Need Help with a landing gear problem O-2A
 

New to the 02/337, have a quick question for the group.

I have two problems happening with my gear system that hopefully can be solved with the group's great experience base.

1. When I retract the gear to the up position, everything works properly, but gear handle does not reset to the neutral position or out of the up position when finished. I have to manually place out of the up position to the next detent position below up.

2. When I select the gear down, I must hold the gear handle in the down position long enough to ensure the doors close fully, gear then spring loads to the next up detent as it should. If I just put the gear handle down and don't hold the handle down, part of the gear doors will be open for landing.

What I have been doing to overcome #2 is to hold the gear in the down position for several seconds, then let go and all seems to go well.

Thanks in advance, Tom

If you are not an A&P mechanic, give this information to him as this is too complex a procedure to be considered preventive maintenance, and the aircraft should be on jacks to test afterwards.
a.) on the hydraulic powerpack, there are two electrical solenoids threaded on the lower body.
b.) an "O" ring seals the inner plunger on the solenoids
c.) sometimes the hydraulic fluid seeps past the O ring into the center of the solenoid and is heated by the warm solenoid until the fluid "cooks" a bit and starts to get the consistancy of molasses, causing the plunger to stick.
d.) the corrective action is to remove the solenoids from the powerpack, disassemble them, clean the barrels with solvent with cotton swabs
e.) reassemble with new O rings.
f.) flush out the old hydraulic fluid, it may be sticky from age.
g.) replenish the fluid, check the operation of the hydaulics and bleed the air from the system.

Refer to your 1L-02 -2 (Illustrated Parts) and -4(Maintenance Manual) for details.