trailer bearing question

[Mark S.]

I had a trailer wheel bearing going bad, growling when I jacked the tire off the ground and spun the wheel, it also looked as though it had gotten some water in the bearing buddy from last fall. I put a bearing replacement kit in, replacing the bearing's and races. After I put it back together, it still made a noise when I spun the wheel. Everything seemed OK, plenty of grease. I road tested the trailer at highway speeds and checked the replaced hub after about 10 miles. It was noticably warmer than than the other hub, that has never been replaced. The only thing that I can think of is that after the new races were pressed in the hub, it was obvious that they were not centered in the hub, but were fitting the only way they could. I'm thinking that maybe the hub is bad, but the trailer is a 2001 Shoreland'r #2300 with approx 6000 miles and has never had any problems with bearing heat before. The dealer say's he needs to look at the trailer, but I'm not real excited about the 85 mile trip to his shop. Any help would be great, going to Chamberlain in 10 days and starting to get a little nervous. Mark S.

[Huskie]

I would agree with your suspicions. Did you pull the hub and look at the bearings and races after that test drive? If the bearing race is not seated square to the hub, you should be able to see some beginning wear on the races. Iwould try another bearing.race set, and have them pressed in at an auto machine shop with an arbor press, just to be on the safe side.
When a new bearing and race set is installed, it will initially run a little warmer than older, broken in sets, but it should not be more than 10 or 20 degrees warmer. After its fully broken in it should run as cool as the others.

[bountyhunters]

are over tightening the nut? seat them then back off ?

[Mikemac]

Did you replace both the inner and outer bearings?

[Mark S.]

i didn't check the races for wear after the test drive, I will do that though. I seated the bearings, then backed the nut off before putting the pin in, any looser and you can turn the nut with your fingers, the wheel spins freely, and there is no play in the wheel as there was before replacing the bearings. I did replace the inner and outer bearing along with races. The old inner race showed signs of wear.

Thanks, Mark

[HuskerFanatic]

You may need to check the spindle to see if it has been chewed up by the old bearings. If this is the case then it will need to be replaced also.

[aero320]

I would replace the entire hub just for the peace-of-mind. About ten years ago, I was trailering my boat at Beaver Lake in Arkansas and suddenly, not only did the bearing go bad, the wheel came completely off of the trailer and the trailer hit the asphalt sending sparks all over. I stopped and pulled over to the shoulder, located the wheel in the ditch, but did not have adequate tools to do much. Along came a state trooper who informed me that if I left the boat all night, it would probably get stripped. He suggested calling a wrecker and having it towed into town to the boat dealer. That is exactly what I did (my insurance covered the tow bill). I slept in the truck until the dealership opened and by lunch time the repair was completed. They replaced the spindle (which never really lined up correctly again) and hub.

The second problem I had happened about 5 years ago. This time the bearing protectors failed and I had a bearing go out on the way home from fishing. Fortunately. I was able to replace the bearings and get home. The spindle was damaged, so I replaced the axle. I was crawling out from under the boat having just completed the axle installation project and twisted my knee. This required knee surgery that cost $thousands.

I would advise three things:

1. Replace the entire hub. Bearing problems on the road are too much trouble.
2. If you have a damaged spindle, plan on replacing the axle (mine cost $135) since the spindles are welded at a special angle that is controlled by the assembly fixture. Just welding in a new spindle will not insure that the alignment is correct. You will get excessive tire wear.
3. Do not totally rely on bearing protectors. As long as they maintain pressure in the hub, water cannot get in. Unfortunately, the indicators stick and you think pressure is being maintained when it is not (and water gets in).

I would like to add more comments, but this is my only day to fish this week!

[Mark S.]

I just got finished replacing the hub, I got lucky a buddy of mine has the same trailer, and put turbo lube kits on his trailer when he first got it. Another buddy, who's a good mechanic came over to help. He looked at the old hub and bearings and couldn't find anything wrong after we removed it. He said the spindle looked fine. The new hub seems to have done the trick, it no longer is making any noise, and has no play in the wheel. Just waiting on my wife to return with the tow vehicle so that I can make sure it's not getting hot.

Thanks to all of those who responded to this post.

Thanks, Mark

[rebs]

how do I measure my wheel bearings to get the sorrect size to order new ones
do I measure the spindle or what ?

rebs