2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Topic: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure (Read 1654 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #25 – January 08, 2014, 07:55:25 am

And then there is a fact that I bought 40 Roloks from FOT, I was told that they were 79 cents apiece. I got a call back from parts the next day telling me that they had gone up to $5 each! I originally was going to use those in the basement but later decided to through bolt just about everything under there. The Roloks are actually nice fasteners, very useful for certain projects, but they have their downside

the ARP bolts may be overkill, but I am okay with that... Especially when you consider that the Roloks cost about the same.
Don

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – January 07, 2014, 10:31:09 pm

Don,

One on each side of the coach would more than do it. Cheap if you consider what the original Rolok fastener has cost so many owners.

Pierce

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #26 – January 08, 2014, 11:07:20 am

Don,

Plus, you have 3/8" instead of 5/16" bolts. I have not finished with ours but have only gone on each side of the failed Rolok, drilled and tapped the far side (special tap). They are long enough so I can come up through the bottom and stick the washers and Nylocs on them. Hope to have time to do it before next summer.

I had a series of gearbox failures on my D-50 that resulted in loosing an engine several times in the pattern. Especially bad while trying to stay behind a line of single engine Cessnas on one engine. The Lycoming factory sent a couple of reps out but could not figure out the problem. Suggested an long retired Lycoming guy in San Diego that was an expert. When I asked, they said he was 86 years old but in good shape. I pulled the gearbox off and with a bit of difficulty, put it in a box in the trunk of my car. Not big, just heavy. When I got to S.D., the guy was nothing like I had expected. Strong as an ox, he lifted the gearbox out of the trunk, carried it into his shop and had it apart in 15 minutes. Cutting to the chase, he found the problem, fixed it and had it ready in about a week. He replaced the three 5/16" bolts with 3/8" as occasionally, the engine could backfire while starting and the weight of the big props would shear the 5/16" bolts off and destroy most of the gearbox.

Moral of the story: all things equal, 3/8" is better than 5/16" and if you stay in shape, at 86, you can still teach the younger guys a thing or two.

Pierce

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #27 – January 08, 2014, 11:48:11 am

Carl, we have been on the road for a couple days, so I can't check to see how any washers I have, they be a bit "buried". We will be in Bouse AZ later today so I can check. If you are interested I will let you know how many I have, as I said, if you want them you can have them, gratis Think I may also have some bolts left, you can have those also if you want them.

Roland

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #28 – January 08, 2014, 09:14:57 pm

Great story Pierce! I especially like the moral of the story...

Don

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – January 08, 2014, 11:07:20 am

Don,

Plus, you have 3/8" instead of 5/16" bolts. I have not finished with ours but have only gone on each side of the failed Rolok, drilled and tapped the far side (special tap). They are long enough so I can come up through the bottom and stick the washers and Nylocs on them. Hope to have time to do it before next summer.

I had a series of gearbox failures on my D-50 that resulted in loosing an engine several times in the pattern. Especially bad while trying to stay behind a line of single engine Cessnas on one engine. The Lycoming factory sent a couple of reps out but could not figure out the problem. Suggested an long retired Lycoming guy in San Diego that was an expert. When I asked, they said he was 86 years old but in good shape. I pulled the gearbox off and with a bit of difficulty, put it in a box in the trunk of my car. Not big, just heavy. When I got to S.D., the guy was nothing like I had expected. Strong as an ox, he lifted the gearbox out of the trunk, carried it into his shop and had it apart in 15 minutes. Cutting to the chase, he found the problem, fixed it and had it ready in about a week. He replaced the three 5/16" bolts with 3/8" as occasionally, the engine could backfire while starting and the weight of the big props would shear the 5/16" bolts off and destroy most of the gearbox.

Moral of the story: all things equal, 3/8" is better than 5/16" and if you stay in shape, at 86, you can still teach the younger guys a thing or two.

Pierce

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #29 – January 12, 2014, 05:37:34 pm

Please provide some additional details on how difficult it was to remove the section of fiberglass. Also, as you reattach and repair it, if you could provide those details if would be really useful. I'm assembling a file of information "just in case" I need to engage in similar activities in the future. Thanks!

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #30 – January 18, 2014, 08:01:43 pm

The rust remediation project is finished. It was a lot of work, but, hopefully, worth it in the long run.

The rusted areas were wire-brushed and painted with two coats of Ospho. Photo 1 shows the results after the first coat of Ospho. There still is a lot of rust visible, so a second coat was applied. This second coat left a white, powdery residue that was brushed off prior to any further painting (you can see the white residue in some of the later photos).

After failing to find reasonably priced 1-1/2" square washers (I just could not pay $4 each), I found an "off label" solution at Lowe's. Back in the concrete anchor section are 3"x3"x1/4" (I think they are actually thicker than 1/4") bearing plates for 38-cents each. I cut several in half using my handy $10 HF right-angle grinder and drilled a 3/8" diameter hole. Photo 2 shows my workbench with some of the plates. A little work, but 19-cents vs $4 - it's a no-brainer.

There are 17 bolts of which 4 are through-bolts installed when the coach was built. Of the 13 Roloks, 4 are too close to other frame members to install through bolts with washers (see Photo 3). I removed 9 Roloks and drilled out the holes to 3/8". This was easily done with a battery-powered drill as the 1/4"-thick chassis angle iron already had a 3/8" hole so all I had to drill out was the 1/8"-thick bay frame.

Three-inch long, 3/8" bolts were inserted and the washers added. The washers had been sprayed with primer, but I additionally sprayed the washer and beam mating surfaces with Rustoleum LeakSeal before tightening the nuts.

After installing the bolts, I brushed off any loose white powder residue and sprayed all the metal surfaces with LeakSeal. Photo 4 shows the results.

I have no idea if the Rustoleum stuff is any good. There were many choices of similar materials at the local auto parts store. Just seemed the rubber stuff would be more durable than the asphalt based undercoating.

Examining the removed Roloks (Photo 5), it was clear that water had entered around the bolt heads which led to rusting of the bolt shaft located in the 1/4" angle iron hole (the bolt fits loosely in this hole, so water can collect there). I sprayed the new bolt heads with a thick layer of LeakSeal.

The final messy job was to reinstall the removed section of skin. The two edges were feathered (again using my handy $10 HF grinder) and joined with fiberglass mat (Youtube has a gazillion videos on how to do this) as shown in Photos 6 and 7. Lots of resin in my hair.

The rear edge of the skin was attached to the bay frame with self drilling screws. A bead of panel adhesive was put onto the skin before tightening the screws (see Photo

.

And, finally, I sprayed LeakSeal along the rear edge of the skin and over the screws (see Photos 9 and 10).

I will drill a few holes in the skin to drain out any water that might get in to the space. I'm, also, adding a drain hole in the water bay that will let any collected water flow out of the bay without getting into the space between the floor and skin.

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #31 – January 18, 2014, 10:32:23 pm

@Jim nice work! Thanks for detailing the ins and outs of the project. Picnic tables make incredibly useful work benches!

see ya
ken

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Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #25 – January 08, 2014, 07:55:25 am

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #26 – January 08, 2014, 11:07:20 am

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #27 – January 08, 2014, 11:48:11 am

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #28 – January 08, 2014, 09:14:57 pm

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #29 – January 12, 2014, 05:37:34 pm

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #30 – January 18, 2014, 08:01:43 pm

Re: 2003 U320 Rust remediation in bay structure

Reply #31 – January 18, 2014, 10:32:23 pm

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