Bearing Work

[zoops]

I have a trailer bearing that burned up today. May need to bring it in to get worked on as I'm not real savvy with this kind of stuff. Any recommendations in the Bisman area that won't be a week or two out?

 

[SDMF]

Did you bugger up the threads on the spindle as well? If so, just pony up for a whole new axle. If not and its just a bearing, I'd consider swapping out the whole hub. It's 1 castle nut and a bunch of new grease.

 

[Trip McNeely]

I'd second the new hub idea. Most trailer hubs will cost less than $100 and all u have to do is remove the cotter pin and unscrew the castle nut. Grease the spindle a little and put on the new hub.(most hubs come pre-greased) As long as your spindle isn't damaged this would be the best/cheapest way to do it. I had the pleasure of learning this myself after taking out a bearing on my boat as well. I got my first boat in my early 20's and had a bearing go out. didn't have a lot of money so I figured Id try to replace the bearing my self. after busting 2 races and ordering the wrong size bearing twice I decided to just replace the whole hub. was so easy I went and got another one and did both sides of my boat trailer. Bought an extra hub and a tube of grease in the boat just in case I'd ever have to fix one on the side of the road.

 

[Davey Crockett]

How do they act when they burn up ? Hot and fire ? or just get loose ? I've been way too lucky when it comes to trailer bearing failure , I'm sure my day is coming.

 

[Trip McNeely]

How do they act when they burn up ? Hot and fire ? or just get loose ? I've been way too lucky when it comes to trailer bearing failure , I'm sure my day is coming.

I got lucky when I had one go out. I had been fishing about an hour from town with my Dad. I had my old hunting rig pulling the boat so I usually don't drive more than 60mph with it. Stopped at a convenience store and when I started accelerating on the on-ramp on I-94 we heard a weird clunk and a metal grinding sound. I looked in the rear view and my tire was sitting all kittywhompus. Lucky for me I was going slowly and pulled over right away so I didn't do any damage to the spindle or rim. When I touched the hub it burned my hand it was that hot. I poured water on it and it literally sizzled. I'm not incredibly mechanical but over the years have learned enough out of necessity to get by. To this day I always check my hubs when I trailer a distance as I was told by our shop mechanic at the time, that if a bearing is starting to go the hub will get hot when in motion. He also told me bearings on boat trailers tend to go more often because they are repeatedly submerged and water can get inside the hub and leads to bearing failure more quickly. especially if they aren't re-greased often. Also the warmed up metal from trailering your boat being dunked into cool waters may lead to early failure as well. I also now use bearing buddies on my boat trailer as well

 

[SDMF]

How do they act when they burn up ? Hot and fire ? or just get loose ? I've been way too lucky when it comes to trailer bearing failure , I'm sure my day is coming.

Prior to pulling the trailer you could jack it up, wiggle each wheel and see if any are loose. Loose wheel = new bearing or new hub, whichever you're inclined to do. If you've pulled a ways and want to check then put your hand close to the hub (DO NOT JUST GRAB IT) and feel for heat. You could also make a couple of corners and watch the inside wheels in your side mirror to see if any of them are "leaning". When it's getting close to "going" you should hear a metal on metal squealing and you should stop as quickly as possible and deal with the situation because you're about to stop no matter what.

The trailer under my '06 1850 Crestliner FishHawk got a brand new axle under it last yr because I thought the squealing I heard when filling up @ fleet farm was just the trailer hitch/ball doing it's thing. I made it from Fargo to Devils but only made it half-way home and had to leave my boat on an approach and then deal with a towing company and the new axle business all over the phone. It would've been less than a 1hr job to walk into Fleet Farm, grab a new hub, jack up and remove the rim, pry off the Bearning Buddy, remove the cotter pin and castle nut, slip the old hub off, slip the new one on, re-install the castle nut/cotter pin, rubber mallet the BB back in place, and re-install the rim. Instead it was a $300 tow and 10 days for the new axle to arrive and my turn to come up in the repair shop's order of business which was another ~$1,100 for parts and labor.

New axle vs. new spindle: Everyone needs to make that decision for themselves. My trailer sees 5K-7500 mi/summer, sometimes more, sometimes less but I figure that trailer had 50-60Kmi on it as it's on it's 3rd set of tires. I guess I just didn't trust that anyone could cut off the old spindle, weld on a new one, and then make it straight enough to not be chewing up tires.

 

[zoops]

This is what it looks like with the hub off. Bearing is stuck to the spindle. Ugly.

 

[Davey Crockett]

Dry as a bone, I'd probably clean it up and use a hacksaw or a file on the threads. Might have to use a couple washers to shim the nut out of the last couple of threads. Gotta use bearing buddies or it's bound to happen when you dunk them under water all the time. There's more than one way to get the race off the shaft and they are easy to get off but they all require safety glasses. Just noticed the damage in the inside is it bad where the seal goes ? , Hard to tell by the pic but there might be issues there.

 

[eyexer]

I'd just replace the spindle if you can. But it might not be replaceable.

 

[WormWiggler]

I'd just replace the spindle if you can. But it might not be replaceable.

Curious why the whole spindle? Heat damage? If a replacement hub was available, a torch would shave those bearing innards in two minutes. Work over threads with a file. done. Searching out bearings if a hub wasn't available may get a little more frustrating.

 

[zoops]

Curious why the whole spindle? Heat damage? If a replacement hub was available, a torch would shave those bearing innards in two minutes. Work over threads with a file. done. Searching out bearings if a hub wasn't available may get a little more frustrating.

This is my plan. Got everything off the spindle and am going to polish it up with emory cloth and get a new hub. May still bring it to a dealer just to have them look at the spindle and axle as I don't want to bother with this again.

 

[SDMF]

If the spindle is a bolt on replacement, I'd be having a new one. If it's not, I'd be having a new axle. I hate fixing stuff. I REALLY hate fixing it twice.

 

[Buckmaster81]

If the spindle is a bolt on replacement, I'd be having a new one. If it's not, I'd be having a new axle. I hate fixing stuff. I REALLY hate fixing it twice.

x2

 

[zoops]

Thought I'd update this - ended up having Glenn's Welding & Trailer Supplies in Bismarck weld a new spindle on the one side and getting new hubs for each side. Probably would have just gotten a new axle but it was a couple weeks out and I had a trip planned for the 4th. Have put about 750 miles on since the repair and no issues. About $225 all told. Can't imagine having this happen on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, what a pain that would be!