Wheel Bearing / Brake Maintenance

Thanks Bob

As suggested, I too thought that the brake drum & hub would simply slide off after removing the split pin, nut & washer. I have only tried one brake drum (Rear passenger side with hand brake system) so far and it appears to be stuck on. It spins freely on the axle so I assume this means that the brake shoes are not holding it. I shall give it a harder tap from behind to see if this will loosen it.

Regards
Greg

Is the outer bearing cone loose?
It will normally slide free once the nut has been removed.

If the outer bearing cone has been moving on the axle it can form a miniscule shoulder on the stub making it difficult to remove.
I severe cases you will need to rent/buy/borrow a puller.

Try with 2 large screwdrivers or similar levers to get between the rollers on the bearing and lever against the drum housing.
Use care not to damage the cage.

Let me know how you go.

Bob

My experience with drum brakes is that you usually have to put some clearance in the system by backing off the adjuster before removing the drum.
Give that a try and I think you'll find that the drum slips off without the use of a large "Persuader".

Jeff

Some previous discussion on brakes and bearings Here

Bob

Bob

Thanks

Bob

Hi Bob

Brakes again caused us trouble last year. After our breakaway pin came out while travelling, we got the brakes checked at Mt Isa. They were badly worn after only 10,000 kms. Two magnets had been replaced when brakes were re-wired and serviced before leaving. One of these now also needed the backing plate replaced - this was nothing to do with the breakaway pin incident, because it was on the one wheel that the brakes were not working (cable yet again). We had the parts sent to Longreach, where we found a truck mechanical workshop willing to do the job. The fittings seemed unduly 'slack' but Richard at NP Hauffe and Co assured us that was normal. After that we had periodic embarrassing squeals and skids when one wheel would lock up spasmodically. Further down the track at Gloucester we found a very helpful mechanic who spent some time re-adjusting the brakes and we had not further problems after that.

Motherhen

Maybe at this years Muster we could have a Brakes & Bearings Workshop.

I will put it on the agenda.

Bob

Stephen & Deborah

Thanks for your posting, very timely

Bob

When we had a tow hitch failure, the cable broke, and the pin was not pulled. The cable had developed a weak point. Luckily the chains held, although after the very short drag on the road under the a-frame they were rather worn and had to be replaced.

Like many, we run our breakaway cable through the chains and attach it with the d-clamps. This would be useless if the whole tow bar assembly came free (it has happened but not to us), but to attach it to a different point on the vehicle would leave the cable more exposed with a greater chance of accidental pin pulling whilst driving. "Between the devil and the deep blue sea".

You will also know if the breakaway is operating when the pin is pulled by watching the battery levels plummet. Jacking up and trying to spin the wheels is a more certain way to test.

Motherhen

Thanks to Freewheelers and Motherhen.

Breakaway switch checked and found not to be working.
Traced the problem further down the line to a broken join.

BT Forum worth every cent!!!!

Bob

Hi Bob & Wendy

Certainly worth every cent to us too. Like when a couple of years ago we were at Alice Springs and were loosing power. Panic set in, as we seemed to have a short somewhere and could not find it. The battery charger at full power coud not keep pace with the loss, and the only two 12 volt power businesses were working out of town for a couple of weeks. A quick question on the BOG members forum, and within five minutes, Noosa Fox gave us the answer. The breakaway pin had been knocked out accidentally (while my husband was replacing the D clamps on the safety chains). We well may have thought of it eventually but as we were in panic mode, neither of us thought of it in the hours we had been working on the problem. Now how much was that worth?

Motherhen

Hi All

Thanks for all the great advice & recommendations. I am now a little wiser and better equipped. Bob's idea of using two screwdrivers to encourage the outer wheel bearing to remove itself from the hub worked really well. This has only been a problem with one wheel so far. The outer bearing on the other wheel that I removed simply came off (As they should & would normally do) as I pulled the hub off by hand.

Some of the difficulty of removing the hub/bearing was likely due to my slack maintenance schedule. The grease was also dirty in the inner parts of the hub/bearings. Obviously removing the dust cap, seeing as new grease on the outer bearing & assuming all is the same inside does not always work. In future I shall do an overhaul/check every 12 to 18 months or 15,000 k's. Regardless of the mileage, I always do a 12 month service on my boat trailers and have never had a problem.

Some years ago I purchased a Timken product, Part No FT 001, which is a 'Wheel Bearing Fitting Tool' for pressing tapered roller bearing cups into wheel hubs. Unfortunately these only suit the smaller cups, so in the case of our 19' BT with HD suspension, is useful only for the smaller outer 'cup'. For the larger inner 'cup' I went to an engineering works and had a similar tool made to suit. Turning an old 'cup' down to use as a bedding/pressing tool also sounds like a good idea.

Our BT brakes seem to be in good working order with plenty of wear left in the brake shoes so I shall leave them alone for now and replace them with the ALCO offroad style when required. From all reports, this seems to be the way to go.

Thanks again for all the advice.
Regards
Greg