Got a stubborn Cessna 172 nose gear pin out with a zip tie and some heat

Last Tuesday, I was doing a pre-buy inspection on a 172 and the nose gear safety pin was totally seized. The owner said it hadn't been pulled in years. I tried the usual penetrant and pliers, but it wouldn't budge. I ended up wrapping a heavy-duty zip tie around the pin's ring for better grip, then carefully warmed the gear leg around the hole with a heat gun for about 30 seconds. It popped right out with a solid tug. I know it sounds a bit redneck, but it saved me from having to drill it out. Has anyone else found a good trick for stuck pins that doesn't risk damaging the fitting?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucaslee20d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you used a heat gun on the gear leg itself? I'd be so worried about messing up the heat treatment on the metal or cooking the grease in the bearing. That seems like a huge risk just for a pin. I've always been told to never apply direct heat to a fitting like that, only to the pin if you absolutely have to.

umamartin19d ago

I mean, "messing up the heat treatment" sounds super serious but is a heat gun even hot enough for that? It's not like we're talking about a torch on the metal. Maybe it's just me but I've seen people do way worse without any issues.

thea_mitchell2019d ago

Oh man, "cooking the grease in the bearing" is a fantastic mental picture. I'm just imagining a tiny, sad pancake forming inside the fitting. Look, if a heat gun was enough to wreck the metal, my hair dryer would have turned me to dust years ago. Some of the rules people repeat sound like they're for when you're using a literal forge. What's the worst thing you've seen someone actually get away with?