182 Torque Link bushing article in Feb 2022 issue

MrMark757

I did the McFarlane bushing kit. Still had the shimmy. Further investigation, the back of the links connected with a 3/16ths bolt and those new bushings installed - has some slop. But no shim washers in the kit for that. Call them and they said there are none, but gave me a work around to use thin flat washers NAS1149F0316P. Fixed!

Scott Sherer

Excellent news. Thanks for sharing this. And McFarlane has never let me down and this is another example of great service! Thanks again.

SalemAeroClub

We recently rebushed the torque links on our 150G using the MacFarlane kit, also for a very noticeable shimmy after landing. Our club also has a 182H, and in reviewing it's logs I noticed the torque links were re-bushed frequently, every couple of years, during the planes early life when it flew a lot more.
Anyway, my comment is about what our AI said when he watched us perform the work at his shop. If you have shimmy, you need to identify and correct it quickly. Don't live with it for a while or put it on your annual squawk list. The worn bushings and excess play in the torque links can cause wear on the links themselves, possibly making them un-airworthy and increasing your repair costs.

Scott Sherer

Good to know, much thanks for the post

SalemAeroClub

As a follow-up, we recently rebushed the torque links on our 182 ourselves, again with our A&P's supervision. This time we created a new method for removing the old bushings. We drilled and tapped one bushing using a 25/64" bit for a 7/16-20 fine thread bolt. Using a bolt and deep socket we were able to easily draw out the first bushing. This was the closest drill size to the existing bushing diameter, making the drilling easier and less likely to go sideways and hit the link itself. Re-installation was performed on the bench vise after freezing the new bushings overnight.

As a post inspection, we determined that the spacer shaft had zero wear, there's a center portion which doesn't touch either bushing. So as long as it isn't bent, you can service the links for the price of new bushings and shims alone, which is a fraction of the cost of the entire kit, $185 in 2022.

At the first hint of shimmy, it's absolutely worth it to remove the torque links and inspect for wear.