Has anyone replaced the oil seal on a ranger(brake axle)trailer?
It happened on the way home and talk about smoke!
The seal on the rear axle went out and oil ended up all over the brake disc.Hot to the touch! Has any one changed one of these on the road?
I left the rig at a hotel off the road and will have to go back and change out the seal and??
What tools are needed? any help would be great. The nearest Ranger dealer was at least 50 miles away and w/Labor day I am sure they were not open. Thanks

If the oil seal went out, there was a lot of smoke and the wheel was hot to the touch, you should expect to replace the bearings and races in addition to the oil seal. Best bet- bring a fully assembled and greased replacement hub. The tools you should need then will be a jack, wheel lug wrench, 2x4 scrap, hammer and Channellock pliers. You can swap hubs faster than changing the oil seal and you are less likely to wind up stranded again 20 miles further down the road. Carry a spare hub in the future.

Question? Are the races not on the axle shaft? Thanks

The races are inside the hub.

One more thing to take along- someone who knows how to service wheel bearings. Probably not me- I forgot you said you had oil-filled bearings. :) You'll want an assembled hub, no grease, and bring oil to refill the hub.

Spare hubs are cheap insurance.

be prepared for the bearing races to be welded to the spindle, expecially the inner one.

If thats the case you may be able to chisel it off if you are lucky

bring safety glasses too!!!!

Hopefully you have a tandem axle trailer. Just take off the bad tire, and ease it home. Easier to work on it at home. Bring a chain in case the axle drop too low, you can chain it up higher.

Heres what happened the brake fluid was low causing the caliper to drag and heat up the hub. The seal went out. Replaced the seal and the bearings, filled hub and brake system, did not need the hub, races looked ok and the bearings were replaced because I had it apart. The lug nuts and center cover were tough to remove. I the future as a PM measure I will put some water proof grease on the lugs and hub cover/screw.

Heres what happened the brake fluid was low causing the caliper to drag and heat up the hub. The seal went out. Replaced the seal and the bearings, filled hub and brake system, did not need the hub, races looked ok and the bearings were replaced because I had it apart. The lug nuts and center cover were tough to remove. I the future as a PM measure I will put some water proof grease on the lugs and hub cover/screw.

Glad to hear you got the trailer on the road again. Brake fluid can be low for two reasons- a leak or near worn-out brake pads. Either way, I expect that's another maintenance measure you'll address.

You've probably heard recommendations against grease on lug nuts. If you decide to grease the threads, I recommend a product called Never Seez (apply sparingly), although I usually do not use anything on lugs. If the lugs are properly torqued, I don't have trouble removing them later, but haven't had to deal with overheated wheels.

Heres what happened the brake fluid was low causing the caliper to drag and heat up the hub. The seal went out. Replaced the seal and the bearings, filled hub and brake system, did not need the hub, races looked ok and the bearings were replaced because I had it apart. The lug nuts and center cover were tough to remove. I the future as a PM measure I will put some water proof grease on the lugs and hub cover/screw.

:badidea:

I agree with Yarcraft - a little anti-sieze (silver stuff that you put on spark plug threads) is all you should put on there. The issue you had was overheating and you were on your way to welding the lugnuts to the bolts - that is why they were tough getting off. Grease on a lugnut is not recommended.

Scott

I believe that the lugs are tuff to remove comes from the center covers on the wheels, the covers hold water for a while before it drains out?

Glad to hear you got the trailer on the road again. Brake fluid can be low for two reasons- a leak or near worn-out brake pads. Either way, I expect that's another maintenance measure you'll address.

You've probably heard recommendations against grease on lug nuts. If you decide to grease the threads, I recommend a product called Never Seez (apply sparingly), although I usually do not use anything on lugs. If the lugs are properly torqued, I don't have trouble removing them later, but haven't had to deal with overheated wheels.