Doing a bearing service
rasbury
Member Posts: 8,962 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have a tandem trailer for our 270. Its rated 9999 and has Kodiak parts as near as i can recall. It seems it would be easier to just replace the bearings rather than service them. Other than when I pull the hub off, is there info on the hub itself for a model or do I just need to pull the bearings and go match them up? I think there is a number on the bearing itself - and I have to figure out the seals...is the rear bearing a tapered roller bearing with a race or just a roller bearing? I did service when first purchased but that was a long time ago. Also, the cap for the break resovir is messed up. I've reached out to e trailer where I bought it with no support back from them...
Comments
You should be able to get the part numbers off the bearings and seal in order to get the right components. There's a chande your local autoparts or trailer shop has them in stock. Both are tapered roller bearings with separate races.
I did all these bearings years ago and the brakes. I replaced all the bearings and seals. While that has been many years the ramp is less than 10 miles...little use particularly over the last 6 years.
Yes there are for sure two bearings each hub. I'd like to have two on hand to start this and all seals as a minimum. Its going to be difficult to get the bearing info as it looks like I'd need to tare down a hub to get the info and they don't want me working on it where it sits. They have a work pad I can pull it to but I don't see being able to clean all the old grease up there.
Guess I will figure it out!
Im not sure of your axle set up. Are both braking axles? If one is not there's a chance hubs are different and bearings could also be different.
I need an assembly line to process, inspect and re assemble as quickly as possible..i can take the hubs out back on a tarp, with how many buckets? Wash with soap and water first? Diesel will cut that grease? Recommends on grease?? Yikes! You tube guy used a spray brake cleaner which I'm sure is way more expensive- but I'd think more efficient and i would not have buckets of cleaners to dispose of..
Remove old bearings, seals and races
I wipe the hubs and spindles clean with paper towls or rags, do a quick spray down with some brake cleaner. Now she's ready for reassemble.
The little parking tool ia awesome but hand packing works well too. Just more gloves, time and rags.
We have been hand packing bearings since i was old enough to help turn wrenches. We got this little guy a few years ago when the boss decided to do the bearings in all the work trailers...half a dozen of them.
I really like this tool.
My spindles each have a zert. Theoretically, I can pull the rubber cover off and pump grease into it until all the old grease pushes out- thereby repacking the bearings and the service is done. Now your supposed to turn the wheel as your pumping to evenly distribute the grease.
This sounds much easier.....
Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express
This is assuming you don't see where any water has gotten into any of the hubs.
Keep an IR temp gauge in your truck. If any hub starts running significantly hotter than the rest, address it.
Otherwise wait until January or February to mess with the trailers when its 30 degrees cooler outside.
I do carry a temp gauge and one wheel is running about 20 degrees higher which has reminded me of my lack of attention. Those hubs really take a beating.
Thanks all for the input. It is hard to find really good info on these trailers. I'll try to update when complete.
1st- the boat has barley moved for the last six years...couple trips to the ramp (10 miles ), couple times home from storage to wash so it would look pretty sitting in storage. I always checked the temps on the hubs because I've been concerned about them. That wheel had been only 20 degrees hotter, trip home was 216 so that's the hottest temp it got and that was less than 5 miles. It was still full of grease.
So, I did grab another Kodiak 225 caliper. The hotter one was a hot mess. I just didn't have the time to deal with repairing. Perhaps I have one I can repair for spare, I'm guessing I can use it. Its just a casting, the piston rides on the seal, other than the seal there is nothing to wear right? I think i rebuilt them with a new piston, dust boot, and a seal in the bore. Only brakes I ever rebuilt like that. At that time I replaced the lines, bearings and the master cylinder. The master cylinder looks terrible. Fluid is cloudy, some kunk in the bottom of it. Seems like it's still functional but I guess not for long if I don't get it cleaned out. As I recognized from the first two wheels, pads were in order so as i went through each wheel I had the calipers off. I have a tool to compress the calipers for new pads, all the boots looked intact. All the bearings seem good, no rock in the wheel and they spun easily so I did not re adjust. Bled the brakes and back to storage. Hub temps are now all consistent, 112 plus or minus a few degrees. Feels like it is stopping better and not cluncking as bad. One of the 3 remaining calipers was a little hard to compress the piston so I will replace that next...the other two were ok but considering the fluid I just need to rotate them out and get that fluid out...
The master cylinder is still bubbling and brakes are holding and releasing...can I clean that out? The calipers have two fittings, if I open them up i should be able to blow out the caliper? Blow out the lines from front to back?I can bring it home another weekend to make sure I recover all this fluid, disconect the master cylinder for cleaning ( with what ?) And blow out the lines...keep swapping out the cylinders...
I used 3 tubes of 14 oz Lucas marine grease. Was a little hard to find. The seals have a little grease coming out- that's goining to need fixing too but for right now I'm going to take today as a win and keep going . I have no trips planned and can work on cleaning the fiberglass and get these brakes a little straighter..
Hook it up to the brake caliper bleeder. Even comes with the adapter. Grab a gallon of fluid and a helper. Go in order farthest wheel to closest pulling until you get clean fluid. It goes pretty quickly.
Awesome that you got her running cool again
So, I understand having ssues with the hubs with water ... what happens to these brakes? Particularly the fluid? I know in a vehicle changing the fluid if an older vehicle generally a good idea- but I've never seen brake fluid look like thst! It did not leak any fluid since last doing this 10 years ago.
I'll go back to the boat and yank the master cylinder so I get that cleaned out- I'll have to carefully bring back home to bleed it all out...if i cap off the line, would the brakes work at all if I put the cylinder back on? Will a shop back suck those lines out? Not a big deal to pull the calipers and get those cleaned out..maybe have a rebuilt one to go... while my outings are close to a very nice boating river, excluding tge gators, I would like to do some longer trips to se/sw florida...that was the retirement plan until God laughed at me. I need to replace a set of springs too...its not a bad trailer, all aluminum. Just needs some love.
If you are removing the master you can clean it out with brake cleaner.
Im sure you could find a shop to bleed them but it would probably need to be a trailer repair shop.
You can bleed it without a special bleeder, youll need a helper. You may be able to push the trailer tongue inward to activate the brake master cylinder a few times to get the fluid moving to bleed the system.
Once it gets hard to push use a ratchet strap to pull the tongue inward.
Its been a few years since a blown tire took out my brake lines and i had to bleed everything from scratch but i dont think gravity bleeding worked on my trailer.
On most vehicles i fill the system and the fluid will slowly drain to the lowest point making the bleeding process go a little more quickly.
I think on the trailer, even with the master jacked as high as possible up it wouldn't gravity bleed.
Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express
There is a seal on the piston. There's also an outer dust boot. Without a clean smooth mating surface fluid and pressure will pass by the seals instead of properly braking.
Water can cause pitting inside the caliper on the cylinder walls.
They make cute little cylinder hones to help clean the mating surface area of the brake caliper.
Good for small imperfections or debris clean up to get a smooth surface.
If the trailer hydraulics aren't convenient, use a grease gun. This is one of the best tricks for a truly frozen piston. You need an adapter that lets you connect a hand grease gun to the caliper's brake-hose inlet or bleeder opening. Pumping grease into the fluid chamber develops thousands of PSI, but unlike compressed air, there's very little stored energy. The piston normally creeps out rather than becoming a projectile.
No I'll hit ace hardware am and see if this works!