Amarley Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 I got in a rush and didn't check my trailer bearings before my first fishing trip of the year this Saturday. Ended up having to tow my boat back to town on the back of a flatbed. Got the boat back to change my bearings and ran into some issues with the spindle. A race is stuck on the right side spindle from overheating. I have been told two things about this current issue: 1. You can get a torch, heat up the spindle and slide it off. Move forward with replacing bearings. or 2. If a race is stuck on the spindle, it's likely the spindle is damaged or out of round, so doing number 1 above will only delay a bigger problem. This person recommended replacing the whole axle. Has anyone ran into this problem before? Any suggestions on how to handle? I know one thing, I'll always check my grease, seals and bearings several times a year from now on. Thanks Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted March 10, 2014 Super User Posted March 10, 2014 You might be able to break the race with a hammer and chisel. Just be sure to wear a jacket and a face shield. If pieces brake off, they are like sharp bullets and will penetrate skin. Once you get the race off, you can probably clean the spindle up. Quote
Koofy Smacker Posted March 10, 2014 Posted March 10, 2014 Pardon my confusion, but races are pushed into the hubs which then have the bearings sitting between the race and spindle. How is the race stuck on the spindle? If the race is stuck in the hub then I would just replace the whole hub assemblies with new bearings races etc. Inspect the spindle for any damage and if there is some youll want to replace it. Quote
Super User ww2farmer Posted March 10, 2014 Super User Posted March 10, 2014 Are you sure it's the "race" and not the what's left of the bearing? Being on a farm for 30 years I have seen some god awful wheel bearing disasters, and plenty of them too, and I have never seen a race stuck to a spindle. Quote
BassnChris Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Sometimes the inner race spins on the spindle.....'welding' itself to the spindle. Had this happen on a truck once. Cut the race off with a torch....... 'Sanded' the spindle smooth with Emory cloth and everything was fine. Edit: I do not endorse or condone cutting off the race with a torch.....just what I did as a young man. 1 Quote
Gelhar17 Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I had something similar happen last year. I was able to get the race off but very slightly damaged it in the process. Dont risk an imperfect race because it will destroy your bearing in a hurry. I picked up new complete hub assembly's at northern tool for $40 a piece. Cheap investment for peace of mind! Quote
Koofy Smacker Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Sometimes the inner race spins on the spindle.....'welding' itself to the spindle. Had this happen on a truck once. Cut the race off with a torch....... 'Sanded' the spindle smooth with Emory cloth and everything was fine. Edit: I do not endorse or condone cutting off the race with a torch.....just what I did as a young man. Never knew that. Does the inner race disconnect from the bearing itself? Im in learning mode here. Ive redone my trailer bearings a few times and it was just the outer races and bearings in the hub with nothing else. Im guessing the inner races come as part of the bearing assembly itself? Quote
Super User ww2farmer Posted March 11, 2014 Super User Posted March 11, 2014 Allright....I never call that part the "inner race", but I know what your talking about, and yes I HAVE seen that part stuck to the spindle many many times. I just cut it off with the torch too, you have to be uber careful not to cut into the spindle. Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted March 11, 2014 Super User Posted March 11, 2014 I'm assuming he's referring to the bearings inner race where the bearing has come apart. One thing to check is to make sure the spindle didn't get eat up by the hub. If you have access to a tourch that bad race can be cut off. If it put a mark or two in the spindle, file it smooth and run it. If you have a Northern Tools they should have new spindles and hubs where you can just have that one cut off and install a new one if it's messed up too bad. That a whole lot cheaper than an axle. Quote
BassnChris Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Never knew that. Does the inner race disconnect from the bearing itself? Im in learning mode here. Ive redone my trailer bearings a few times and it was just the outer races and bearings in the hub with nothing else. Im guessing the inner races come as part of the bearing assembly itself? Inner race is the part that slides onto the spindle. Quote
Koofy Smacker Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Inner race is the part that slides onto the spindle. isnt that part of the bearing itself? To give you insight as to where my questions are coming from I have the EZ lube spindles on my axle where you pull the hub off and its a clean spindle. In the hub there are the outer races and the bearings. That is it and they slide right onto the spindles with the seals touching the spindle Quote
BassnChris Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Not a very good image.....but here it is. It's the part the inside of the bearings run on. Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted March 11, 2014 Super User Posted March 11, 2014 I had that happen to me on a travel trailer and didn't see the problem until a guy pulled me over. By then there was a fire and the brakes burned up. I took a chisel and cut off the frozen race. I filed the spindle back smooth put new bearings in and went on home. Later I replaced the brake. I used that trailer for several more years then sold it to a friend 9 years ago. It is still going strong. Quote
Super User WIGuide Posted March 11, 2014 Super User Posted March 11, 2014 isnt that part of the bearing itself? To give you insight as to where my questions are coming from I have the EZ lube spindles on my axle where you pull the hub off and its a clean spindle. In the hub there are the outer races and the bearings. That is it and they slide right onto the spindles with the seals touching the spindle I found a little better image, the inner race would be the part with the code stamped on it. It's the part that will be in contact with the spindle. In the break down the bearing separated from that and the inner race is frozen to to the spindle. Quote
BassnChris Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I found a little better image, the inner race would be the part with the code stamped on it. It's the part that will be in contact with the spindle. In the break down the bearing separated from that and the inner race is frozen to to the spindle. Much better image. Quote
Amarley Posted March 11, 2014 Author Posted March 11, 2014 Thought you guys may like seeing a picture of what's going on. I'll never get in a hurry to fish without checking the grease and seals on my bearings! It's not fun waiting for a tow truck with your boat on the side of the highway. It's the inner race stuck on the spindle. I've got a guy coming over tonight to help me get the race off the spindle. Hopefully, I'll be back in business this weekend. Quote
Amarley Posted March 11, 2014 Author Posted March 11, 2014 Just as a word of advice from spending a couple days on this, Tractor Supply has been a huge help. Had all the parts I needed for pretty cheap. I went to every auto parts store in town and nobody knew what they were doing as well as Tractor Supply. New complete bearing kits with seals for $20 apiece, marine grease for $4 a tube and bearing buddies for about $25/pair. Definitely worth less than $100 in new parts every year to keep safe on the road. Quote
BassnChris Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 Just an FYI......I keep 2 sets with my boat.........just in case I have any issues on the road.......and grease too. Quote
Amarley Posted March 11, 2014 Author Posted March 11, 2014 That's definitely a good idea. How often do you change the grease? Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted March 11, 2014 Super User Posted March 11, 2014 Put on a set of greasable axle hubs and you should not have any problems or have to repack them. Mine have been on for 13 years now and I have only looked into them once and that was when I was making a 2000 mile trip with the boat. Quote
BassnChris Posted March 11, 2014 Posted March 11, 2014 I generally repack once a year........this year I just added some grease through the bearing buddy........but thinking I am gonna repack them this year too. Really because of the Bass Resource Road Trip. Quote
Super User Way2slow Posted March 12, 2014 Super User Posted March 12, 2014 Just one word of caution. While you are working with trying to get that race off, be careful and don't put any marks on the section of spindle just behind it. That's a smooth, Machined surface for the seal to run on. Nicks and dings in it can cause the seal not to seal or cause it to eat the seal up. A few marks on the spindle doesn't bother a thing. Just file and sand smooth until the bearing will go on. Just don't get carried away with the file and make it too small and let the bearing spin on it. A little green locktite will take care of that too. It just won't be easy to get back off next time. Quote
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