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Learned a hard lesson about cotter pins on a Cessna 172 today
I was doing a routine wheel bearing repack on a 172 this morning. Got everything torqued and safetied, but I used a used cotter pin instead of a fresh one. Taxi test felt fine, but on the run-up the wheel started wobbling. That pin sheared clean off. Spent 2 hours redoing it all with a new pin and checking the hub for damage. Anyone else ever cheap out on hardware and pay for it?
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emma_ramirez5d ago
Man that stings. I've done it too. Now I keep a box of fresh cotter pins in my toolbox at all times. Makes it easy to grab a new one without having to dig through old hardware. Saves time and keeps me from being tempted to reuse.
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finleybutler5d ago
You said the wheel started wobbling on run-up. That's a taxi back to the hangar, not a crash landing. Sounds like you caught it early and nothing got destroyed. New pin and you're good.
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