A few years ago, I bought a used boat and trailer from an older man. He had it serviced regularly by a dealer. All seemed well, no problems. One day I jacked up the trailer and spun the wheels. One wheel had a small rumble while spinning, I broke it down and found one roller in a bearing had broke in half, and was just tumbling around in there. I installed new hub kits, all is great now, and I have a reference base line. No substitute for a good in depth inspection.
Castle nuts do not allow for precise lateral adjustment. Seat the hub on the axle by firmly tightening down the nut, then back off the nut completely. Finger-tighten the nut. Make sure that the hub spins freely. If the nut is not lining up with the cotter pin hole, you want to back off from finger-tight to expose the hole for the cotter pin. There are plenty of sources stating that a very small amount of play at the outside edge (tread) of the tire (perhaps 1/16 inch) is acceptable. Snugging the castle nut tighter with a wrench to expose the cotter pin hole may lead to cooked bearings. If you are really looking for a perfect tolerance you may need to use a thin washer under the castle nut to get it to line up perfectly with the cotter pin hole when it is just finger-tight.
Another lil trick. If the hole dose not line up. Its sum what time consuming but it works. Get sum sand paper . Take the nut off the spindle an hand sand it down on the back side a lil at a time. An re try getting the hole to line up were its just finger tight. I had to do this on a brand new trailer. One side was running hotter then the outher side. Problem fixed. It was to tight from the factory.
The only way to achieve consistent results is to measure axial play via a dial indicator. Timken suggests 1 to 5 thou end play. The difference between castellations on a 1" -14 axle nut is 0.0119" which makes achieving the 1-5 thou very difficult. You are either too tight or too loose. I did an experiment with several techs that go by feel and nearly everyone of them ended up well over 5 thou. I have used axle nuts with 12 notches to provide better resolution. Other methods I have used is arbor shims to dial in endplay to within range. Either way, if you are not measuring, you are guessing.
Thanks! It will not hurt to add some grease before putting the cap back on. I like using "Bearing Buddy" end caps so grease can be added easily in the future
You're probably right. The customer claimed he had just had the bearings repacked. While removing the tire to do the welding work I figured I'd check the bearings for being loose. All four were too loose
To be able to remove tough bolts and lug nuts with ease take a look at these DeWalt impacts I use amzn.to/49NwEfk
A few years ago, I bought a used boat and trailer from an older man. He had it serviced regularly by a dealer. All seemed well, no problems. One day I jacked up the trailer and spun the wheels. One wheel had a small rumble while spinning, I broke it down and found one roller in a bearing had broke in half, and was just tumbling around in there. I installed new hub kits, all is great now, and I have a reference base line. No substitute for a good in depth inspection.
Castle nuts do not allow for precise lateral adjustment. Seat the hub on the axle by firmly tightening down the nut, then back off the nut completely. Finger-tighten the nut. Make sure that the hub spins freely. If the nut is not lining up with the cotter pin hole, you want to back off from finger-tight to expose the hole for the cotter pin. There are plenty of sources stating that a very small amount of play at the outside edge (tread) of the tire (perhaps 1/16 inch) is acceptable. Snugging the castle nut tighter with a wrench to expose the cotter pin hole may lead to cooked bearings. If you are really looking for a perfect tolerance you may need to use a thin washer under the castle nut to get it to line up perfectly with the cotter pin hole when it is just finger-tight.
Another lil trick. If the hole dose not line up. Its sum what time consuming but it works. Get sum sand paper . Take the nut off the spindle an hand sand it down on the back side a lil at a time. An re try getting the hole to line up were its just finger tight. I had to do this on a brand new trailer. One side was running hotter then the outher side. Problem fixed. It was to tight from the factory.
Perfect timing for this video!
The only way to achieve consistent results is to measure axial play via a dial indicator. Timken suggests 1 to 5 thou end play. The difference between castellations on a 1" -14 axle nut is 0.0119" which makes achieving the 1-5 thou very difficult. You are either too tight or too loose. I did an experiment with several techs that go by feel and nearly everyone of them ended up well over 5 thou. I have used axle nuts with 12 notches to provide better resolution. Other methods I have used is arbor shims to dial in endplay to within range. Either way, if you are not measuring, you are guessing.
Curious my caravan wheels never spins that easy, is that normal?
Good video
About to do mine!
Thanks for sharing!
Is it good idea to put grease in before putting cap back on?
Cheers
Thanks! It will not hurt to add some grease before putting the cap back on.
I like using "Bearing Buddy" end caps so grease can be added easily in the future
Thanks for the response. 🤟🏽👍
Why would a rubber cap fall off while driving? This just happened to me on a peterbuilt. Never seen it happen in my 4 yrs driving semi
I have often wondered that... I think road debris flips up once in a while knocking off those caps.
@@Markomyt1 strange...
👍👍👍. Thank you
That bearing looked like it could have used a little more grease as well as the tightening you gave it.
You're probably right. The customer claimed he had just had the bearings repacked. While removing the tire to do the welding work I figured I'd check the bearings for being loose. All four were too loose
Don't reuse cotter pins.