane. For further maintenance assistance refer
to the Service Manual for this airplane. Any complex repairs or modification
should be accomplished by a Piper Certified Service Center or equivalent.

LANDING GEAR SERVICE

Main wheels are easily removed by taking off the hub cap, axle nut, and the two
bolts holding the brake segment in place, after which the wheel slips easily from
the axle.
Tires are demounted from the wheels by first deflating the tire, then removing
the three through bolts, and separating the wheel halves.
Landing gear oleo struts should be checked for proper strut exposures and fluid
leaks. The required extensions for the strut when under normal static load
(empty weight of airplane plus full fuel and oil) is 3.25inches for the nose gear
and 4.50 inches for the main gear. Should the strut exposure be below that
required, it should be determined whether air or oil is required by first raising
the airplane on jacks. Depress the valve core to allow air to escape from the
strut housing chamber. Remove the filler plug and slowly raise the strut to full
compression. If the strut has sufficient fluid it will be visible up to the bottom of
the filler plug hole and will then only require proper inflation.
Should fluid be below the bottom of the filler plug hole, oil should be added.
Replace the plug with valve core removed, attach a clear plastic hose to the
valve stem of the filler plug and submerge the other end in a container of
hydraulic fluid (MIL-H-5606). Fully compress and extend the strut several times
thus drawing fluid from the container and expelling air from the strut chamber.
To allow fluid to enter the bottom chamber of the main gear strut housing, the
torque link assembly must be disconnected to let the strut be extended a
minimum of 10 inches. (The nose gear torque links need not be disconnected.)
Do not allow the strut to extend more than 12 inches.
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