I’m replacing the yoke bushings on my 182 with the Delrin balls from McMaster. My machinist drilled them out on a lathe and they came out great. .770 ID gives a tiny amount of play and feels just right. Much tighter than the original I pulled out. I’m cleaning up the inside of the bushing cups using a scotch brite pad to clean off all the old Micarta residue. Is the bare ball inside the cup sufficient or should I apply some kind of very light lubricant...??

BirdyinBOI wrote:I’m replacing the yoke bushings on my 182 with the Delrin balls from McMaster. My machinist drilled them out on a lathe and they came out great. .770 ID gives a tiny amount of play and feels just right. Much tighter than the original I pulled out. I’m cleaning up the inside of the bushing cups using a scotch brite pad to clean off all the old Micarta residue. Is the bare ball inside the cup sufficient or should I apply some kind of very light lubricant...??

I just did this exact same thing and used no lubricant. I think it would only collect more dust/debris that way. They are almost TOO slick!! Now if I breathe too hard in the direction of the yoke the plane will change pitch attitude

I went a step further and cleaned the old paint off the inside of the cups to bare aluminum and left it that way. Installed them with no shims and it turned out to be just the right amount of play between the cups and the delrin balls.

Are these still a need for a few members on the forum? I'm planning to machine about 5 of these this weekend if so. Feel free to drop a line my way.

Also this is my first post, so hello to the back country flying community!

Are these still a need for a few members on the forum? I'm planning to machine about 5 of these this weekend if so. Feel free to drop a line my way.

Also this is my first post, so hello to the back country flying community!

Thanks Bart. Exactly the input I needed. I think dry is the best plan also. They don’t move but a tiny bit anyway. BTW...I love everything about the way my panel came out! Cheers!

Your panel looks great, Phil! All that work is worth it in the end isn't it ?!?!

I just finished mine up too!

Nice panels, boys!

WestCoastFlyer wrote:Are these still a need for a few members on the forum? I'm planning to machine about 5 of these this weekend if so. Feel free to drop a line my way.

Also this is my first post, so hello to the back country flying community!

I would like a set.

Machined some balls today. Will have a fitment report by tomorrow night.

All balls that were machined have been sent to Forum users - hopefully we get some updates on how they fit and like them.

Some things I noted were that the measurements provided above (0.770) did not reflect any of the aircraft I climbed into with a pair of calipers. I went into about 14 different cessna's and all of them reflected a yoke size no greater than 0.760. All balls sent out were drilled at 0.758 to ensure they didnt give too much slop in the controls. For the forum users that got their balls from me, if they end up being too tight or loose, Ill ask that you send them back to me and take a set of calipers to your specific yokes and ill drill them / replace accordingly.

Loose balls are the worst

Try to take into account thermal expansion/contraction which will keep you from getting too tight a fit lest you risk locking up your controls in cold weather.

-Asa

Just bumping this back up as I have been contacted by yet another forum member looking for some replacement yoke balls. Feel free to drop me a line if new yoke balls are needed.

*** These ARE NOT FAA-PMA approved replacement yoke balls - these will fall under "owner produced parts" and as such certain measurements will need to be provided. Please message me privately for more info.

I’ll take a caliper to the airport Saturday….count me in for a new set of ……

Dpasahow

Sounds good. Please shoot me measurements in a PM to minimize flooding this thread.

Also measurements from 3 locations are best.

Location 1 = shaft just after the yoke handle mounts to it.

Location 2 = mid point of the shaft ( horizontal stab flat)

Location 3 = Full back (as if in a climb and the yoke has hit the stop) measure shaft as close to panel as possible.

I have the old teflon balls from WagAero (I think that is who sold them). All six measurements on the yoke shafts were were 0.743". I suspect the shafts were very close to 0.750" and the worn off chrome plating accounts for the 0.007". If I ever remove the yokes I will separate the shafts and find an aviation chrome plater. I wonder what the thickness is the plating adds.

That’s a rather consistent shaft.

I’ve seen some shoot above .788 which is why I ask for the 3 locations. These shafts weren’t anywhere near as consistent in some of the planes I’ve seen before. Maybe need to have some measurements retaken by a few folks to confirm that it wasn’t an error with the calipers. Maybe have them go with a good set of dials instead of digital (my least favorite).

Zzz wrote:....One thing that's important during reinstallation: Don't overtighten the clamps that hold the balls in place. The balls have to be free to reorient as the control column moves through its arc.

I wonder if some people are mistaking play at the ball for play IN the ball.
My balls are a good fit on the yoke shafts,
but the ball clamping pieces have to be a bit loose to avoid binding the balls.
The whole works moves a bit in the panel, easy to mistake for play in the balls.
Correcting this with some washers at the clamping pieces is on my to-do list,
but since the panel overlays have to come off (or at least be shifted) it might be a while before I get around to it.