Air Tractor, Inc.

Lubrication Page 1
AT-401 September 15, 1989

LUBRICATION SCHEDULE:

Daily: (Use general purpose grease)

1. Grease fitting on tail wheel (if in rice operations).

2. Grease fitting on tail wheel housing (if in rice operations).
3. Grease fitting on lock pin housing (if in rice operations).
4. For row-crop work perform the above on a weekly basis.

Every 100 Hours: (Use general purpose grease)

1. Jack tail wheel off ground, remove fork from housing, clean and grease bronze bushings
and wear plate by hand packing.
2. Remove tail wheel axle bolt, axle, disassemble tail wheel parts and clean and hand-pack
tail wheel bearings.
3. Grease fitting on both ends of control torque tube housings on cockpit floor.
4. Apply touch of grease to striker plate at door handles.
5. Apply touch of grease to Spray pump brake lever slot.
6. Apply touch of grease to trim push rods at fairlead locations.
7. Grease fitting on wobble pump handle.
8. Remove and pack main wheel bearings if conditions require it.
9. Apply grease to worm drive of Micro-control on spray lever and micro-adjust worm drive
on hopper handle.

Every 100 Hours: (Use general purpose oil)

1. Door handles.
2. Clevis ends on throttle lever, prop and mixture levers.
(Caution: No oil on quadrant.)
3. Control lock attachments at panel.
4. Trim tab hinges on elevators.
5. Trim push-rods at idler and horn connections.
6. Tail wheel lock cable pulley bearing.
7. Tail wheel lock cable spring at eyebolt connection.
8. Centering spring bushing on tail wheel fork cap arm.
9. Shackle at end of tail wheel lock cable.
10. Bushing and bolt in ends of rudder horn.
11. Latch arm on seat belt.
12. Latch arms and adjust threads on hopper lid latch assy.
13. Both ends of hopper gate push-rod outside aircraft.
14. Latch cams on fuel filler caps.
15. Oil seat rail tubes in damp climates to prevent corrosion.
16. Micro-switch rollers on arms.
17. Bronze bushings in rudder pedal to master cylinder strap attach.
Lubrication Page 2 Air Tractor, Inc.
September 15, 1989 AT-401

Every Annual Inspection: (Use general purpose grease).

1. Clean and hand pack the Torrington bearings in the rear elevator idler.
2. Clean and hand pack the Torrington bearings in the 90° bellcranks attached to the flap
torque tube.

Every Annual Inspection: (Use general purpose oil)

1. Remove flap actuator at fuselage rear spar tube and oil the bronze bushing and the steel
spacer bushing.
2. Remove the trim idler attached to the rear part of the fuselage frame and oil the bronze
bushing and steel spacer bushing.
3. Remove the spray lever and oil the bronze bushings inside.
4. Remove the gate push-pull tube outside the fuselage and oil the bronze bushing in the
forward end and the bearing in the aft end.
Air Tractor, Inc. Repairs Page 1
AT-401 May 2, 1994

FUSELAGE FRAME REPAIRS

The most common cause of fuselage frame damage is a landing gear strike during spraying
operations, or hitting an obstruction during take-off. A severe drag load is placed on the main
gear leg and due to the leverage that exists,either the tubular structure is damaged or else the
forward clamp block bolt fails. If the tubular structure is severely damaged it is best to contact
the factory with photos or sketches of the damaged tubes, and a repair cluster can be constructed
at the factory which can be spliced in a convenient location with external sleeves.
It is seldom necessary to place the fuselage frame in the original jig, as shop aids can be
sent with the repair structure, and with careful measurements, the structure will be back to the
original configuration. Repair clusters are designed so that gas welding can usually be used to
install the new cluster. Standard repairs may be made in accordance with AC 43.13-1A.

FORWARD CLAMP BLOCK BOLT FAILURE

If the wheel strike has caused the forward clamp block bolt to break, it is likely that the gear
leg has folded back under the aircraft and broken the large inboard attach bolt and the aft clamp
bolt. When the large inboard bolt fails, it usually damages the 1 3/8" OD bushing that it was
attached to, and as the gear folds back the sharp edge of the gear leg damages the 2 1/2"
diameter tube that the bushing is welded to.
The broken bolts can be removed from the attach fitting by the conventional practice of
drilling into the broken off bolt shank and using an “Easy Out” tool to remove the bolt shank. Be
careful not to damage the threads, but if there appears to be slight thread damage, use a 3/4 - 16
bottoming tap with a generous amount of cutting oil to re-work the threads, making sure that the
tap is started exactly with the original threads.
The damage to the 1 3/8"OD bushing is usually confined to the rear lower side, where the
1.0" bolt has bent before failing. The factory practice is to use a heli-arc welding machine and
with weld rod build back the area on the inside of the bushing as shown on the enclosed drawing.
Also, the damage to the 2 1/2" diameter tube can be filled with welding rod, and the diamond
shaped plate of .125 4130N can be welded in place as shown. Since the 2 1/2" tube is 1/4" thick
and the bushing is also heavy wall, conventional arc-welding is permissible if the operator is
skilled, and a high-test rod is used. Gas welding is possible, but due to the very thick parts
involved, a large torch at high flame settings will be required.
After welding, clean, sand, etch, prime and finish coat as described under “Painting Steel
Parts” in the maintenance section.

THREADS STRIPPED OUT IN FORWARD CLAMP BLOCK ATTACH FITTING

If the wheel strike has caused the threads to fail instead of the bolt in the forward gear
attach bolt location, it is necessary to drill out the old threads, cut new ones, and install a
helicoil. This requires certain tools and coils which are listed below:

1 ea. 49/64" drill bit with 1/2" shank

1 ea. CTF-12RUP-00 rough tap (Tridair Industries)
1 ea. CTF-12SRP-H3 finish tap (Tridair Industries)
1 ea. CIF-12 winding tool (Tridair Industries)
1 or more TNF-12C-0750 helicoils (Tridair Industries)
Repairs Page 2 Air Tractor, Inc.
April 1, 1998 AT-401

These tools are in stock at the factory and with Air Tractor dealers. In addition, it is
necessary to have a new p/n 40148-1 attach block since the old block will bend as the bolt is
being stripped out. Also, new set of main gear bolts is necessary.
The procedure for installing the helicoil is as follows:
1. Take the new 40148-1 block to the drill press and enlarge one of the 3/4" holes to
49/64. The reason is that the block will be used for a drill guide for drilling out the old
threads in the fuselage frame.
2. Hoist the aircraft as described in “Hoisting” in the maintenance section and install
barrels with boards under each wing tie-down fitting to steady the aircraft. Attach the 3/4"
hole in the 40148-1 block to the rear of the fuselage fitting so that the 49/64" hole is
opposite the damaged thread that are to be drilled out.
3. A slow turning powerful 1/2" electric drill motor is required. Before drilling is com-
menced, center the 49/64" hole in the clamp block exactly over the damaged threads and
use a large “C” clamp to hold the block solidly in place. Torque the aft bolt to help hold the
block and prevent it from moving.
4. Use generous amounts of cutting oil on the drill bit tip (have someone apply it with a
brush every few seconds during drilling). The drill will try to “grab” every few revolutions
and it is best to trigger the switch on and off as you go to prevent the bit from being broken
as this can very easily happen and you will be out of business until another bit can be
obtained.
5. Insert the 49/64" drill bit into the clamp block being used as a drill guide, position the
drill motor with your body to provide a straight hole, and cautiously start the drilling
operations as described above. It is not necessary to drill through the lower longeron tube,
so when the drill reaches that point, pull it out.
6. Now you have the 49/64" hole through the forward end of the fuselage fitting. Remove
the clamp block and start the rough tap by hand into the hole, using plenty of thread
cutting oil applied with a small hand pump can. The rough tap will center itself with the
hole, but it is adviseable to start it as straight as possible.
7. After the rough tapping operation is complete, blow out any shavings and start the finish
tap, picking up the exact threads and again using plenty of thread cutting oil. Back out the
tap every few turns, removing shavings and applying cutting oil. When the finish tap is
removed, blow out all cuttings and inspect the hole.
8. Determine how far the helicoil is to be inserted into the fitting. The insertion depth can
be determined by placing the 40148-1 block against the fuselage fitting with all of the
shims to be used between the two parts. Then apply the MS20002C12 washer under the
bolt head of the NAS152DH40 bolt and place the bolt on the side of the block and fuselage
fitting to determine the point inside the fuselage fitting the threads on the bolt will be
located. It is adviseable to have the helicoil located two or three threads deeper inside the
fitting so there is no chance the helicoil will bottom out on the bolt shank before the bolt is
fully torqued. Mark this position on the outside of the fitting which represents the start of
the helicoil when it is installed. Since the helicoil is 3/4" long when installed, measured
another 3/4" past your mark to determine the deepest position of the helicoil. Now measure
from the deepest mark to the surface of the fitting and install the helicoil on the winding
tool and adjust the top on the winding tool to correspond with that measurement.
Air Tractor, Inc. Repairs Page 3
AT-401 September 15, 1989

Proceed to install the helicoil with the winding tool and if the setting is correct the
winding tool will place the helicoil in the correct location when the stop is reached. Remove
the winding tool and re-check the helicoil position. Test the position by installing the bolt,
shims, block and applying full torque to the bolt (3,000 inch-pounds). The helicoil is held in
place by spring tension and will not back out.