A B737-300 ON TKOF ROLL REJECTED THE TKOF AT 130 KTS DUE TO A SMALL WELL DEFINED YAW INPUT AND SLOPPY STEERING.

Narrative

ACR X WAS FIRST LEG OF THE DAY FOR ME AND THE FO. FOLLOWING A NORMAL BRIEFING; WE TAXIED TO RWY 25R. DURING TAXI; WIND WAS LIGHT (VARIABLE +/-5 KTS); BUT SHIFTING 180 DEGS; SO A DECISION WAS MADE TO USE FULL 10 KT TAILWIND/REDUCED TKOF DATA. INITIAL PORTION OF TKOF RUN WAS NORMAL; EXCEPT MARGINALLY MORE RUDDER CORRECTIONS THAN USUAL WE APPLIED; DUE TO SLIGHT DEVS OF NOSE DURING ACCELERATION. SHORTLY AFTER ONE NOSE DEV AND SUBSEQUENTLY CORRECTION A SMALL; WELL DEFINED YAW WAS NOTED; AT APPROX 125 KTS. DUE TO UNCERTAINTY OVER REASON FOR YAW; AN ABORT WAS INITIATED AT APPROX 130 KTS. DISCUSSED SIT WITH SYS ACFT MAINT CTL AND LCL MAINT. DISPATCH WAS NOTIFIED THROUGH MAINT CTL. THE SUBSEQUENT FLT TO LAX WAS NORMAL; EXCEPT AFTER LNDG THE NOSE STEERING SEEMED SLOPPY. RPTED THIS OBSERVATION TO MAINT AND HAD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS TO DETERMINE THE POSSIBLE SIGNIFICANCE. EVENTUALLY; A WRITE-UP WAS ENTERED INTO LOGBOOK SO THAT MAINT COULD INVESTIGATE FURTHER. MAINT INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING; HOWEVER; I STRONGLY SUSPECT THAT SLOPPY NOSE STEERING COUPLED WITH NORMAL RUDDER INPUTS AND POSSIBLE RWY SURFACE IMPERFECTIONS MAY HAVE CAUSED THE SMALL; SUDDEN YAW OF THE ACFT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATED THE ACFT WAS A B737-300 AND ON TKOF ROLL AT 125 KTS THE ACFT EXPERIENCED A SLIGHT YAW INPUT AND THE TKOF WAS ABORTED AT 130 KTS. THE RPTR SAID THE STEERING ON THE ACFT AT ALL SPDS WAS 'SLOPPY AND WOBBLY' AND LATER AFTER MAINT TAXI TESTED THE ACFT IT WAS DISCOVERED THE NOSE GEAR TRUNNION FITTINGS AND BEARINGS WERE WORN BEYOND LIMITS. THE RPTR SAID A BITE TEST OF THE YAW DAMPER COUPLER WAS MADE AND THE COUPLER WAS REPLACED. THE RPTR STATED THE FLT DATA RECORDER WAS REMOVED FOR EXAMINATION BUT THE RESULTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE TO THE RPTR AT THIS TIME.