Hi Guys, I have a leaking cover that needs to be fixed...( Wheel bearing on the trailer ) Before I mess with it I want oil on hand. If my memory is any good...90/140 should work in the Wheels and the rear end on the truck. Any thing I need to know ? I don't like to work these much until I've checked the oil levels... even the ones not leaking. Thanks for any advise. Gotta Fly... JAM
You can use gear oil or engine oil in those but not supposed to mix them. Most people on here seem to like grease instead of oil but if you are just changing a leaky cover then not worth the time I'm sure.
I just use gear oil.
Lucas hub oil. All I've used in them for years and years. Good stuff. If not a good drain and fresh gear oil works just fine as well.
Thanks Guys.... I was searching... and read good things about the viscosity of Lucas I'll see what I can find , going to the Big town tonight for supplies (Bemidji) .
Most auto parts and farm supply places will have it. Fleet Farm should.
Yeah , that was my best bargain , L&M Fleet has a lot of Farm stuff. Found Hyd oil on sale for $29.99 (5 gal) So I bought 3 Rottela Oil was needed...Bought 2 ...(2.5 gal ) And a two gallon jug of 80/140 was 28.99 Wow... Over $200 in oils... But now I can look into sealing those Hub "Caps" on the trailer... . I gotta clean that Skid Loader and find out where Hyd is leaking... It's a pretty slow leak , Hyd oil is kind of expensive. Gotta Fly... JAM
85/140 or 90/140 works OK just not 80/90 mineral, all break down over time and draw moisture. I have converted many oil hobs back to hand pack grease hubs over the years as the convenience of adding oil instead of pull and repack just wasn't worth the mess(seal leaks ad cap leaks) as they are a DOT draw flag.
Yeah , exactly...I don't want to give them a reason to look.
I had an old travel trailer, seals were strange and not available, I packed with grease and installed without seals. No trouble at all, hubs outlasted the trailer. Not that I recommend that to anybody, but it shows what grease is capable of.
Being perfectly honest, I've never seen an oil bath wheel bearing catastrophically fail. I have seen 1 grease packed hub seize right up solid though.
I bought the oil... But decided to wait. I bought a cheap !" impact... and impact sockets I'll wait til I take off the Wheels to 'feel' the hubs... Shipping 3-7 days. now I'll be able to take off all my truck and trailer tires.,if needed....cool . Gotta Fly...
80/90 weight is fine, that orange semi fluid grease is fine as well. I dislike greased hubs because it adds half an hour of cleaning parts every time you have to pull a hub, if your wheel seals are leaking running oil you probably need to adjust the bearings. Plus running oil you have a telltale when something is wrong, grease you don't know anything is wrong till the wheel falls off. Whatever floats your boat though.
There's ya an oil bath failure. The race of the bearing had all but fused itself to the spindle. I whittled away on it and aside from a small nick or two it cleaned up great. You can see all the crap I had to blow off of it. It was a farmer I do work for, when he called me his opener was "Is it bad that one of my trailer hubs with the duals on it just outran me?"
Judging by the rust I'd wager he ran it dry for a while before it seized up.
Oh the joy! I've got a bad case embedded in my brain, caused by hub seal failure and a lazy or blind seat warmer. Heavily loaded super B, 4am in the pouring rain, road side center axle on lead trailer. One sleepy 4 wheeler disregarded the cones, triangles and flashing lights, came within a foot of hitting my oxy tank, only excape was to crawl under the trailer. Not fun when you're performing delicate torch work....
I've heard this from a tow truck operator but apparently if you throw an old 2x4 out just off the shoulder, near where you're working, people will slow down and move over to avoid the wood. Sad that a piece of wood is worth more than a human life.
I'd think they'd hit the 2x4 and send it flying toward me! I even had the service truck partially blocking the slow lane with beacons flashing, I guess the idiot swerved around that then back into the lane? Scared me pretty good. I thought about chaining the axle up and getting the truck to the next pull out 100km away, but it was overloaded bad (no scale shacks, midnight run) worried I'd cause more damage. Couldn't drop the rear trailer either, soft shoulder, plus with no lights would have been an accident waiting to happen. I was young and stupid, now after learning a few lessons like this, I would tell driver to go pound sand!
I usually don't dismount the wheels to check bearings, or replace seals. I think you get a better feel for the tightness or play with the tires on. I just jack up the axle, slide a pallet jack under the tires, pull the bearing nut, and remove tires, rims, hub and all in one piece. Knock out the back bearing and seal, and reinstall, remount with the pallet jack.
No pallet jack... No concrete pad... This is Hillbilly Meck in neck
Planks and pipes, much easier than taking the wheels off the hub.
I'd rather go through it... It's old , but new to me. If I go through it... I know it's history Gotta Fly... JAM
A sheet of tin with some gear oil on it works great, too.
I guess what we're saying is that you actually see everything you need to see, and its easier to deal with the hub, with the tires on the hub, than if they are off the hub. If you remove the tires and rims, you have to deadlift the hub off, and do the same thing when going back on, and risk damaging the seal when re- installing. If you leave the tires on, you can line up the hub better with the axle to reinstall, rather than just throwing it on there. Be it with pallet jack, or tin, or plywood and a pry bar, they are all easier ways than trying it with the tires off.
The only thing I need to seal is the outside caps... ( Silicone ) No need to remove the Hub... But if I take off the tires , I can clean things up... and look at them....
Cannot tell you how many times I sat with the gas axe a four pound hammer then a slew of files and emery cloth to clean up axles like this. They got bad enough we would either weld a new stub on or just swap out axles saving the good end. TIME Consuming!! Again hand packed will smoke just like this but not near as easy or often!
Then there is the field method, pull the tires, back off the brakes, dump everything on the outside in the dirt at least four times having to clean it later twice, gorilla lift the hub assembly from the stub and drop on ground(HOPEFULLY Soft ground) and then reverse except the dropping part. And I wonder where my back issues come from! SHEESH! Even more fun on lowboys except there is usually a hoe
I got my 1 inch impact and Socket... But I need to find Hyd leaks in the Skid Steer. But looking at my Belshe Tag Trailer... I don't see the Hub and tires just sliding off... Unless I can get the trailer really high and clear the tires. I guess I'll block the back of the trailer and Lift the tongue to look at it.
The axle may oscillate enough, letting you do front first and then rear. Drive the front axle up on a big block, then jack up the rear axle, and the tires might clear. Otherwise you are going to have to pull the tires. That sure is a pretty ford, also a nice 4x4 backhoe. Dmiller- that's just hilarious, and only because I have done that exact thing.
When you take the tires off the truck its good to have spare inner and outer nuts When taking the outer nut off keep control of the gun if possible unscrew the last few threads by hand rattling then on that square inner stud really messes up the fine threads Also keep in mind that the backwards left thread on the truck wheels As far as oil I would use lucas hub oil in the hubs and 80 90 in the truck rearend
I suspect this one is single nut. Looks to be Dexter axles.
I had taken Hub pictures for my Belshe folder... .
Pin guide single lugs, lighter side Hayes similar to Dexter.
While we are on the Axle... I looked at this area for busted spring leafs or something to make this Suspension /walking beam sit at such an angle... Hmmm I'm guessing it's ok... Any knowledge about this area ? Both sides are the same angle. . Thanks for any reply. Gotta Fly... JAM
I would first look to torque control on the axles if this is a normal condition as you are not going to get much walk out of that. Next look at your spring saddles to see if possibly have shifted then the bushings in spring eyes and the beam pivot as it also appears to be riding quite high. Inspect the springs then rview the suspension layout as to where the 'long side' or slipper side of the spring is supposed to ride and whether or not there is a "H" block at one or the other end of these springs or was designed to be but is no longer. Once you get all the wheels off of one side take a photo encompassing the entire suspension as a side view, I cannot tell much more than proposed from what is here.
Also need to know the rating for trailer axle weight. This is simplified diagram but they may have reversed a set of springs before you purchased as to front or back: https://www.trailerpart.com/20ktandem.htm
Might just need to adjust your hitch, looks like the nose is a little low. Park the loaded rig on a level spot and set a level on the trailer deck. It should sit nearly level. If the nose is low, you'll have too much weight on the front axle, and you lose suspension travel, which will severely overload the front when you go through a dip.
the hitch needs to be lowered a little...But the trailer is setting pretty flat.
not level in the first pic in post #34.
No...Not perfectly level... but close enough that changing it 2 inches won't do much for the angle of that walking beam. I think they balance out more with a load... Forget I brought it up.... Gotta Fly...
Hey fella, easy there! It is off angled but not to the severity of the equalizer beam. I have a Gooseneck doing the same where it has lost arch in two springs, sits level but the beam rolls up to front, rear springs changed before I got it. Still works so I ignore it.