Light aircraft wheel bearings need to be serviced too. Some aircraft manufacturers recommend it every year where as other manufacturers recommend 200 or more hours (even with the same type and brand of bearings).

It is not a very difficult job, somewhat greasy. It can be done in about one hour per wheel/bearing and if done properly it will keep the aircraft rolling properly for many years to come. In an included pdf document we explain how it is done and supplement our actions with some images. This document can be downloaded and printed for reference on the job.

Aircraft Wheel Bearings

Wheel bearings take the load of the aircraft during landing / rolling and especially in crosswind situations. The loads on the construction are enormous compared to the total rolling surface of the bearing cone which is small. Proper maintenance is imperative for long service life of the bearing.

It is important to have the wheel bearings serviced to standards for minimum rolling resistance during takeoff and landing. If not greased properly the bearings can overheat to the point where a fire is possible, creating a whole new problem altogether.

Describing how a wheel bearing is constructed would take pages so we start off with this picture of a complete main wheel assembly.

Our maintenance concentrates from the wheel half and the wheel bearing itself (shown above as bearing cone) and all parts up to and including the retainer ring.

Service Document "How-To"

All parts from bearing cone to the retainer rings on either side of the assembly shown above are the subject of our included pdf document. We have made a paper describing how to maintain this wheel bearing properly so that it will give years of good service. This 30 page document is full of detailed pictures and is rather large, so downloading will take some time, but it is worth your while.

Be prepared to get your hands greasy and dirty...

Download Document
To download a Dutch version of the pdf "Servicing the Aircraft Wheel Bearing" -> click here.

To download an English version of the pdf "Servicing the Aircraft Wheel Bearing" -> coming soon.

Document Owner
This how-to was written by Jordi van Eden, A&P Mechanic, Aviation Facilities Lelystad. Feel free to distribute but leave the copyright in place. Have fun reading!