Your a tough one ! :)
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Your a tough one ! :)
The plot thickens...My brother thinks its a gear box, too. My head is going to explode! I have also posted this question at a hydraulics forum. No responses back yet.
I'm probably wrong,but it looks a lot like part of an old cowl flap operating system - maybe the end unit.
I'll check into that.
1600vw > Sorry I didn't respond to your earlier post about "End play has nothing to do with a friction brake." I should have known better since about half a year ago I had to study up on bevel gears, and the end-play thing should have immediately registered.
No luck tracking down cowl flap actuators. Not that it could not be one.
On the idea of it being a 90deg gearbox, there is one problem that bothers me about that. If you look at it, you'll notice that the vertical shaft is all the way in the back, so there is no room for a bevel gear to fit back there (assuming we are seeing the entire length of the case). Other than that, the snap ring and cover are situated too far forward to be able to inspect a bevel gear that would be all the way in the back.
I just noticed something else. If you look at the shaft coming out of the side, right next to it is a little tab like thing. That could be a hard stop. In other words, the shaft may not be a free-rotating shaft, ruling out both a pump and gear box. The shaft may have had a knob or lever attached to it that would travel only as far as the hard stop would allow. If that is true, this could be a hydraulic controller or some other type of valve.
Looks a lot like part of the cowl flap operating system on an old radial engine.
First thought was a vacuum pump driven off the engine for instruments and old aircraft used vacuum for flaps. How long is the shaft coming off of it?