Changing Tires

[CloverCrusher]

Greetings fellow flyers,

After two great years of flying, it's time to change some tires. My tailwheel tread is almost gone and the mains are not too far behind. What is the best way to jack the plane for a tire change? Do you have any recommended attachments for the main gear or the tailwheel spring?

[johneeb]

Clover, have a look at this thread, lots of ideas about how to jack up your 170.
http://www.cessna170.org/forums/viewtop ... it=jacking

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

The tail wheel is the easiest. I carefully after blocking the front wheels, use a floor (preferred) or bottle jack to jack under the tail wheel bracket. NOT the aluminum fuselage. If you have a 170 partner* who still thinks he's 30, he'll just pick up the tailwheel while you place some blocks under the same. You turn to get something and turn around and he's holding the darn wheel in the air impatiently waiting for you to through something under the tail to rest it on.

The main wheels are a little trickier and there are at least a dozen ways to accomplish the task. You do one wheel at a time having the other two blocked.

1. Sometimes. depending on brakes and axles and your floor jack, you can get the jack under the gear leg securely and lift it, bu this is not usually the case. And so a perch for your jack must be made and secured to the gear leg.

There are two basic varieties. A steel bracket made fo angle iron placed under the gear leg that jams in place as it slides up the gear leg. These can also be bought. I've both made mine and was given store bought versions. Of course you want to protect the gear leg paint. I have used pieces of rug for this. A sheet of the right durometer (hardness) would be good or a nice thick pad of leather.

A similar method to getting a perch requiring no building is to use about a 6"-8" steel C clamp or better two, and two blocks of wood like a 2x4. Protecting the gear leg with the blocks, against them gear top and bottom, use the C clamps to securely clamp the wood in place wit the C clamp screw up. The C clamps must be very tight so the wood does not slide on the gear and this is why I'd use at least 2 clamps. You then use the bottom of the lower C clamp as the perch for you floor jack.

2. If you have a engine hoist. Remove your top cowl. Using a suitable strap lift at the engine mount right next to the firewall on the side you want to jack. A ceiling hoist can be substituted of course for the engine house. DO NOT allow the strap to slide out on the engine mount. It must be right next to the fire wall.

Most of the other dozen methods are some form of the two I just described. There are threads on this which might be found here. I'll try to get some pictures of the fixtures for jacking I have around. Maybe someone will beat me to it.

I see John has beat me to posting the link to another thread. The C clamp method is shown there with one C clamp and plywood.

* partner Leroy, who still tries to work like he's 30, turned 82 years old a month ago. He last lifted the tailwheel himself some time within the last two years. We could all hope we could do this when we are 80.

Here is a picture of Aircraft Spruce's non adjustable jack pad. There are adjustable versions available as well from several other suppliers.

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