What is the Deal with the Cherokee Nose Strut?

[kenjr]

I've only been in the partnership (Cherokee 235 - 1964) for 7 months but damn we've had nothing but problems with that thing. We bought the rebuild kit and it sorta worked fine...would still get a little clunky from time to time but it was holding. Well, that was a few months ago...today we were replacing the vacuum pump and when we were finished towed it out of the hangar for a runup and when we went to push it back in...red hydraulic fluid all over the deck! Argh!


It basically pee'd it out for the next few minutes until it was empty...went to pull it back out to clean out the hangar and plop...down went the strut...now she sits just about level nose to tail.


It was kinda like that when I first got into the airplane in January. The rest of the guys had just been dealing with it because they had done a similar rebuild about 6 months prior and it blew out again. I think they fixed it because of me...and now here we are again.


Is there a better option here that we're missing or do these things just blow up all the time? Is it a big no-no to ride on it with it deflated like that...provided you taxi slow and put the nose down easy when landing? I don't think it warrants grounding the plane...but man, what a PITA.

 

[flyguydon]

 

[JimICS2452]

 

[GM.]

 

[kenjr]

 

[GM.]

 

[Domenick]

 

[Domenick]

 

[EDC]

 

[Orest @ CYFD]