Cruise control surges no more!

[redgaucho]

The CC had been surging or hunting on my 85 300CDT since I bought it on Nov 1st, 2005. I had already removed, cleaned, lubed w/ acft hyd fluid, and reinstalled all the linkages to the throttle mechanism. That did help some, but not completely.
A few days ago I took apart the cruise control actuator, following tips found on the archives here and on the MB Technical Companion book recently published (I love it! Lots of useful stuff for most chassis). Everything worked out just as stated in the detailed instructions of the Companion and forum archives.
I held the actuator on a vise, using rubber pieces to decrease chances for damage, grinded off the peenned in stud, and took the cover off. I studied up the mechanism and then took it apart. It seems some of the lubricant for the plastic gears had worked its way onto the potentiometer contacts and caked in there. All I really had to do was removed the 20 year old grease, rub off the stuff off the contacts, re-lube the gears (I used Corning DC4 lube), and put it back together.
I also cleaned up the elec plug and receptacle. The ops ck put a big smile on my new-W123-owner face!!!

I wish I had had the notion to take some digital photos to post, but alas, I did not.

A very easy DIY task, though.

Hope someone else can use this.

/s/

[D.L. SWINFORD]

redgaucho;
Congrataulations from a 71 year old do it my way too, there was a time
Downing DC4?
How many years has it been?
Happy Trails Beep Beep from The Spiderman on The Gulf Coast, Don
A Moderator, Founder, President, Chairman of the Board 123 CHARACTER Club

[VLayton]

Rock on!

I'm a bit wiser for it, and have more than a couple to rebuild and reissue for cheap, thanks for adding to my list of things to master! (I just talked about this with Johnson, who said he'd show me what's up.)

If you had to grind something to open it, how did you resecure that "clasping" point?

[Robby Ackerman]

Don

Not many of us around who know what those DC-3s, 4s & 6s are.

I've chartered/rented many a one. I chartered one that had belonged to the Spanish Foreign Legion and flew my family to a game preserve located on the equator at 27.5 degrees of longitude. Ended up incarcerated, but nothing a wad of cash couldn't settle. Great story.

[Grey Ghost]

I remember the DC line. My dad used to work for a company that distributed military specification to defense contractors.

Here's a joke from that vintage (late 60s-early 70s): "what has 26 wheels and flies?"

[D.L. SWINFORD]

Robby;
Even though I've certified in much higher aircraft in my flying youth I've never flown Arthur Godfry's aircraft flown daily from The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
I too had to beg borrow and plied to get out of Mexico flying my Piper PA-132, Cherrokee.
Stange what different bed fellows we have had.
Happy Trails Beep Beep from The Spiderman on The Gulf Coast, Don
A Moderator, Founder, President, Chairman of The Board 123 CHARACTER Club

[redgaucho]

It's amazing what a couple of letters and a number can evoke in our memory banks! I love to hear these stories! Robbie, if you ever get the time, do share the one about your Equatorial jail time...

Of course, you all KNOW that by DC4 I simply meant Dow Corning grease Type 4, but I sure have enjoyed the rabbit chasing comments!

Vince, the CC actuator has a cover with three or four screws, and it was "sealed" with one peened in stud. Putting it back together was no problem, as the screws are the securing method. The small stud only appears to have been some sort of seal, like for warranty purposes... The cover also had a preformed rubber oring or gasket, which was not damaged in the removal, so I cleaned and reused it.

Now, back to the rabbit chasing... I grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and graduated from aviation high school in 1978 before moving to the USA. Part of our graduation ceremonies and events included a 30 min flight in the school's DC3/C47, which had been donated by the Argie Air Force and had served the US in WWII. I wish I remembered the registration numbers to research it... I don't think that venerable Gooney Bird is airworthy any more. I have a nephew attending HS there know I could ask him about it...

We also had a WWII Gloster Meteor, several Wasp engines, some A4 Skyhawk engines, and other very interesting pieces of aviation history, however obsolete.

Anyhow, I cant tell you how much I am enjoying this board and particularly, this forum!

Happy New Year and Safe Motoring,

/s/

[VLayton]

... the CC actuator has a cover with three or four screws, and it was "sealed" with one peened in stud. Putting it back together was no problem, as the screws are the securing method. The small stud only appears to have been some sort of seal, like for warranty purposes... The cover also had a preformed rubber oring or gasket, which was not damaged in the removal, so I cleaned and reused it...


Thanks for your details of experience-

Cheers!