I agree that most flat gear legs probably have some rust lurking under the steps. Mine were pretty bad so I bought a set on eBay that looked perfect. Even after stripping the paint there was no sign of rust...until I removed the step brackets. Both legs have some damage, but none as bad as my existing legs, so I am going to proceed with the switch. I am betting that ignorance is bliss on this issue and we should as a club be recommending that the step brackets be removed and the gear checked on all our planes periodically.
Attachments
IMAG0627.jpg (1.38 MB, 30 downloads)
replacement leg
IMAG0628.jpg (1.93 MB, 17 downloads)
the other one
IMAG0633.jpg (878.95 KB, 25 downloads)
current gear
IMAG0634.jpg (884.73 KB, 23 downloads)

J. W. Palmer
1970 C-150K N6272G
Ashland, VA (KOFP)

[Linked Image]

States where I have landed so far...