TRAILER AXLE/HUB ISSUES

[capt charlie's charters]

Last year just before launching on Orion I luckily noticed the buddy bearing coupling was gone and the bearings totally exposed, nothing was open at 7am so finally found an O'Reillys around 8.   Purchased a new coupling, pit stop in the parking lot and headed back to Orion, horrors of horrors that coupling had been thrown also, had to be some peeed off drivers behind me if their vehicles got hit.  Lk Orion marine was finally open at 9, found a dust cap that would stay on and nursed the rig out to Fenton, trailer place on US 23.  Having difficulty locating a new hub they repacked just put on the dust cap and sent me on my way.  Now back to the present, due to an out of align axle I have to replace one tire bout every three years, so the other day I'm at Tire Discount for that purpose and figured I'd be a nice guy and remove the cover plate so they could get right to the lug nuts....unbelievable as I remove the cover plate the dust cap falls off.  Grease had built up around the outside of the hub and of course the inner grease was discolored...when did the cap come loose I have no idea, but the cover plate had kept it from being thrown off completely....THE $64 QUESTION, WHY AND HOW WOULD A HUB THROW OFF A BUDDY BEARING COUPLING THAT HAD TO BE HAMMERED ON AS DID THE DUST CAP ?   Why would this happen now after owning the boat since 2002 ??  Has this happened to anyone else ??

Manuf:  Marine Master Trailers, for Triton boats, TR196, 205/14 wheels/tires.  Factory installed Buddy Bearings.

capt charlie

[Slipkey]

My money would be on heat in the hub - causing the hub to expand at a faster rate than the bearing buddy and allowing the bearing buddy to become loose. If your bearings are OK, you might check the race for a rough spot or indentation.  If there's even a small groove in the race, it can heat up the outside of the hub significantly, while the bearings themselves remain cooler.  When a shop re-packs your bearings, they will check the bearing, itself, but forego a close inspection of the race, itself.

I had this happen on one of the axles on my Ranger.  It started heating up and the rear seal started to leak.  The bearing was fine, but the oil in the hub had a burned smell.  When I pulled the race, it had some small grooves in the surface - I'm guessing from the spindle nut not being quite tight enough.

[capt charlie's charters]

your input could explain why after 11 years I suddenly have a problem, after redoing my bearings and seals last year, had a problem with the fit even though that's the identification number it recommended.  thanks....and we'll have to try and hook up to wet a line before water gets hard.

capt

[djkimmel]

Usually a temperature change though it can also happen if there is a good wobble in the wheel and you mentioned you are getting uneven wear on the tires? I got in the habit years ago to always check my hubs EVERY TIME I stop on any trip and it has saved me from several worse outcomes than the messes I ended up in a couple times.

I apparently screwed up a few seasons ago and didn't tighten a spindle nut properly. Damaged the spindle and I had nothing but problems after that with little or no warning when things would go from 'seems okay' to 'uh oh Houston we have a problem!' It can take only 30 minutes driving of heat and/or wobble to have a serious tire/hub problem.

If you find grooves or uneven wear in your races then hopefully that's all it was but just to be safe set up a time where a friend can follow you down the road on some combination city/highway driving to watch your trailer tires. Might be able to spot anything out of the ordinary or give you some peace of mind.

Regardless, if you haven't already, get in the habit of checking hub temperature on all the hubs every time you stop somewhere. I do it without even thinking about it now. It's part of my boat walk-around I pretty much always do:

• Hanging wires
• Hot hubs
• Exotic weeds
• Obvious visible problems
• Lights when appropriate (before needed)
• Low tires
• Loose spare tire
• Straps and motor toter
• Boat plug
• Outboard bolts after a day on the water or a long drive (bumpy roads and all)

Seems like there might be more. I will add to the list when I get my boat back and get back into my old habits.

[Skulley]

Usually a temperature change though it can also happen if there is a good wobble in the wheel and you mentioned you are getting uneven wear on the tires? I got in the habit years ago to always check my hubs EVERY TIME I stop on any trip and it has saved me from several worse outcomes than the messes I ended up in a couple times.

I apparently screwed up a few seasons ago and didn't tighten a spindle nut properly. Damaged the spindle and I had nothing but problems after that with little or no warning when things would go from 'seems okay' to 'uh oh Houston we have a problem!' It can take only 30 minutes driving of heat and/or wobble to have a serious tire/hub problem.

If you find grooves or uneven wear in your races then hopefully that's all it was but just to be safe set up a time where a friend can follow you down the road on some combination city/highway driving to watch your trailer tires. Might be able to spot anything out of the ordinary or give you some peace of mind.

Regardless, if you haven't already, get in the habit of checking hub temperature on all the hubs every time you stop somewhere. I do it without even thinking about it now. It's part of my boat walk-around I pretty much always do:

• Hanging wires
• Hot hubs
• Exotic weeds
• Obvious visible problems
• Lights when appropriate (before needed)
• Low tires
• Loose spare tire
• Straps and motor toter
• Boat plug
• Outboard bolts after a day on the water or a long drive (bumpy roads and all)

Seems like there might be more. I will add to the list when I get my boat back and get back into my old habits.

These are things that Dan describes here as very important.  I do a walk around every time I stop too.   I have saved myself a lot of headaches being overly cautious.  My worst nightmare is being stranded on the side of the road...................any where.  If I'm going to be stranded, I want it to be in my driveway.  At least I have the resources there to fix my problems when they arise. 



BD