Subject: Re: Pesky Loop Generator Bracket
Author: Hunter Jones
Date: Nov 25, 2002, 4:02 PM
Post ID: 1711464724
Rich,
Just drill the hex heads and safety wire them in proper aircraft fashion
(so that they can't loosen) and worry not!
Don't have the stuff? Ask at a bike shop that races or maybe someone you
know is a racer or aircraft mechanic. They can do it.
Hunter
At 11:42 PM 11/25/2002 +0000, you wrote:
| I know that better minds than mine have attempted to fix the pesky problems with the loopframe generator brackets and have failed. I first tried muscle and blue loctite, I assume everyone does, but that didn't work --no surprise there. I was going to try using red loctite next, but figured that probably wouldn't work either, and it is a bit of a pita to take everything apart and tighten the bracket, so I did some thinking. I couldn't find studs to fit, so that was out. My theory is that is you can keep the two allen-head cap screws (AHCS) that hold the generator bracket to the engine from backing off, the bracket should stay firmly attached (bracket fracture is another matter) [I know: Maybe, maybe not. I said it was a theory]. So, how to keep the cap screws from backing out? What I decided might work, and we'll be finding out in the next few months, is to fabricate a piece of metal to �tie� the two AHCSs together (the turning or loosening force on one of the screws would be prevented by its attachment to the other). Here's what I'm trying-first I started with a template. I made this to show the guys in the shop how the cap screws were oriented and what the basic unit would look like. This template was cut to fit the two cap screws holding the bracket, and it is adjustable to capture the orientation of the AHCSs in their working, i.e., tightened down, position. I had the guy in the shop cut a couple short pieces of a 3/8 inch hex wrench to fit into the AHCSs (these are just a little bigger than 9 mm and therefore fit into the cap screws with less slop than the metric wrench would); these pieces of the allen wrench are about 5/8 in long. I then had two holes drilled into a small piece of 1/4 plate: these are positioned so that the allen-wrench pieces will drop straight down into the heads of the AHCSs (the AHCSs are on the bike, already tightened down). The pieces of the allen wrench were then welded to the plate, keeping their orientation such that they drop into the AHCSs. I'm thinking that this piece will prevent the AHCSs from loosening. We'll see. => Any opinions or predictions on this?? Oh, it cost $15, including the hex wrench. I probably didn't describe this very clearly. I'll take some pics tonight in case anyone would care to see. Rich A |