Wheel bearings

[Bill Smith6]

Howdy! Real entertaining site.(And informative!)

I'm enjoying reading all the stories, jabs, and B.S.

that can only be attributed to the severist cases of

cabin fever. (C'mooon sprang!!!) Will be poppin in

when can. My brother-in-law smoked a bearing @ axle

on his Skeeter trailer and recently had both sides

replaced. After towing it home (about 15 miles),both

hubs were so hot you could'nt even touch the wheels!

He called the shop where the work was done and they

assured him that it was normal during break-in.

Don't seem right to me. I pulled my heavier rig from

Snohomish,Wa. to Green River Wyoming, non stop sept

for pit stops and they never even got warm! Gonna

tear um apart and have a looksee. Hope it's not to

late. He had quite a goround with TI and finally

had some other brakes @ spindles installed. Does

this make sense or sound familiar to anyone? Any

advice? Opinions? Thanx,Bill

 

[Staci Matheis]

Sounds to me like whoever did the work on your brother's trailer tightened the bearings down too tight. Or, they could have adjusted the brake shoes out too far



Normal break-in? I think not.



me!

 

[Barry Loos]

Bill:



You should have minimal heat on those hubs travelling just 15 miles. If the bearings were replaced properly, the hubs should be just warm to the touch. As Scott, stated previously, they either have the brakes or wheel too tight. Check to see if they packed the new bearing with grease before putting everything back together. Something is wrong because even though newly machined parts need a break-in period, and may generate extra heat during break-in, new bearings will not generate that much heat. If new spindles were put on the axle make sure the correct bearings were used for the new spindles. I have replaced bearings and immediately traveled to Alabama from Kentucky and purposely stopped to check the hubs and they were always just warm to the touch. Get them checked out because they will fail as they are now.



Bear

 

[JEFF WHITE]

check the tightness on them 1st thing,there should be a little play in them,not very much,after the run of 15 miles,everything that didnt have grease on them now does.the grease flowed down into the bearings if the grase monkey didnt pack them 1st.



jack it up,spin the wheel,it should freewheel for a few revolutions after you stop spinning it.if it doesnt,there too tight.loosen them up and spin them as you tighten them up.tighten them up till all the play is out of them,if you have to turn it to get the cotter pin in the hole,i always loosen them,instead of tightening them up,this way you know they arent too tight.my bearings have a little play,just enough for you to feel it.i traveled over 1000 miles at speeds of at least 70 mph,and my hubs were barely warm enough to feel it.the brakes do have a little to do with it though,too tight an they will overheat the hub.ive had that happen once or twice in my day.tighten them down till they just barely drag,i feel this is the best adjustment for them.



class dismissed!!

 

[Spanky P]

If I had the down time with the trailer. I would take it apart myself and do a thorough inspection or be right there and have the guy take it apart and re-do it. These wheel bearings are not hard to do yourself and you will get some self-satifaction after doing the replacement. Always replace the seals also. I've found that you can buy good Timken or SKF bearings and races along with CR seals at an industrial drive supply shop for the same price or better than marine supplies and Auto Zones etc..



I don't think I would just back off on the SKF nut and star washer or cotter pin. I would want to inspect the bearings and see if they (steel) had gotten darkened.



Also, if I could just give my opinion. I know alot of guys are not crazy about the bearing buddies but I think they work well. If you inspect your bearings and seal often they will work fine. I have a Trail Star trailer. For the most part I hate it. But, I do like the grease set up on the spindle bearings. I like the way the grease travels thru to the back of the hub and works its way to the front side. I like to grease on regular intervals. I pump some new grease in and wipe out the older stuff it pushes out. I think those little rubber grommet caps suck but, what I installed over the spindle was one of those rubber bearing buddy bras and still have the grommet type plugs in also.



Sorry for being so long winded but I like to work on electro/mechanical things it's my job from day to day. Good luck and good fishing.

 

[Bill Smith6]

Thanks fir all the input gang. Everything mentioned

here confirms my thoughts exactly. Going to tear them

down and check for any damage or bluing before towing

again. Hopefully he does'nt have to take it back.

Already been enough hassle for such simple repair.

(Spindles and all) Thanx Again



Bill