The International Cessna 170 Association

I thought maybe there had been a post about this, but I could not find it. On the right brake the inside cylinder bracket p/n 0411549 broke. When this breaks, it allows the brake cylinder to move up and down which allows the rudder pedal to move a lot more than normal - a lot more than normal. Called the local cessna parts place, Van-Bortels and got a real surprise. The inside bracket is in stock at cessna and is $6.09. The outside bracket is in stock and is $8.32. Will be able to pick them up tomorrow. Would not have been surprised if they would have been over $100. Going to go ahead and replace the outer too, figuring it has to have been under stress if the inner broke. It is very tight quarters working on this. Does anyone have tips? Can I get to the nuts from the access panel on the bottom of the airplane? Any advice would be appreciated. After looking at it for a while, and then getting a mirror and looking at it for a while, I don't have a clue as to how it was assembled in such a tight area. I have not even been able to see the cotter pin with or without the mirror yet. Oh well, plan on climbing in there again tonight and will try to dissasemble it.

You may have the problem solved by the time you read this, but if not you might check with Cleo Bickford as he and Wendel did some work in this area of Wendel's plane while doing an extensive annual.

Goo Luck! Frank

As an Update: The brackets came in and it is nice to have Cessna parts with the part numbers stamped on them. I kind of out smarted myself, I took a nap after work to let the August heat die down, and went to the hangar at 9:00 thinking I would have it all done by midnight. Well, you can access the nuts from the inspection hole on the belly of the airplane, problem is, that makes that part of of the job a two man job! Went around the airport and discovered I was the only nut there after 11:00 on a Wednesday night I am sure there will be someone there this evening to lay under the plane while I am inside the plane. The job is looking a lot easier the more I get in to it, but it is tight quarters working underneath the brake assemblies, but doable. The packages had models listed from 120's up thru 190's, I guess that was why it was so easy and affordable to purchase the brackets.

Those brackets do not look strong enough to hold up for 50 years. Once you get the bolts/nuts dissasembled and dissasemble the brake cylinder from the top of the rudder pedal, you can lean the assembly over and reach the cotter pin to remove the brackets from the brake cylinder. To inspect them you would have to remove the panel under the rudders.

It was great to be able to fly to the pancake breakfast at Granbury this morning As we were all gathered around to hear the winning raffle numbers being called out the entertainment started A guy in his P210 he bought Tuesday, and an IP came in and did their own pancake version wheels up right in front of all of us. I heard the comment that we have all heard, two types - those that have and those that will. I hate that statement I especially dissagree on the version concering ground loops since the wheels are always down on the 170. Insurance goes up for all of us when an expensive plane like a P210 has serious prop strike, damage to the pressurized hull, etc. Ground loops and wheel up landings do not have to happen. Ooops, fell off my soap box and hurt my . . .

Does anyone have a photo of the two brake cylinder brackets in good condition?
I pulled mine out when I re-did the master cylinders and they are pretty twisted up and swayed.
I THINK the bracket is supposed to be a simple straight bracket but mine are a Y shape.

Luckily, the mount points weren't cracked.

Also, does anyone see any harm in just bending these back into the right shape?

Thanks. I googled the part number but not much showed up.
Those brackets make mine look pretty bad. I straightened them in the vice and they look better tho. They are softer than I expected.
A piece of aluminum angle would have gone a long way in giving them some extra support but who can complain with 62 years and 5500 hours in service. At least nothing is cracked.

New ones from Cessna are made from steel rather than the original aluminum. If I was going to all the trouble of getting in there I would replace them with steel brackets. Take a close look for cracks where the rudder bar attaches too. Take a look at this link.

I was able to clean the area up and inspect it with a bright light and mirror. No cracks.
I am going to make a nutplate assembly like the one in the link to aid in bolting it back together and distribute the load a little better.

I have some 4130 that I could re-make these out of. Not much work and I think that's a good idea.

Mine broke years ago, replaced them with some I fabricated out of SS sheet (about .040 I think)... So far so good.

I was able to straighten them out so, I'll just put these back in for another 62 years

Another way to spread the load on the bulkhead/tunnel is to put AN970 washers under the nuts that hold the master cylinder bracket. Not as good a solution as the doubler and nutplate idea, but easy to do.

I plan to make the doubler for two reasons.

1. Distribute the load
2. To install nut plates as it's next to impossible to reach in there to thread a nut!

I did the same thing when I replaced my fuel valve to simplify installation.

bagarre wrote:I did the same thing when I replaced my fuel valve to simplify installation.

That's a good idea.


The cylinder bracket nuts weren't hard to start, but as I've said before, it helps to have skinny arms. In this picture I'm tightening a nut on the elevator bellcrank.

looks like a vet palpating a cow...

Luckily, I don't know what that means.