Brake Pads on Heavy Duty Wheels

[Ernie Martin]

My 337G has the heavy duty wheels with 18x5.5 tires. The brake pads seemed kind of skinny, so we ordered some thinking they ought to be changed. But when they arrived, they were not very thick so we've got to figure whether they're due for a change. Any way to tell? Also, these pads don't use rivets -- any special tricks when installing.

BTW, for those who saw the Parts-Buying presentation given by Larry Bowdish, I bought the pads new-surplus from Preferred Airparts at 50% off Cessna price.

Ernie Martin

[Kim Geyer]

Ernie
Those are metalic pads on your plane. To get them off I usually take a sharp chisel or screw driver and work the pad off.To put the new ones on, you can press them on in a vise. Sometimes the pins are worn and won't hold the pads in place, you can replace the pins, which are insanely expensive, or take a center punch and put a small dimple about 1/64 in. from the pins edge.
This will elongate it enough to hold the pad in place. As for wear I think these pads have a groove to gage by.
Kim

[Ernie Martin]

Thanks, Kim.

Ernie

[WebMaster]

Do all skymasters >73 come with the heavy duty tires and brakes?

[Ernie Martin]

Larry:

Probably not. My POH shows two sizes of tires and two different inflations for the main gear, with the 18x5.5 tires indicated as Heavy Duty, so it was probably optional.

Ernie