Brake and Bearing problem

[Invizatu]

So last Thursday I performed the following maintenance jobs on the OD side of the trailer... Repacked wheel bearings with Mobil 1 synthetic, replaced seals with Chicago Rawhide seals, adjusted brakes and cleaned, inspected and coated wheels and tires with 303 protectant. Everything went smooth and turned out great. Now here's my problem... Today I go to do the Drivers Side, I moved the trailer from one stall to another to allow access. I get the cotter pin out, remove the castle nut and retaining washer off the spindles and I can't remove the Brake Drums. They come about a 1/2 inch and then no further. As if the magnets are engaged or shoes too tight. I disconnected the battery and shore power both and no change. I hooked them back up and no change. I rotated the star wheel on one drum to loosen the shoes and still no change. Suggestions please, I am stumped. Thanks

 

[cookie]

Hard to tell by not being there, but when you pull on the drums you should hear the springs that hold the shoes together, kinda squeeking a bit.
You may have to back the adjuster off till it is all out of adjustment. You should be able to see that through the adjusting hole.
If is still don't move, start working out and try again in about a month.
Seriously, I think you just gotta pull harder after backing off the adjuster.
I think.

Peace
Dave

 

[jnbhobe]

You didn't mention if the outer bearing came off. It should slip off easily into your hand. Other than that Dave has covered everything. Back off the adjusters and check the hold down pins if they are unhooked it will let the shoes wedge in the drum.

 

[Invizatu]

Jon... I will attempt (Tuesday at this point) to back off the adjustment more, but I am unfamiliar with the hold down pins. I will check out the lippert diagram so I know what I am looking for, but if they are unhooked, how do you rehook them?
( didn't actually remove the outer bearings, but they are loose and move out when the drums move out 1/2 to 3/4 inch and then I pushed them back in, I am sure they will come out all the way if I can grab them with something and pull them the remainder of the way)

 

[jnbhobe]

http://www.easternmarine.com/12-x-2-electric-brake-assembly-lh-6k The blue spots are the hold downs if they come loose the brake shoes will try to come off with the drum

 

[Invizatu]

Hard to tell by not being there, but when you pull on the drums you should hear the springs that hold the shoes together, kinda squeeking a bit.
You may have to back the adjuster off till it is all out of adjustment. You should be able to see that through the adjusting hole.
If is still don't move, start working out and try again in about a month.
Seriously, I think you just gotta pull harder after backing off the adjuster.
I think.

Peace
Dave

Dave... Oh my god! I am almost dead and need a chiropractor!!! I got them off with brute force, but there was a time when I thought I might have to rent a wheel puller. The OD side was a breeze, they slid off and slid on like nobody's business. The Drivers side was so very hard to get off that I almost gave up. They were also somewhat difficult to get back on, needed the castle nut turning to position the hub/drum and seat the bearings. All done now and took it for a test drive, good to go! Thanks for the advice.

 

[TeJay]

Dave did explain what to do. This part I did not hear mentioned. Are your Lippert axles self-adjusting?? If they are then they self-adjusted the shoes into the drum and there is always a lip where the shoes wear into or larger than the original diameter of the drum. When you back the shoes off they reduce down below the diameter of the drum so the drum will be easier to remove. If your brakes did self-adjust then you can't back the shoe adjuster off unless you insert a small screw driver against the self-adjuster lever so you can back the star wheel off. The self-adjuster acts like a ratchet. You can only turn the wheel so it adjusts out unless you move the lever out of the way. I think you get the drift of what I'm trying to explain. Another tip. After adjusting the star wheel in sometimes banging the drum with a big hammer will shake things up and shift things around so the drums will come off.

Well you did get them off but the next time should be easier. If there was a lip created by drum wear the drums should have been machined. They should always be machined for two reason. The lip needs to be removed and the smooth surface needs to be flattened and resurfaced to provide a good friction surface for the shoes. If you did not replace the shoes they should have been sanded with 60 grit paper to remove the glazed surface. JMTCW

TeJay

 

[traveler44]

Your emergency brake cable didn't come unplugged while you were moving over did it? That will lock your brakes up and would make removing the shoes very difficult and should make moving the trailer around more difficult too. I always back off the star wheel before I remove the castle nut and try to pull the drums. If the shoes are tight you should have a hard time spinning the wheel by hand and if it isn't all that should be holding it is the lip on the drum. I didn't notice the date on the post looks like we are giving old advice.

 

[Invizatu]

Thanks for the advice all, but it did not appear to have anything to do with the brakes. This may be difficult for some to believe, but I believe it was a combination of very tight tolerances between the seal and spindle and vacum created by the grease and the close tolerances. I removed all old grease (including what was inside the easy lube spindle) cleaned everything and hand packed the bearings with Mobile 1 synthetic. When I went to reinstall them I had a lot of trouble pushing them back on and actually required turning the castle nut to get them back into position. I was a bit concerned about how tight everything appeared (especially compared to the other side that went off and on what seemed to be normal) but after mounting the wheels and giving it a spin it felt normal. I adjusted the brakes and we put about 5,000 miles (trouble free) after that.

 

[DavidCraker]

What's a good mileage distance to redo the wheel bearings? Newbie and just got over 4,000 miles on my trailer. Thanks for any information you can give.

 

[cookie]

What's a good mileage distance to redo the wheel bearings? Newbie and just got over 4,000 miles on my trailer. Thanks for any information you can give.

I think that the recommendation from the axle manufacturer is 12,000 miles or 12 months.
Some thoughts are that is over kill. Your call.
But, doing it on a regular basis will give you the opportunity to check on things like bearing and seal condition, grease and brake components. And the peace of mind that it has been done to your satisfaction.

Peace
Dave

 

[Invizatu]

What's a good mileage distance to redo the wheel bearings? Newbie and just got over 4,000 miles on my trailer. Thanks for any information you can give.

David... I think Tejay might chime in here shortly with info. based on his wealth of knowledge and expertise, but if he doesn't you might private message him. I believe that in my case, I will probably go 15k to 20k before I do them again. I think handpacking them with synthtic grease (highly recomend Mobile 1 red syn) and new double lip seals should provide for many trouble free miles. I touch the hubs everytime I stop to see if any one of them is hotter than the other. In general they stay relatively cool to warm, never hot.

 

[DavidCraker]

Thanks for the information, can always count on getting good info from this forum.

 

[TeJay]

Bret, Dave,
Thanks for the compliment. I share so people can have more trouble free camping miles. And I'm stuck at our Sons house for another week and have little to do so I'm on the forums a lot.
By using synthetic grease you're way ahead of the game. I agree with an inspection of the brake system after the first year or 12,000 miles, especially since we have the added aspect of the magnetic brakes. I have had three trailers and within the first 100 miles I replace tires, bearings with Toyo brand, new seals and hand-pack the bearings. My tire guy will give be about $40 per tire so I get it to him as soon as I can.

Following your inspection, hand packing using synthetic lube, replaced seals with double lip ones, along with correct bearing adjustment you're good to go for at least 2-3 years. Every time you perform maintenance you open yourself up to making a mistake. If the brakes work, the bearing are staying cool why bother to fix something that ain't broke. The bearing clearance won't change, the lube will last for 100,000 miles and as long as your brakes get adjusted either by you or by self-adjusters leave it alone.

TeJay