Finally got that stubborn Cessna 172 nose gear shimmy sorted after a long debate

Had a 172 in the shop with a persistent shimmy on landing roll. The debate was between just replacing the worn steering damper or doing the full job: damper, torque links, and checking the shimmy dampener preload. I went for the full package, even though it added about 3 hours to the job. Used a new Monroe damper and followed the manual's preload procedure to the letter. The test flight this morning was buttery smooth. Anyone have a different approach for these that's worked well?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan_lopez692mo ago

My old Cherokee had that same shimmy, drove me nuts.

the_henry2mo ago

Wait, you drove it like that? (I would have lost my mind.)

alexk602mo ago

Man, @the_henry, that feeling is so real. It's like once you notice a problem with your car, you can't stop focusing on it. You start hearing every little noise and feeling every tiny shake. Honestly, it says a lot about what we put up with just to keep things moving. We'll drive a rattling can for months because getting it fixed is a whole other headache.