Question about the torque sequence on a Cessna 172 main gear bolt

I was doing an annual at the hangar in Springfield last week and my buddy Mike pointed out I'd been tightening the main gear bolts in a circle pattern. He showed me the manual and it's a star pattern, starting at 12 o'clock then 6, then 3, then 9. I'd been doing it wrong for probably three years. How many other small procedures like this have I been messing up without knowing?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler_hall91d ago

Look, I've seen guys do it both ways for years. That star pattern is mostly to keep from warping a big, thin flange. On a Cessna gear bolt, you're pulling a thick casting down to another thick casting. A circle pattern probably gets you to the same end result, just maybe a few extra foot-pounds on the final pass. The book says star, so do star now that you know. But I doubt you hurt anything.

the_logan1d ago

That manual torque sequence got me too. I did a whole Cherokee 140 gear leg in a circle before the old timer at the field just shook his head. Felt like a real genius that day.