think i got lucky…….

[opposedtwin]

I was taking my best set of tires and swapping them onto another trailer for a road trip. the tire was a bit wobbly. upon investigation, I learned the seal failed on the backside and the bearing disintegrated and "escaped" on the road somewhere. the bearing remnants and seal in the picture are what was left of the outside bearing. the inner part of the inside bearing (the one that disintegrated) is still on the axle (2nd photo). what’s the best way to remove it? a 3 jaw puller I imagine. notice the wear on the hub(in the 3rd photo). it is no longer usable. these hubs were likely ready for replacement anyway as I could no longer get bearing caps to stay on them. where is the best place to buy hubs for this trailer? is it possible to buy a set with a grease zerk like the one in the picture? or would that have been an "upgrade" somebody gave it? it’s a tee nee standard 1 inch axle I believe. i hope the ends of the axle itself aren’t worn irregularly. they look ok to my untrained eye. 😮

[reivertom]

I had an old straight spindle trailer once and I couldn’t fine replacement bearings that I could afford. It didn’t have the step down like new spindles. It would have been a lot cheaper to replace the whole axel with the prices I found. I hope you have better luck. Mine was in the pre-internet days….maybe things are better now.

[jerry-ahrens]

That’s just a standard issue hub there, should be able to get that at an auto parts store or Northern tool, etc.If it were me I would throw on a set of Bearing Buddies too so that doesn’t happen again. That old bearing race can be driven off with a chisel and hammer or cut it off with a small cut off wheel.

[chris-p]

Yeah, I would recommend Bearing BUddies like Jerry above.

I have found a few times, it is MUCH easier, and cheaper too, to replace the whole drive shaft with new. Simply bolt her up and you are done.

I spent a few days once trying to chisel off a bearing that had welded itself to the shaft, only to finally run down to Princess Auto and grab a whole new shaft assembly for like 100 bucks.

[Mumbles]

It’s usually the inner bearing which goes first as they never receive fresh grease like the outer ones do if Bearing Buddies are installed. Also, after towing the bearings are warm and backing the trailer into cold water contracts the hub drawing water in thru the inner seal. In theory, the trailer is supposed to sit until the hubs cool down before immersing them in the water but who has time for that? If the seals are double lipped and water went thru them, the water will sit between the lips rotting out the spindle making the situation worse. This is where the stainless Speedi Sleeves are worth their weight in gold for repairing damaged spindles and for preventing water from entering as they give the seal a fresh surface to run on.

I just finished servicing the brakes in my saltwater tandem trailer and the grease and bearings were like new. After getting tired of constantly replacing expensive bearings and hubs, I installed the Speedi Sleeves on all four and haven’t had any problems since.

[opposedtwin]

mumbles, where do I get these "magical sleeves"? could you slip them over brand new spindles? (in theory–not that you would). or do your existing spindles have to be worn to a certain point first? this is a 1 inch axle. are the sleeves sized accordingly? easy to install?

[Mumbles]

Check with an auto supply, bearing supply, or RV shop or anyone who deals with trailer supplies.

The sleeves will refurbish a worn seal surface so you can get more life out of the axle. I see that new weld on spindles at my dealer come with the sleeves already installed but they are designed to fit over badly worn or corroded spindles to. New spindles are when you want to install them to prevent any water damage. They come in different sizes so you have to measure the seal surface to get the correct ones.

Here’s a link to the SKF site with information on them. There’s also a video at the bottom with a catchy tune!

http://www.skf.com/ca/en/products/seals … index.html

[opposedtwin]

ok mumbles, I got the old 1/2 of the bearing off by scoring and chiseling. I could get the thing to move around the spindle but it wouldn’t come off without breaking it. anyway, I will need a sleeve for sure. there is a score under where the bearing was.

will I need a micrometer to measure the surface? I don’t have one but am pretty sure I could get a cheapy at harbor freight. has anybody used them before? are they "accurate enough"?

thanks!
scott

[opposedtwin]

bingo! still available.

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hubs-an … 13100.html

[dan-in-tn]

I want to emphasize something Mumbles said, but some may have not caught. Bearing Buddies are so easy to put on and forget about maintenance. They don’t work for the back bearing and can actually blow out your seals! The forward bearing will get plenty of grease but the rear bearing will not get adequate lube. Even if you fill the hub until the seal pops out. Trailer companies have gone to other extents to cure this problem. The hubs are called Rev? Hubs? A hole is drilled at the axle center (small) and comes out in front of the rear bearing. According to the inventor, grease has a natural tendency to travel to the front bearing as long as the wheels are traveling forward (counter clockwise). If they ran the other way the back bearing would get grease and bearing buddies would work or so the claims go. Of course new axles now just have an oil reservoir and carry a small amount of 30wt oil in them. Do not use any lube that gasses off as it will blow out the seal. Been there done that. Figure synthetic gear lube would be best. NO!

Dan in TN

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