Cherokee 6 strut sticking

Clark1961

Clark1961

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Talked to an A&P IA today about a Cherokee 6 with a strut sticking problem which remains even after the struts had be re-sealed. The re-seal included removal from the airframe because the top O-ring had to be replaced. There was a sidenote that a previous mechanic tried to use RTV Blue to replace the top O-ring and that is what the current mechanic had to fix along with replacing the usual seals/wipers/etc. I do not know what, if any, dimensional examinations the current mechanic made.

Anyway, anybody run into this and have a fix? I've had struts stick on the 'kota but not since the strut reseal.
 
Nope....I just lived with it. I noticed more load, pax, seemed to help.
 
Sticky struts on Cherokees seem to be common. Our pa-28s were alway sticky. That's not to say it's right, just that lots of airplanes fly with sticky struts. I presume you know how to tell if it needs air, otherwise they've not been a problem for us through >10,000 flight hours and a lot of student landings.
 
Clark1961 said:
Talked to an A&P IA today about a Cherokee 6 with a strut sticking problem which remains even after the struts had be re-sealed. The re-seal included removal from the airframe because the top O-ring had to be replaced. There was a sidenote that a previous mechanic tried to use RTV Blue to replace the top O-ring and that is what the current mechanic had to fix along with replacing the usual seals/wipers/etc. I do not know what, if any, dimensional examinations the current mechanic made.

Anyway, anybody run into this and have a fix? I've had struts stick on the 'kota but not since the strut reseal.
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You're not landing hard enough. :D

Struts on Cherokees stick. I've heard that wiping them down with hydraulic fluid will help it. Not sure if that's a good idea though.
 
It's a Piper, it's supposed to stick, I think. Land harder !
 
A swerve away from the stuck side after landing (at low speed) will bring it down.
 
Yep... I freaked out after my Lance had a stuck strut an hour out of a $17k annual and the head mechanic was contemplating doing some serious surgery (rebuild, replace, etc). The assistant mechanic walked out there with me and the head mechanic and showed me a fancy little move involving putting my back under the wing spar and lifting up. It popped back up after a couple of moves. It's been 40 hours since, and happened once again with the other strut... but that little move saved me.

I even read a forum post somewhere that someone was watching them test fly the PiperJet and low and behold after a landing that sucker had a stuck strut also...

Don't worry about it... it's a Piper thing.
 
(Nose) Strut pressure on the high end of "service spec" and our 'kota always stuck extended - could always bring it down with a tap of the brakes or a tug on the prop hub, tho.

We rebuilt it a couple times with no improvement, but then we lowered pressure to bottom end of spec, strut extension still within "good" and no more issues. Of course, I don't recall the pressure or extension numbers off the top of my addled head right now.
 
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Try jacking up the wing for full strut extension put a strait edge ruler on the side and front, the smallest bend on the strut will cause the strut to stick.
 
5606 is not that great, especially when cold.

Dextron, although unapproved, is much better!
 
bartmc said:
You're not landing hard enough. :D

Struts on Cherokees stick. I've heard that wiping them down with hydraulic fluid will help it. Not sure if that's a good idea though.
Click to expand...

Don't see why not, since that's what's on the inside anyway. It's also what my A&P recommended.
 
bartmc said:
You're not landing hard enough. :D

Struts on Cherokees stick. I've heard that wiping them down with hydraulic fluid will help it. Not sure if that's a good idea though.
Click to expand...

5606 hydraulic fluid dries to leave a really sticky film on the surface. That is likely why the strut is sticking in the first place, since the seals can't get every trace of fluid off the strut as it moves. Wiping the strut barrel with fresh fluid might get the sticky stuff off, but the new stuff dries and starts sticking soon. Better to clean the strut with a bit of solvent or non-chlorinated brake cleaner and get it totally dry. I always had better luck with that.

Dan
 
I like wiping down the strus with a WD-40 coated microfiber rag. It cleans the whole strut very nice without leaving much residue.
 
We used to use Granville Strut seal in our
trainers and that fixed the problem.
Dave
 
comanche pilot said:
I like wiping down the strus with a WD-40 coated microfiber rag. It cleans the whole strut very nice without leaving much residue.
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problem is......this sticks in the down position (wheel extended).

How are you wiping in the area where it's sticking....when on the ground? :yikes:
 
My struts didn't really stick all that much. Just ocassionally after a rebuild and servicing. I make it habit to wipe down the strut housing, fork and tube with a rag to keep it clean, maybe every other flight or so.
 
Blue silicone, I've seen it before. Could you have a late 70s six. It could have been what I remember Piper was using in place of the top o-ring back the old days. No joke.
 
kmead said:
Blue silicone, I've seen it before. Could you have a late 70s six. It could have been what I remember Piper was using in place of the top o-ring back the old days. No joke.
Click to expand...

Could be, I was talking to an A&P IA about the aircraft and he mentioned the sticking strut problem (it's not my aircraft and I don't fly it). He said the struts were leaking both air and oil so they replaced all the seals and that is when they found the blue silicone. He said that the pilot thought that one of the struts was sticking in the compressed position which sounded totally weird but I suppose it is possible with a firm arrival. My experience has been with struts sticking fully extended and I thought maybe the pilot was mis-interpreting the behavior - a strut was stuck open instead of the opposite side stuck closed. :dunno: I do know that a stuck strut feels strange and would be easily misunderstood.

I'll pass on your comment to the A&P.
 
Do full stall landings about a foot off the runway, that'll take care of that sticking. :lol:

There is a way to reduce the sticking by doing some fine lapping and polishing work at the extended stop end and top of the strut, but most people don't want to pay for the effort.
 
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