Wing struts

[JoeB]

Is it unusual to have 2 sealed struts, and 2 unsealed struts?

[stevesaircraft(Bri)]

No, not unusual at all. Our Cub had the front two replaced with sealed ones years ago. When we did the rebuild last summer we went ahead and replaced the rear ones with sealed ones.

Brian.

[Stephen]

I'm working on a Pacer theat has two sealed struts and two not sealed right now. On my own plane I could only afford one ealed strut at first. Ultimately, getting all four struts sealed is the best.

[Steve Pierce]

My Dad's Clipper was that way for years. All it takes is cubic dollars. ;-) At least that is what we said when I worked in a warbird restoration shop.

[JoeB]

Sounds like a trend, I'll put that on the list of things to buy when I have some spare cash laying around!
Thanks!

[Kurts]

I fear I'm about to take the plunge and replace all 4. At least Univair is having a 10% off sale right now!

Kurt

[Steve Pierce]

And Short Wing struts can be shipped via UPS rather than motor freight.

[Brian]

Ditto, I replaced the frount two first, then the rear ones a year or two afterwards. After storing the old ones in the corner of the hangar for many years, curiosity got the better of me about a year ago, and I cut them into about 2 floot sections with a chop saw just to see how bad they really were inside. I was some what surprised to see they were actually quite rust free inside, even down near the treaded fork end. Appearently the linseed oil treatment I did back in the 70's really preserved them over the years.
Brian
Pacer 26D

[Steve Pierce]

I have punched a lot of struts and only found one that failed. I have also cut into several and never found any with anything but a few spots of surface rust. I do however like the bigger forks on the new struts.

[Kurts]

Has anyone gone the ultrasound method of checking their struts? I just found out there is a local business who will come to your hangar and test them. Last reported cost was $150 but that was a while back. I would rather go this route, especially since my airplane has spent its life in a dry climate, than to spent 2k on new sealed units that I'm positive I don't need. I'd think too that for any future resale it would be nicer to be able to show a report with the actual thickness of the metal rather than saying "well, we complied with the AD via the punch test and by golly they didn't dent so they must be good". Uh huh...

Let me ask this too, if you do the punch test on the struts, do you see any marks or evidence on them that it has been done? I'd think you would see a grid pattern of tiny marks on the paint.

Kurt