Stanwell,
Yes, they do seem to have had a lot of trouble with the u/cs, particularly in the early days, don't they ? We had very little trouble with ours, the undercarriages themselves gave no cause for concern, and I suspect finger trouble might be at the root of it, but would not have expected that, for surely your people would be in the 250-350 hour bracket when they came to the A-31s.
The electric fuel pumps were our nightmare, having to "wobble-pump" home was an everyday occurrence until they put in an EDP for the Trap Tank. And of course you could not operate with the things until we'd got that sorted out !
Danny.