Posted for "Mark Ravinski" <mjrav@comcast.net>:

 Wow,
 You're taking experimenting off the scale.
 You most likely damaged your strut operating "metal to metal" and you're
lucky to have not lost control.
 On all planes I have flown, proper strut inflation is required for flight.
 While you are at the hardware store, get one of those $19.95 air compressors
that runs on 12 volts and goes up to 300 psi and INFLATE the strut.
 
 Mark Ravinski
 N360KB 1369 hrs.