Mike, I had a landing gear repair to do that is about the same as you are attempting. After much thought, I took the pieces to my trusty aircraft welder and paid him $100 to drill out the old weld with drill press and weld in the new strut. It fit like a glove on a duck. Boy, was I happy and the story ends there. Cut your losses, get on with the repair and let the aircraft welder put the gear back together for you. Now, the problem is to find the strut to weld in. If Forrest has one get it!!! That material is no longer available - we have all looked world wide and only 'old stock' is available. Even the factory was using another size and you could not tell the 1/4 inch difference when mounted. Good luck. N96175