Has anyone had this problem? I have a Carve tail that I regrettably attached to a fuse extender without using Tef-Gel. I used it on all my bolts, but did not apply it to the carbon-carbon friction interface of the actual fuselage.
I’ve tried hot/boiling water on the extender (female side), tapping with a rubber mallet, etc, all to no avail. I am slightly afraid of breaking the tail trying to unstick them.
It’s not a catastrophe since I usually prefer to use the Carve tail in the long configuration, but ideally I would be able to detatch them at some point!
Have heard some people argue that Tef-Gel isn’t ideal for carbon-on-carbon, especially in sandy environments—it can trap grit.
For stuck tails like this, have you tried soaking the joint in WD-40 or Salt-Away? Let it sit for a good while to see if it can work its way in. After that, secure the front foil solidly—like tying it to a bumper—and use a ratchet strap on the tail to pull them apart with some mechanical advantage.
I still have my old GoFoil mallet if you want to borrow it and give it some good whacks
Also: some people have had success with gentle rotational force instead of brute pulling—twisting back and forth can sometimes break the bond more easily.
Good luck—hope it pops loose without too much drama!
Got a reply from Lift that was much less inspired and creative than the two here: “soak it in water, keep using the mallet, and other than that there’s nothing you can really do.”
Thanks so far for suggestions. I have tried WD40 in the hardware mount holes and around the fitting seam at the tail/fuse interface. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve disassembled this, so I’m pretty shocked at how frozen it is.
@mirza3627162 I’ll try your suggestion first, since I don’t actually have ratchet straps on hand. Any concerns with hurting the mounting points or front wing mount holes by pulling so hard with it mounted to the front wing? Also wondered the same about the fuse/stab carbon… Would hate to snap the tail or wing just by pulling like this.
I have also thought about using screws in the holes without the wing mounted as anchors for a tension system, but decided against it in case that hurt the threaded mounts embedded in the carbon. I can’t really afford another tail/fuse extender right now, so my primary goal is to avoid destruction of any of my gear.
I think the wiggle will slightly wear on the ext-to-fuse carbon interface if you do that often, but that’s probably fine - I don’t think that connection is super critical? And it’s easy to add layers to tighten it later if needed.
I don’t know if something would break before the extender releases the tail… Pull and wiggle gently, and leave it alone if it isn’t working and you don’t want to risk it.
I’ve also had good luck with the mallet. Don’t be afraid to hit the tail back onto the fuse. You just have to break up that stickyness once. You can break that up going either way. Once you break the bond, you can then knock it off like normal. I had to do that to three lift tails.
It took two days of soaking in WD40 and the “bag, brace, pull” method laid out here to finally pop the thing out! I didn’t get any wiggle.
Good to know about those tails being able to take impacts from the mallet. I was afraid to hit the tail itself too hard because of how thin the carbon is on it.
Water might actually be a better idea if it’s salt that is causing the problem, since salt doesn’t dissolve in oil. Since this is a carbon to carbon connection according to OP it shouldn’t be corrosion right? If you think salt is the issue I’d try warm water. If you are just trying to get lubrication in there I think there are better penetrating lubricants than wd40 that might wick in there better. I don’t have experience with lift so take for what it’s worth.
Actually if you have a recommendation on something that wicks into nearly fused surfaces really well for the future, I’m all ears!
I am convinced the WD40 did the trick despite there being no visible corrosion. Before that, I was alternating between having the wing in the freezer and submerging it into boiling water.
These foils are tough! I’m always surprised they are as durable as they are.
