The time a Cessna 172's nose gear wouldn't lock down and we had to get creative

Last month, we had a 172 come in for a 100-hour check at our shop in Boise. Everything was fine until the gear swing test. The nose gear would extend but just wouldn't lock into place, no matter what. The usual stuff, like checking the actuator and the uplock, showed nothing wrong. My lead, who's been at this for thirty years, just stood there for a minute, then said, 'Let's look at the torque links.' Sure enough, one of the bushings on the link was so worn it was letting the whole assembly twist just enough to miss the downlock hook. We replaced it with a new bushing from our parts bin, and it clicked right in. It was one of those things you don't think about until you see it. Has anyone else had a gear issue that turned out to be something simple but easy to miss like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.noah21d ago

Ever check the gear doors for binding?

black.jordan21d ago

Binding" is the polite way to say they're trying to murder the linkage.