CSOBeech - Beechcraft Sloppy Nose Steering

Sloppy Nose Steering Response

Do you experience "Sloppy Nose Steering" and wander when you taxi your Baron or Bo? Have your nose steering rod ends and bushing been changed out in the last 3,000 hours or so?

I changed part numbers: 5, 13, 20 and 29 in this Baron Part Catalog Extract and greatly reduced the slop in my nose steering mechanism. Bonanza part designs MAY be similar, see this Bonanza Part Catalog Extract but CHECK YOUR SPECIFIC PARTS CATALOG for your serial numbered aircraft to be sure.

Here's a tip about offset rod end #20 in the Baron diagram - you don't have to spend over $1,000 with Beechcraft to change this offset rod end. The bearing in it is pressed in. That bearing is shown as #19 on the Part Catalog Extract, just press or tap out the old Heim LS4 bearing and press in the new one.

You do have a parts catalog for your Beechcraft don't you?

Editorial comment follows, a broken Nose Steering Rod End on takeoff or landing might ruin your day, then again, it might not! You decide.............

PS: Ask your mechanic to drill and place a grease zerk in the idler bushing #13 (PN: NAS76A7-20) when you change it and also change the bolts and nuts for all those rod ends! A zerk in it looks like this:

Picture* courtesy of Beech Lister Doug G

*PS: This pic is a C35 Bonanza w/o drain hole in the idler.

The zerk used above is the threaded version PN: 3016.

Here's a pic of the business end of the nose steering, courtesy of Beech Lister Kevin O. This is a picture of a newly delivered G36. Can you see the bonehead move they made in assembling this?

They assembled it with the monkey motion joint's grease zerk pointing UP! How the hell is a guy to get a grease gun fitting on that?

Note also the monkey motion bearing has a "FLUSH" grease fitting. If you have the older style with a good old fashioned grease zerk, be really delicate when servicing it. There have been several reports of breaking off the zerk and having a heck of a time finding a replacement.

Well, the guy might have to use this $10 right angle grease zerk adapter tool from Amazon.

Here's a pic of the monkey motion bearing (Nose Gear Steering Yoke Assembly PN: 35-825007) location and some interesting info found by Marty M. regarding his 1976 F33:

This "Monkey Motion" joint is reported to be PN: 35-825035

Check YOUR Parts Catalog to be sure!

Here is Marty's find on older style bearings:

Turns out that the recommended replacement bearing (Heim LS-4) has an OD of 0.750" but if your plane came with the older shoulder style, you'll need one with an OD of only 0.740" unless you want to machine your old eye bolt hole larger.

I found a couple suppliers of the old style bearings with shoulders:

New Hampshire Ball Bearings, Inc. ASTRO-ABYT4V

Aurora Bearing Company HAB-4T

Much nicer solution!

The Heim LS4 press fit bearing

can be purchased below, just select your shipping location from the drop down box below and click Buy It Now.

Bonanza Mystery Bolt

In the event slop is experienced/observed in the above linkage, perhaps a new bolt is in order?

1 each NAS54-16M Bolt (possibly superceeded by 130909B239)

2 each AN960-416 washers

1 each AN310-4 nut

1 each MS24665-132 cotter pin

Bonanza Nose Steering Makeover

by Paul S.

You do not want to find things looking like this in your

steering yoke joints up by the nose gear!

Here is the pirep from N35 Bonanza owner Paul S., on his nose steering "makeover":

AN24-25 clevis at idler & AN174-16 at front elbow (the two beautiful bolts pictured above)

This is much easier with plane on jacks as you can sit on the floor rather than lying on your back disconnect nose down tension to be able to move linkage around, especially when checking after re-assembly.

figures are from B-55 manual

==> fig. Steering Parts1;

idler arm press-in bushing Beech A799 {#13}

install a zerk in idler, Beech #3016, on nose side of idler (photo)

(10-32 tap, go shallow for interference fit) remember to re-drill drain hole in bottom of idler arm (thru new bushing)

Clevis bolt AN24-25 (#17) @ top of idler, shim washers 960-416L lights

small "press" bushings(#18) (will not press in place anymore, make sure ears not too worn though) for aft pushrod ears (x2) 105740X-ZL0I04 use some grease at re-assembly to hold parts in place, be patient!

I did all this by myself (IA supervised) it just takes time to re-assemble.

==>fig. Steering Parts2;

close tolerance bolts NAS54's superseded by AN174's (#'s 32 & 36)

need ; -16 drilled with regular castle nut

-24A undrilled with all metal friction nut #MS21042-4 (#37)

use light washer under head of AN174-24A (#36) to keep spring shaft case from hitting airframe yoke press-in bushing Beech NAS76A7-020 (#42)
yoke zerk Beech 1736 (press in) (#44) , use #40 drill, drill thru new bushing too.

If hole is too big for the press in zerk, you can also use #3016 threaded zerk – (drill and tap with 10-32 tap, same as the idler)

I did not replace spacers (#40) or any Heim bearings yoke washer Beech #100951X063YH (#38) was worn

(can also use #1736 zerk - press in - in yoke if hole too big for #3016 zerk, drill & tap as idler)

I did not replace spacers (#40) or any Heim bearings yoke washer Beech #100951X063YH (#38) was worn

==>fig. Steering Parts3,

#47 cone must be able to turn freely when torqued

#45 yoke bolt head & zerk installed facing AFT

What a great steering makeover narrative by CSOB Paul S., just my humble opinion of course.

Here's info contributed by Beech Lister & Bonanza owner Frank S.:

I recently went through my steering mechanism. I didn't think it was operating all that bad, but I found a lot of things to replace.

My front link (35-825035) and side link (35-825037) both wobbled badly. Neither of these have bushings. I ended up scrounging salvage yards and ebay for replacments. A lot I found were worse than I had. Lots of searching and shipping. Maybe a really good machinist oversize the holes and fabricate bushings to press in, but it would be far from an Beech approved repair.

My idler shaft (35-825049) was fortunately OK. I did replace the idler arm bushing (A-779), which was surprisingly cheap at $8 directly from a Beech parts house (I happen to have Western Aircraft right here in Boise).

While I was at it, I put a zerk on the idler arm itself with the aproval of my A&P. (Mike C has a discussion on CSOB).

My biggest wear though was in the aft rod/bungee/idler arm connection. The 105740X-ZL0L04 bushings were available through Western for me once I realized that I was mis-reading the 'L's in the number as '1's. Or maybe it was the other way around, my notes are unclear. These things are a bit spendy for what they are.

Also in this area the 35-820045 fork in the aft rod was badly worn. I Could not find a replacement anywhere for any price. Ended up scrounging an entire aft rod assembly (35-825044-4). Put a new MD46-15 rod end on it. I had a devil of a time getting this rod out and its replacement in.

While you are at it, I would replace the bearings pressed into 35-825162 and 35-825012. These are simple Heim LS-4 bearings that are cheap and easily obtainable. Even www.Amazon.com had them.

That's most of what I did. If you have other specific questions, I can check my notes and give you what I can.

Frank Stutzman

Bonanza N494B "Hula Girl"

Boise, ID

Here's some other tidbits of info contributed by Beech Lister & A36 owner Leldon L.:

The male portion that goes in the yoke: eye nose steering Part # 50-820130-8

~$525 +/- from beech.

It has one Heim LS-4 bearing (going from memory) that can be "repaired" by a skilled A&P <$30. Yeah, you just PRESS it out! LOL

Yoke... # 35-825007...not priced... suspect $$$$$

The bronze bushing that is pressed in the yoke fitting and the eye fitting fits into.

NAS76A7-20 IIRC $1.47 from beech :) (Wahoo, they have not discovered the pricing error <grins>) replacing the bushing removed "most" of my "slop". (and mine too!)

Here is another pirep finding from Baron & Bonanza owner Mike T.:

I also have recently delved into the steering linkage, in this case for an H35. The Model 35 IPC shows PN 35-825006 for the "Eye assy, nose gear steering." But RAPID's website supercedes 35-825006 with either 50-820130-4 or 50-820130-12. But 50-820130-4 brings up 50-830130-12. It lists for $1234.54 the last time I checked.

It's not clear to me if this assembly includes the funky Heim, or if it's just the "yoke" or "eye." (I'm not even sure if the yoke and the eye are same part.)

The plot sickens:

The Baron IPC shows PN 50-820130-10 for the "Eye, nose steering swivel." RAPID's website brings up a "substitution,

" 50-820130-2," "Eye assembly, NG steering swivel." Cost: $417.46.

Summing this up:

The various IPCs don't do an adequate job of illustrating and identifying the various parts. It's not clear what exactly an "assembly" includes, and what one would get if he ordered using any of the above PNs. It's possible that a Baron part would fit perfectly on a Bo (don't tell Bob). (Or a part from a Dutchess, etc., or any of the several Beech models that appear to use the same steering parts. It's common.) And it's possible a Baron part *is* significantly less expensive than the same part bearing a Bonanza PN. I've run into this with other components. I'm convinced the only way to order the part(s) correctly and confidently would be to call Beech tech support and have dwgs pulled. The current situation is a mess.

Thanks Paul, Leldon & Mike for your contributions!

Here is a narrative from Adam McP. which outlines his quest to change the steering rod end that connects to the rudder pedals in the cockpit under the pilots floorboards in his 1948 Bonanza. Adam found a taper pin that must be removed to allow the rod end bolt to be removed and the rod end to be replaced. The taper pin is PN: AN386-2-12A. See the pictures below for additional details if you find yourself having to deal with this rod end replacement.

If all this is completely confusing, close this browser page, call your mechanic and have them call Textron Tech Support to sort it all out for you. Then sit back and stroke the check!