GS SL 36
GS SL 36
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TO: HOLDERS OF SERVICE LETTER GS--SL--36 FOR WHEEL INSPECTION AND OVERHAUL
SCHEDULES USED ON ALL AIRCRAFT BRAKING SYSTEMS CORPORATION WHEEL AS-
SEMBLIES.
Attached to this transmittal letter is Revision No. 7 of Service Letter GS--SL--36 (basic issue
dated Jul 19/93).
HIGHLIGHTS OF REVISION NO. 7 DATED 18 JANUARY 2006
REVISION NO. 7 CONTAINS ALL PAGES OF THE SERVICE LETTER. Pages which have been re-
vised are outlined below, together with the Highlights of the revision.
1. All pages:
A. Added Revision 7 with new date.
2. Section II, page 3 of 8:
A. Added new paragraphs B.(6) thru B.(9) in reference to tires.
3. Section II, page 7 of 8:
A. Deleted second paragraph in paragraph F.(2)(a).
These commodities, technology or software were exported from the United States in accordance with the Export
Administration Regulations. Diversion contrary to U.S. law is prohibited.
EMAIL: [email protected]
SUBJECT: WHEEL INSPECTION AND OVERHAUL SCHEDULES
SECTION I -- PLANNING INFORMATION
A. EFFECTIVITY: This General Service Letter is applicable to all Aircraft Braking Systems Corpora-
tion (ABSC) wheel assemblies used on various aircraft.
B. REASON: The increment between overhauls varies greatly for each wheel assembly. Experi-
enced operators who have a database of service history know the operation of their equipment
and the inspection results. Where such experience is not available, it is necessary for operators
to have guidelines to determine when normal overhaul procedures must be done on a wheel as-
sembly.
C. DESCRIPTION: This General Service Letter is issued to give operators guidelines for inspection
and overhaul increments. The Overhaul and Component Maintenance Manuals are still the prima-
ry source for wheel inspection and overhaul information, however this service letter is a secondary
source. It is not mandatory for operators to use the overhaul increments given in this Service Let-
ter. Experienced operators can use their database of service history to better predict the overhaul
increments and decide what procedures should be done at each overhaul. This Service Letter
gives a guide for a start--up maintenance program.
NOTE: Whenever the term ‘‘overhaul’’ is used in this General Service Letter, it is meant to en-
compass the full requirements of the Component Maintenance Manual with regards to
Disassembly, Paint Removal, Inspection and Repair (Reference FAR 43.2).
NOTICE
AIRCRAFT BRAKING SYSTEMS CORPORATION (ABSC*) ASSUMES NO CON-
TRACTUAL, WARRANTY, PRODUCT LIABILITY OR OTHER OBLIGATION FOR
ANY SUBSTITUTION OF OR ALTERATION TO ANY PART CONTAINED IN ANY
ABSC WHEEL OR BRAKE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING ACCESSORIES NOT SPE-
CIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY ABSC OR FOR ANY ALTERATION NOT PER-
FORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH ABSC APPROVED PROCEDURES.
D. APPROVAL: This General Service Letter contains no modification information that revises the
approved configuration and therefore does not require government or other regulatory agency ap-
proval.
Jul 19/93
Revision No. 7 GS--SL--36
(RELEASED: 1/18/06 )
Jan 18/06 Page 1 of 8
or ABSC
These commodities, technology © software2006 ALL RIGHTS
were exported from theRESERVED
United States in accordance with the Export
Administration Regulations. Diversion contrary to U.S. law is prohibited.
EMAIL: [email protected]
(a) ABSC wheel assemblies are designed to give a long and reliable service life when cor-
rectly maintained as told in the appropriate Component Maintenance Manual (CMM).
(b) The CMMs give all the necessary inspection and repair procedures for normal mainte-
nance of wheel assemblies. Some of the CMMs do not give a specific increment for
when these procedures must be done.
1 Many airlines have asked for specific inspection/overhaul increments, but the Air
Transportation Association (ATA), Specification 100, states:
Time limits (including shelf life components) for scheduled inspections or checks
in the procedures are specifically prohibited unless required by government regu-
lation. Airlines do desire manufacturer’s recommendations, but if provided they
must be in a separate document.
2 Each operator must schedule maintenance based on the condition of his equip-
ment. Aircraft Braking System Corporation recommends on--condition mainte-
nance be performed.
3 It is the purpose of this General Service Letter to give ABSC’s guidelines on in-
spection/overhaul increments to help operators who do not have a database of
service history to establish their inspection/maintenance activities.
B. INSPECTION FREQUENCIES:
(1) ABSC recommends that on--condition maintenance be done (corrective action must be tak-
en ‘‘at’’ the first signs of damage or replacement when damage exceeds manual limits).
(2) There are many variables used to determine wheel retirements and to recommend the incre-
ments for wheel inspections and overhauls. These variables include:
(b) Repairs done to the wheel assembly and upgrades to the wheel assembly also change
the length of the wheel service life.
(c) The operation environment and the maintenance practices, which have a direct rela-
tionship with wheel service life, differ for each operator.
(3) Operators who know more about the wheel’s service life history can create their own inspec-
tion and overhaul schedules.
(4) For other operators, ABSC recommends the operators use the information given in this Gen-
eral Service Letter to make their wheel inspection and overhaul schedules.
(5) ABSC recommends that operators use the comments given below when they make inspec-
tion and overhaul schedules for their wheel assemblies:
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(b) The guidelines given in this General Service Letter are intended to help operators make
their own inspection and overhaul schedules. These guidelines must be changed to
correspond to the actual service history of a particular wheel assembly.
1 If the wheels do not fail between overhauls, the inspection intervals can be in-
creased.
2 If the wheels fail at tire change inspections, the inspection intervals must be de-
creased.
(c) Aircraft wheels are highly stressed components that are sensitive to handling damage
and maintenance procedures. Aircraft wheels have a finite life which can be maximized
by careful handling. Operators must do only the maintenance procedures given in the
CMM in order to maximize the service life of the wheel.
(d) When wheel halves with different amounts of wear are used in the same wheel assem-
bly, the inspection schedule for the most worn wheel half must be used.
(e) If the service history of the wheel assembly (or one of the wheel halves) is not known,
the wheel assembly must be overhauled at the next tire change.
(f) Maintenance records must be kept for each wheel subassembly to make the mainte-
nance schedules effective. This will make sure that the maintenance of the wheel
halves is not lost. Include the information that follows in the maintenance record: repairs
done to the wheel half, total accumulated mileage, the total number of landings and the
number of tire changes.
(g) Aircraft Braking Systems Corporation assumes no responsibility for wheel failures
caused by poor/incorrect or infrequent overhaul procedures that result in property loss/
damage and/or personal injury.
(6) If tires are replaced due to wear out, wheels and tie bolts should be inspected as told in Sec-
tion II, paragraph F.
(8) If tires are replaced for other reasons (cuts, flat spots, etc.), with less than 75 cycles, wheels
and tie bolts should be inspected as follows:
(a) Visually inspect wheels for damage, corrosion and missing paint. Repair wheel as nec-
essary.
(b) Visually inspect tie bolts for stretch, thread damage and corrosion. Replace tie bolts
as necessary.
(9) If tires have more than 75 cycles, inspect as told in Section II, paragraph F.
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1 Write down the wheel assembly number, the wheel serial number and the number
of landings.
2 Make a visual inspection of the wheel for physical damage at every tire change.
3 If the paint is discolored or the fusible plugs are melted, do a hardness inspection
of the wheel assembly as told in the TESTING AND FAULT ISOLATION section
of the applicable Component Maintenance Manual.
5 Make sure all of the wheel bolts and nuts are installed.
(b) Clean the wheel assembly as told in the CLEANING section of the applicable Compo-
nent Maintenance Manual.
2 Carefully remove the bearing cones and seals from the wheel subassemblies.
Clean the bearing cones and seals separately as told in the CLEANING section
of the applicable Component Maintenance Manual.
6 Dry all metal parts with low--pressure (15 psi or 1,03 bar), filtered air.
NOTE: Make sure unwanted materials have been removed from all openings,
(c) Make an inspection of each component of the wheel assembly for damage. Pay special
attention to the tapered roller bearings, the grease seals, the grease retainer baffles
and the preformed packings.
(d) Inspect or replace wheel tie bolts using one of the following procedures:
1 Ultrasonic Inspection
2 Magnaflux Inspection
3 Develop and use an appropriate replacement program for wheel tie bolts to make
sure that tie bolts are replaced on a time limit established by satisfactory service
performance or by the number of uses.
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1 Clean the bearing cones and seals separately as told in the CLEANING section
of the applicable Component Maintenance Manual.
4 Dry all metal parts with low--pressure (15 psi or 1,03 bar), filtered air.
NOTE: Make sure unwanted materials have been removed from all openings,
holes that have threads and other areas.
6 Remove the paint from the wheel halves as told in the CLEANING section of the
applicable Component Maintenance Manual. Use the appropriate chemical paint
removal solvent or plastic media or equivalent.
(d) Do a non--destructive test (NDT) of the wheel halves as told in the CHECK section of
the applicable Component Maintenance Manual.
1 Use fluorescent penetrant to make an inspection of the wheel halves for cracks.
2 Do an eddy current inspection of the bead seat areas of the wheel halves for
cracks.
(e) Make an inspection of the wheel halves, the wheel tie bolts, the bearing cones, the
grease seals, the grease retainer baffles, the preformed packings and the O--ring seals
for damage as told in the CHECK section of the applicable Component Maintenance
Manual.
(f) Repair all damage to the wheel halves and to the components as told in the REPAIR
(g) Apply chemical film solution and paint to all damaged areas of the wheel assemblies.
1 Apply chemical film solution and paint to the components that were repaired and
to all bare metal surfaces as told in the REPAIR section of the applicable Compo-
nent Maintenance Manual.
(h) Assemble the wheel assembly as told in the applicable Component Maintenance Man-
ual.
1 Lubtork wheel tie bolts. Tighten the wheel tie bolts in a criss--cross pattern to the
torque value given in the applicable Component Maintenance Manual.
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(a) At each tire change make an inspection of the wheel assembly as told in Section II, pa-
ragraphs C and D.
(b) If a wheel overhaul has not been performed within the last five (5) tire changes or 1500
landings of the last overhaul, then perform a wheel overhaul at the next tire change.
Refer to Section II, paragraph E. for wheel overhaul procedures.
(a) Recommended inspection and overhaul schedules for these aircraft are outlined in
Table 1.
(2) Do a wheel overhaul at every second tire change. Refer to Section II, paragraph E. for wheel
overhaul procedures.
(3) At each tire change make an inspection of the wheel assembly as told in Section II, para-
graphs C and D.
H. Not applicable.
A. Not applicable.
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