PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-720
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 720
NOVEMBER 2012
34
PS 720
NOV 12
35
PS 720
NOV 12
T
oo much or too little oil and grease are not good for your Kiowa Warrior’s tail rotor
gearbox and its inner bearings.
Don’t go overboard and overfill the tail rotor gearbox or overgrease the bearing inside
the pitch control mechanism. Do only what TM 1-1520-248-23 says. Don’t add “just a bit
more” for good measure because that leads to a messy cleanup.
As you add oil to the gearbox, allow a few seconds for the oil to stabilize before you
read the site gage. That way you won’t add too much.
If you add too much, the excess oil runs down the output shaft during operation and
gets into the trunion and its Teflon® bearings.
When you add too much grease to the pitch control mechanism inner bearings, the
extra grease fills up the boot, and pumps it into the gearbox, contaminating it.
Too much oil and grease is a problem,
but not lubing is just as bad. Don’t forget
to grease the pitch change inner bearings
on the tail rotor gearbox. If you constantly
forget, the trunion bearings will heat up
and eventually allow oil from the gearbox to
leak into the boot area that covers the rod.
Inside the boot there is a weep hole
that needs proper cleaning. The weep hole
allows for expansion and contraction of the
boot. If the hole gets clogged with grease,
air cannot move in and out of the boot. The
boot can’t collapse or expand, so it tears and
deteriorates. That will affect the directional
control pedals when flying your aircraft.
So, when dealing with oil and grease, just keep it simple. Follow the TM and don’t
doctor up maintenance.
OH-58D…
The
Right Amount
of Oil and Grease
Too much oil and grease will damage
boot and clog weep hole inside
ok, just a
little more
grease and
oil should
do it!
I don’t
need a top
off…
…unless
you just
want a mess
to clean up!
stop
right
there!
D
ay has broken cold and
gray—exceedingly cold and
gray. Out oF FUeL, the fire
slowly goes out.
uh-oh!
they’re
back!
oh,
man!
what a
night!
man, am
I glad to
see those
guys!
thanks to my mysterioUs
inUit friend, I’ll get
to
Eat
ThanksgiviNG
dinNer instead of
Being
ThanksgiviNG dinNer!
720 34-35.indd
1-2
10/2/12
10:20 AM
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