Plankton
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Post by Plankton on Jun 29, 2009 7:52:40 GMT -4
Decided to get a new MVI for our little (3.5 x 5.5 ft) utility trailer, so I went out to do a pre-check on it yesterday. I found that both wheel bearings have some play in them. The Internet says play is normal, but I was skeptical that they would pass me, so I decided that I would get new ones anyway. After pulling the hub, I measured the spindles with a caliper and found both to be 0.85 inch diameter. The bearings that are on there measure 1 inch inside diameter, so even though the bearing looks to be in good shape, it can move a little, hence the play when the wheel is on. I can't find wheel bearings with an ID smaller than 1-inch, so is the 0.15 inch difference normal? Seems high to me. Suggestions on what to do about it? Thought about just buying a whole new axle from PA, but they cost more than the trailer is probably worth.
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Creepy
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Post by Creepy on Jun 29, 2009 8:17:10 GMT -4
That really doesn't sound right. it should be a close slip fit. a few thou....like .004"-.010" or something. thinking back to my shackle fawk-up last week....please wait for more replies. to check the bearings, jack up the trailer and grab the wheel at 12 and 6. wiggle. there should be almost no play. (same as checking a unit bearing) You can just re-pack them with grease and tighten them unless the cages are breaking off or you can see they are burned up. (if they are the right ones)
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Hawkes
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Post by Hawkes on Jun 29, 2009 9:17:39 GMT -4
Is it homemade? Spindles could have come from anything. Does it have regular trailer wheels or car tires? All the trailers I've had were either 1" or 1 1/16th, and should be a tight fit.
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Big G
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Post by Big G on Jun 29, 2009 10:10:32 GMT -4
Like Jan said, you might get away with greasing and tightening them. I'm off today, shoot me a PM if you want me to swing by. I've even got someone to keep Sam busy! LOL
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Creepy
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Post by Creepy on Jun 29, 2009 10:24:49 GMT -4
well tighening them is for adjusting for wear.....regular maintenance item.
with as much clearance as he says he has between the stub and bearing bore, the tire will still be wobbly as hell no matter how tight you make 'em.
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Plankton
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Post by Plankton on Jun 29, 2009 11:10:46 GMT -4
It's a home made trailer, so I have no idea where any of the parts came from. It does run standard trailer wheels (4-bolt), but I was surprised to find such an odd size on the spindle. I can tighten the nut down until there's no play, but then I'm just putting a lot of pressure on the bearing with the washer behind the nut. This causes the wheel to have no play, but also to be harder to turn. Does not really account for the difference between the bearing and spindle diameter. It all seemed weird to me, but I wanted to verify with some knowledgeable people... or you guys.
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Post by theonlybull on Jun 29, 2009 19:08:28 GMT -4
seems to me i ran into a trailer with odd bearings like that.. don't remember where i got them, but they weren't cheap. might have been kenicor...
call some trailer places, and ask, they might have a set of bearings.
150 thou, is way too much, over 1/8 of an inch..
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Hawkes
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Post by Hawkes on Jun 29, 2009 21:13:30 GMT -4
It's a home made trailer, so I have no idea where any of the parts came from. It does run standard trailer wheels (4-bolt), but I was surprised to find such an odd size on the spindle. I can tighten the nut down until there's no play, but then I'm just putting a lot of pressure on the bearing with the washer behind the nut. This causes the wheel to have no play, but also to be harder to turn. Does not really account for the difference between the bearing and spindle diameter. It all seemed weird to me, but I wanted to verify with some knowledgeable people... or you guys. Running them tight will fix the wobble, but will be non concentric, like an unbalanced tire. Where's Itsakeeper when you need him?
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Post by itsakeeper on Jun 30, 2009 6:04:27 GMT -4
there can be different flat areas on the spindle so make sure you measure in the right place; also there are metric tapered bearings which are becoming common on some utility trailers and someone may have put the wrong ones in there; trailer kits are available in 1", 1 1/16" and 1 1/4" (2 sizes of 1") and are about $25-$35 per side; metrics are a whole different story with many sizes out there and prices from $40-$70 per side
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Plankton
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Post by Plankton on Jun 30, 2009 8:10:04 GMT -4
I took the other wheel apart last night to make sure that they were the same size on each side. Looks like a bearing failed sometime in the past and left some pretty good scoring on the spindle.
Adding that to the non-standard bearing size, and I think I'm just going to replace the axle. PA has 4-bolt stub axles for $60 each. I'll just have to track down someone to weld it up for me.
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Hawkes
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Post by Hawkes on Jun 30, 2009 8:20:15 GMT -4
I took the other wheel apart last night to make sure that they were the same size on each side. Looks like a bearing failed sometime in the past and left some pretty good scoring on the spindle. Adding that to the non-standard bearing size, and I think I'm just going to replace the axle. PA has 4-bolt stub axles for $60 each. I'll just have to track down someone to weld it up for me. The whole assembly is only $139. Just need new ubolts, which I haven't seen at PA lately. www.princessauto.com/truck-trailer/trailer-parts/axles/8249096-axle-assembly
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Post by itsakeeper on Jun 30, 2009 11:12:36 GMT -4
metric bearings, if that is what you have, would definetly cost much more
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Plankton
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Post by Plankton on Jul 1, 2009 9:04:22 GMT -4
Only problem with the $139 axle is that I have 4-bolt wheels, so I'd have to buy new ones. Didn't know the u-bolts were never in stock there. Pretty sure the old ones are too rusted to come off nicely.
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Hawkes
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Post by Hawkes on Jul 1, 2009 9:59:45 GMT -4
Only problem with the $139 axle is that I have 4-bolt wheels, so I'd have to buy new ones. Didn't know the u-bolts were never in stock there. Pretty sure the old ones are too rusted to come off nicely. I didn't notice all the PA axles are 5 bolt, I seem to remember both being available. You would need perches too, which they do have, but I haven't seen the ubolts in a while, and I need some.
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90bronco
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Post by 90bronco on Jul 1, 2009 11:37:16 GMT -4
CTC in B'water has a couple sets of u-bolts haning on the end of the trailer isle.
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