Table of Contents
For adequate trailer wheel bearing maintenance, you need to check your bearings on a regular basis. Jack up the trailer and secure it on adequate capacity jack stands. Check wheels for side-to-side looseness – There should be a very slight amount of play in the wheel, typically 1/8-inch or less.
How much wheel bearing play is too much?
For context, the tolerable end-play for truck wheel bearings is the same: 0.001 to 0.005 inches, also expressed as 1 to 5 mil or 0.025 to 0.127 mm. In other words, it’s perfectly acceptable to adjust wheel bearings so that they are just a little bit loose, but not too loose.
How loose Should trailer hubs be?
The hub should spin freely, with a bit of brake lining drag. There should be a little bit of end play (wobble), but not much. At this point, o make sure the hub is seated properly, back off the castle nut until it is loose.
How tight should a wheel bearing nut be?
The nut on the spindle should be tightened until snug, with no side-to-side play in the hub and then backed off, about a quarter of a turn. The nut finger should be tight until the castle nut or cotter pin is used.
How often should you pack trailer wheel bearings?
How often should you repack your trailer bearings? The axle manufacturers recommend that you repack your trailer bearings once annually or every 12,000 km.
How do you preload trailer bearings?
To pre-load the bearings, install the spindle washer and spindle nut onto the spindle with the hub and bearings in place. Tighten the spindle nut finger tight (until snug) and then with channel-lock pliers or a crescent wrench, tighten the spindle nut another 1/4 turn or about 15 to 20 ft pounds of torque.
How much play should a bearing have?
A slight bit of play, about 1/32″ to 3/32″, measured by how much movement you get when grabbing the top and bottom of a raised and rocking top to bottom. when I worked on cars there was a flat washer between the bearing and the castilated nut. that was should be able to be slid back n forth by a screwdriver.
How much tire play is normal?
Most passenger cars will recommend 32 psi to 35 psi in the tires when they’re cold. The reason you check tire pressure when they’re cold is that as tires roll along the road, friction between them and the road generates heat, increasing both the temperature and the air pressure.
Can you tighten a loose wheel bearing?
If it is a taper roller wheel bearing , yes it can be adjusted . Remove the cotter pin ( with the wheel off the ground ) and rotate the wheel clockwise , tighten the nut until all slack is removed from the wheel .
How much does it cost to replace wheel bearings on a trailer?
Some Class A RV owners have stated that it cost anything from $300 to $500 to replace the bearings. Depending on how much you use your trailer and how many miles you get on it, you can wait till about 20,000 miles before your wheel bearing has to be repacked.
What happens when trailer bearings fail?
Improper maintenance of your wheel bearings isn’t just a risk to yourself; not properly servicing your wheel bearings can compromise the safety of the passengers in the tow vehicle and those that share the road with you. Failure to maintain axle bearings can cause your wheels to fall off while the trailer is in motion.
How often should you grease utility trailer wheel bearings?
Proper lubrication helps maintain functionality and reliability of your trailer’s axle(s). Bearings should be lubricated approximately every 12 months or 12,000 miles unless otherwise specified by the axle manufacturer.
Should a wheel bearing spin freely?
Originally Answered: Should wheel bearings spin freely? Yes, but only when the weight of the wheel and tire is on them. When they’re loose and packed with grease, they’re kind of sticky. They actually should never even be hand right.
Are axle nuts one time use?
The shop manual warns not to reuse the axle nut, so I trotted off to the parts store for a new one. I’m referring to the special nuts on major components like axle shafts and ball joints where a lost (or loosened) nut can cause accidents, even fatal accidents.
Can you over grease trailer wheel bearings?
They keep grease packed into the hub. munchy wrote: More grease is never the right answer. Overgreasing can actually cause the rollers/balls to slide over the bearing surface rather than roll over them.
Can you over grease trailer bearings?
There’s no such thing as too much grease for bearings! You would not pack grease in the hub otherwise and not in the drum since the brakes would not be able to grab with grease in the hub. Grease caps, dust caps, and bearing protectors have to be installed right to avoid losing them.
Can you over grease a bearing?
When it comes to regreasing bearings, more is not always the better option and actually can be a costly mistake. Too much grease volume (overgreasing) in a bearing cavity will cause the rotating bearing elements to begin churning the grease, pushing it out of the way, resulting in energy loss and rising temperatures.
