737 Landing Gear Stripdown

[Joe Lavery]

Hi Guys,

I've just got hold of a real landing gear that I'd like to stripdown and do some renovations on. Paint, wiring and some lubrication.
I'm pretty sure I've seen a series of photos somewhere; where someone had done exactly that, but I've been unable to find them. So if anyone has the information, I'd be grateful to see it.

Cheers
Joe.

[B747-400]

Hi Joe,

lucky you! Congratulations!

Perhaps you've seen my pics ...

Got to my homepage / Pictures, and watch the two galleries with following headlines:

   My setup as of October 2014! *UPDATED*
   Please enjoy pics of my first 'simulator'. *UPDATED*

BR Hans

[Joe Lavery]

Hello Hans,

Thank you very much for these they will be a great help when I strip the lever down. As you probably know these items are pretty dirty when they come out of the cockpit.

I don't suppose you have an exploded schematic of the gear as well do you?

Kind Regards
Joe

[B747-400]

Hello Joe,

no schematics here. Is it a 727 / 737 lever? The lever mechanism is not too complicated. Taking apart is not the problem, but sometimes putting all together. Some of the parts are hard to grab.

In any case: make lot of pics before disassembling .. 

And yes, the parts are dirty! The older the more dust .. or should I say history .. ?

BR Hans

[Joe Lavery]

Well Hans,

I'm not sure what model it is, I don't know how to tell. 

But I will take plenty of pictures as I strip it down.
Incidentally how did you repaint the Lock Override lettering? And did you repaint the main frame as well?

Joe.

[B747-400]

Hi,

if the lever looks like mine, it's 727 or 737! If not perhaps 747 / 767 ... can you post a picture?

I repainted the lever itself in dark brown, because I'm using it in a 747-400 flightdeck!

The front of the green housing has been repainted in flat black. The old paint was more or less gone ...

Finally the letters:

- first of all I cleaned the lever and removed the old painting. Important: also remove all the paint in the engraved lettering!
- then I sprayed the lever in flat dark brown. I sprayed several thin layers! Take care, that you do not "fill" the engraved letters!
- next, after proper drying, I filled the letters with opaque White. After drying, I wiped away white color outside the engraved letters!
- finally: I sprayed / sealed al that with flat transparent paint!

I did the same with the letters in the yokes - unfortunately the letters of the yokes were not in a good condition - but I'm satisfied with all the results!

And now: happy painting 

BR Hans

[Joe Lavery]

Hi Hans,

I've attached a shot of the unit, perhaps you can identify it.
Thank you very much for the detailed account of repainting the lever, that's what I love about this community, there's always someone who can offer help. 

Kind regards
Joe.

[mickc]

Hi Hans,

I've attached a shot of the unit, perhaps you can identify it.
Thank you very much for the detailed account of repainting the lever, that's what I love about this community, there's always someone who can offer help. 

Kind regards
Joe.

Hi Joe,

That's from a 737-500.

I converted the exact same one to NG spec.

Attached is the parts breakdown, the handle assembly starts on page 56.

[Joe Lavery]

Hi Mick,

Thanks very much that will be a great help.
Nice to know its lineage as well 

Joe.

[mickc]

Hi Mick,

Thanks very much that will be a great help.
Nice to know its lineage as well 

Joe.

No problems Joe.

Here is a link to some pictures of mine during refurb  http://imgur.com/a/8Xvmc

The main mod needed is to cut exactly 1" off the end of the handle. Apart from that its mainly cosmetic, new handle, repaint, fit switches etc.

Plenty of rivet drilling involved!  the pile of metal shavings is all the drilled rivet heads.

Since these pics were taken, the handle was coated with a non-reflective 2K clearcoat.

[MCrevot]

Very interesting pictures, thank you Mick.
Michel

[B747-400]

You're welcome Joe!

Thanks for the PDF Mick - too late for me  , but nevertheless very interesting!

BR Hans

[Joe Lavery]

Hi Mick,

Thanks for your detailed pictures, they are going to be really helpful as well.
I see you used the same method to paint the Lock Override lettering as Hans suggested. Once you've painted it white as shown, how do you remove the excess paint?

Regards
Joe.

[B747-400]

Hi Joe,

my answer to your question, but interested in Micks answer too!

I applied opaque white directly without any water. Most of the excess paint should be removed instantly. After drying I used a smooth and wet towel to remove the remaining excess paint. If it happens that a the letter is not filled properly, repeat the steps for the affected letter(s).

I used opaque white based on water. Because any other thinner etc. will damage the brown color. This should not happen.

Once done, please post your pics! We are always interested in others work!

BR Hans

[mickc]

I use exactly the same method as Hans.

It takes a bit of experimenting with materials and pressure  to use, but its quite easy once you get the knack

For flat items, i use a damp paper towel an a bench top and rub the item on it until the finish is right.

[Joe Lavery]

Thanks guys,

More useful tips. In the past I tried to do this on the fire panel's red caps, using an enamel paint like the ones we all used in aircraft modelling. But it doesn't work very well and almost impossible to get of once it's dry.

I'll take some photos at each stage of the process, mainly so I know how to put it back together again...

Regards and thanks to you all.
Joe.