I just finished the annual on my 1980 Aerobat and decided to put the Cleveland wheels and brakes on it. I have the entire McCauley wheel and brake system which includes both left and right wheels with bearings (both outboard races were replaced last annual and 35 hrs ago). Both torque plates with new Cleveland brake pads ($80) I just put on, Both brake cylinders (PN# C30018-5) which are pretty hard to find. I found one used at Texas Air Salvage for $425. One of them has the typical crack at the fitting on the top for parts only but the other one was just fine when I took it off. I have the original brake discs which are pretty grooved and worn. $800 for the lot. I think that is a fair price. I also posted previously that I have two new brake discs that I will include for an additional $200. They have 3 full stop landings on them. I paid $286.08 for the pair a couple weeks ago before I decided to go the Cleveland route. I will be happy to send pictures if interested. FWIW, the airplane has 2293 TT since new and this is original equipment as far as I know.
Thanks, Grant Metsger Granbury, TX gmetsger@gmail.com
Hi Grant, I know this is an older post but it is relevant to what I'm needing to know. I find myself in a similar situation with some parts needing to be replaced on my McCauley wheels and are considering installing the same Cleveland wheel and brake conversion kit. I have a 1975 150 M with about 2075 hours TT. I'd like to ask you about your project and if you did the job or if you had it done by someone else. I will likely be doing this with oversight from my local A&P. Was this a difficult swap? I know it might be a lengthy conversation, but can you give me the cliffs notes on what you had to do and maybe perhaps provide a copy of the installation instructions for my education process on how this is supposed to be done? Where did you purchase your Cleveland Kit? I am all ears and eyes about this and want to jump in ASAP if it appears that's what I need to do. I have already discovered on cracked hub and I'm just on the first wheel. So, if you can, please give me some guidance on this project. Thanks in advance for your courtesy and consideration.
I converted our 152 from McCauley's to Cleveland's many years ago and did the same last year on our 150M when it was in the shop for paint and a whole list of other items. Both of my Cleveland wheel and brake kits were sourced through Aircraft Spruce.
The job itself is rather straight forward and is basic mechanical work of unbolting the old and bolting on the new.
All the brake fluid will be drained so now will be the perfect time to remove the two brake master cylinders behind the rudder pedals so you can disassemble them, clean 'em up and replace the o-rings on the plunger shafts.
I would build stands to rest the axle shafts on while you're doing this work as that stabilizes the plane to the point it can't move while your doing all this work. Leaving it up on a jack is far to wobbly to do this kind of work.
Hope this helps a little.
BTW: You won't be disappointed with this conversion. I don't know what McCauley was thinking when they designed that 3 piece assembly.....POS if there ever was one.
Hey Jim, Thanks for the feedback. With your feedback, I feel better already about the conversion. I have only removed one wheel at this point, and it is sitting on a 2x6-4x4 arrangedment as you suggest. I never trust jacks alone. Brakes don't scare me as I have done numerous brake jobs on vehicles. I do hate the thought of removing the foot pedals and tearing into the brake master cylinders from a standpoint of access, but you are spot on; this is the time to do it all. My interior is out at this point so no worries. This will be my first hydraulic brake job on an aircraft. I've previously overhauled mechanical A/C brakes. I wasn't sure if the conversion kit came with new pedal master cylinders or not. Guess I know the answer now. Anyway, I suppose these are probably McCauley master cylinders on my "M" the same as yours, Do you recall where you sourced the O-rings for these? Did you need to replace any other components in these pedal master cylinders? In as much as I can determine, there is no evidence of master cylinder work in my logbooks. With just over 2000 hours, and 45 years, one would expect some maintenance in this length of time. But none shows up. Did you have to do much plumbing work for the new Cleveland brakes; new tubing, fittings, etc? Are the pedal master cylinders fairly straight forward, with a circlip,or other device to hold the master cylinder together? Do you have any words of wisdom from your experiences to share for this conversion? Is there any chance you would post here or email the instructions to me that accompanied this conversions kit? Moving on; did you replace the nose wheel and brake as well. I have no information on this conversion so any help here will also be appreciated. The main question is what is the Cleveland kit number for this conversion? Thanks again.
Sorry I didn't see your post the other day. I did change from the McCauley brakes to the Cleveland Kit myself. I am an A&P but as Jim mentioned, it was very straight forward. I purchased my kit from Aero Performance in Ft Worth. When I switched the brake cylinders I held my finger over the brake line and lost minimal fluid. I just bled the brakes afterwards and it worked just fine. In all honesty, it was easier than I thought it would be. I didn't have to adjust the brake line but very minimal to make it fit right on the new brake cylinder. I had my master cylinders out last year so there was no need to do it again. If you have any other questions let me know.
Thanks for your reply. I was concerned about the plumbing changes necessary with the conversion, but it appears from your most recent post, it was essentially a bolt on with no, (very minimal), other modifications; am I correct? When you overhauled the rudder pedal master cylinders do you have any words of wisdom about this process? I've not done this aircraft before but always like to go to school, if you will, through others experiences and know how. Anything that merits commenting will certainly be appreciated. Thanks again. Ron.
Hello again Ron, The conversion kit was very much a "bolt on" in my case. Everything lined up almost perfectly, as I said, I was surprised. Long story, but I found my airplane up in Michigan 2 years ago and it needed engine/annual etc before I could fly it home. Instead of getting a ferry permit (which in hindsight was a big mistake) I made a deal to get the annual done up there. It had only flown 58 hrs in the last 25 years so didn't want to chance it. Anyway, my point of all that was the brake master cylinders needed to be done during the annual so I did not do it however, in the past, it has been pretty straight forward also.
Good luck and again, if you have any more questions, let me know. Grant
One more thought: If you have a parts manual for your plane, it'll have an illustrated break down which shows you what you dealing with regarding the brake master cylinders including the part number of the o-ring that you'll need to replace.
You may (probably) will find it very helpful and I think there is a link floating around here where you can download free parts and service manuals. Someone smarter than me will need to jump in and post the links.
