Goodyear Brake Adjustment

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:08

I know my Chief has Goodyear brakes, but beyond that I am clueless. My left brake is not as good as my right. I just had it in for annual and was asking my A&P about the adjustment on these. He basically said that there was no adjustment since they had a solid linkage. I was just wondering if this was correct or if there is another way to get some adjustment.

Thanks,

Todd Wilemon
N9453E

Roger Anderson · Post by **Roger Anderson** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:32

mtw wrote:I know my Chief has Goodyear brakes, but beyond that I am clueless. My left brake is not as good as my right. I just had it in for annual and was asking my A&P about the adjustment on these. He basically said that there was no adjustment since they had a solid linkage. I was just wondering if this was correct or if there is another way to get some adjustment.

Thanks,

Todd Wilemon
N9453E

I'm assuming the mechanical disk brakes. Yes, adjustment can be done easily, spelled out in the Chief service manual. A little later I'll try to copy it for you. Also, you can adjust the pedal position up higher or lower at the pedal itself, if it hasn't already been adjusted to one extreme or the other .

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:44

Thanks for the info. I have a copy of the service manual, but I really did not see how to make an adjustment. I will get the book and plane together and take a look.

Thanks,

Todd

MikeB · Post by **MikeB** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:59

Todd,
Your A & P is wrong. The caliper can be adjusted by taking the pin out, loosening the lock nut and turning the brake actuating shaft in until there is a slight drag of the pucks on the disk (have it jacked up). Lock the nut and adjust the cable until you have a inch (give or take a little) of free play in the heel brake pedal. They can be adjusted for equal pressure on the brake. It takes a bit of fiddling around but the GY brakes work fine if the pucks and disks are in decent shape and if everything is in adjustment.

MikeB

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 13:11

MikeB,

I appreciate the info!

Thanks,

Todd

Roger Anderson · Post by **Roger Anderson** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 13:54

mtw wrote:Thanks for the info. I have a copy of the service manual, but I really did not see how to make an adjustment. I will get the book and plane together and take a look.

Thanks,

Todd

Ok. In my manual, it's the lower half of page 24. Like Mike said, to get it right does take some fiddling around, but easy though.

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 15:34

Yep, right there in black & white. Thanks for helping my ignorance!

Todd

Roger Anderson · Post by **Roger Anderson** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:18

Todd. Not wishing to "beat a dead horse", however after you have the adjustment, as described, correctly done (this insures that the pucks are proper in their holders and will not drop out causing a wheel to lock), you can do two other things. As I mentioned, you can see the vertical rod on the brake pedals and it's threaded on the top. Loosen the lower lock nut and then you can adjust pedal height by turning the nut on top. Additionally, another way is to loosen the clamp holding the cable to itself as it loops through the actuating lever down on the brake assenbly. Then you can pull tighter (or loosen) the slack in the cable which changes the brake pedals' height. When I say pedal height, actually what I mean is how far they go down before they apply brake pressure. I personally keep my Chief brake pedals adjusted until they almost bottom out when applied. I've found that it's too easy for me to accidently mash a brake pedal when excitedly pushing on a rudder pedal. As mentioned...a lot of fiddling to get it just the way we want it. roger

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:23

No problem. I'm like a "dead horse" sometimes. Appreciate the info!

Thanks,

Todd

Post by **joea** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:54

Also, please make sure that your brake rotor clips are in good condition and most of us use silicone sealant to bond them to the wheel.

If you lose one of the clips things can get interesting and losing two of them have been known to cause the wheel to lock up on landing. You want them there and secure.

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 16:59

Appreciate it! Now I'm scared to land!

Thanks,

Todd

Post by **joea** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:04

Todd,

Not to worry about it but just on your preflight check that you have 4 clips on each wheel and that they are solid and secure.

If you do not have them held in with silicone, then please come back and ask about it.

First off the clips are damm expensive (sometimes upwards of $100 each) and then there is the safety issue, so its worth making sure that they are done right.

They are on my wheels now and I have flown Goodyears for years. Just make sure that they are right.

Joe A

PS what kind of tire pressure are you running? 12-14 psi if you are flying on concrete is fine. You do not want more than 15 psi or the plane gets squirly on landing.

mtw · Post by **mtw** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 17:09

Have been running 14 psi and seems to work pretty good. Thanks.

gusc · Post by **gusc** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 00:38

Joe,

I still have those GY clips left over from my Stinson and will let them go reasonably to a person who really needs them.

I'm not sure if they fit a Champ but assume so.

I would rather trade for something useful for a Champ though.

Post by **joea** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 00:43

Gus,

Glad to hear it and someone will need them. Every Aeronca owner (who has Goodyears) should have 2-3 of them spare and keep them with the plane when they fly "off airport" just in case.

As well sometime we should look into finding someone who can make a batch of them again under the new regs to keep us supplied.

Also remember that the Chief and Champ share 80% of their parts so sure you will find something that you need from one of us.

Joe A

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