Loose Sun Visors

[Chuck Porter]

The visors on my 260B are loose and don't stay in place well. I have tightened them about as much as safely can without damaging the screws. In fact I did twist off a screw but fortunately I was able to get the "nub" out without too much aggravation. I think I'll upgrade those screws to an allen head cap screw.

I was wondering if I was missing a shim or ?? that would take up the excess clearance between the mounting bracket and the visor rod?

Theses are aftermarket visors, however the rod size is identical to the stock visors. Note: I have installed the old stock visors and they are the same - loose on the rod etc.

Is there a modification or a trick that works for this little but annoying problem??

I was thinking I'd try to find some .005 or .010 brass shim stock and try to make a tiny cylindrical spacer. However I haven't seen shim stock for years.

Thanks,

Chuck

PART 2

I debated deleting this post as the problem is quite trivial, but decided to follow up my own post as perhaps someone else might be interested.
I made the repair and it seems to be working nicely.
Shim stock is the answer. As I was digging around the shop looking for some brass stock, I moved an empty aluminum pop/soda can out of the way. It dawned on me that I had found the shim stock I was looking for. I cut as strip out of the can. The material is around .004. I wrapped a small piece around a screwdriver blade to form it, trimmed to fit, placed the shim in the bracket and assembled the visor into the bracket. Works great.
Chuck

[James Turner]

Not trivial at all.

I have the exact same problem.

Thanks for posting.

James.

[Christopher Hufnagel]

Chuck,

I have a PA30 with original sun visors.
I had a similar problem with them falling down when I wanted them up.
After squawking them over and over to the mechanic, who simply tried to continuously tighten a screw that was as tight as it could go, I finally fixed them with a very simple adjustment.
My visors had always been seated in exactly the same place in the bracket. One day I loosened both brackets and slid the visor about 1/8" off of center.
This allowed the brackets to contact a new part of the rod the visors were on. I retightened them and since then, for over 4 years now, they have stayed exactly where I place them, up, down, or in the middle.
Maybe this will help.

Chris

[jeffrey aryan]

To All,

FYI,

I don't know if this will work, but it might be worth a try. Try putting some aluminum on the rod to build up the material. If it doesnt work just remove the tape. It should take about 5-10 minutes to try. Please report back with any results. FWIW.

Thanks,

Jeff Aryan

[Jay]

It's a bigger change than just fixing the current visors, but Rosen STC'd sun visors are far superior and stay exactly where you put them.

Jay

[Chuck Porter]

The shim/ spacer that I made out of an aluminum can seems to work real well. I have aftermarket/STC visors in the plane as well. The rods on the visors are nice with no measurable wear. The OEM brackets however do show some internal wear and the shim works well to take up the excess clearance.

I made another minor alteration and that was the screws. I changed from the original phillips head screws to a #6-32 X 1/2" cap screw/machine screw. These are allen head screws and the heads are less prone to stripping. I'm pretty sure you can buy these screws in stainless in a button head allen. They'd be a little prettier if you're inclined that way.

Chris - I like your idea, makes sense.
Chuck