Chassis Forgive me Father for I have sinned...

jazzeddie1234

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May 19, 2016
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...it's been 3 years of trips since my last bearing service :o

2 down, 2 to go. Bearings look ok but the grease didn't have another trip in it. Also replacing the magnets that I repaired in Newman a couple of years ago.
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As penance my two jacks needed servicing first
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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When I pack the bearings I have grease oozing out of them really well, I also do a 3/4 pack of the hub, some Poo poo the idea but I look at it as more grease in there to displace any water, don't pack the hub fully or it can leak out into the brake area, not good, been doing it that way on my Fourby's for decades and never screwed a bearing and never had one flushed by water, have found water inside but never stuffed up the grease as more grease than water where the usual lick and spit bearing pack the water gets straight into the bearing and washes out the grease instead of getting trapped in the hub ..........

It does look like you got them in time as the bearing seal surface is looking chatty, give it a dust up with wet and dry and when you put it back together make sure it has a smear of grease over it and a good smear on the inside of the seal so it stays lubed....

I try to put Dry Lube on the surfaces that the arm rubs on, seems to last better than other stuff .... pics of worn out backing plates and stuff from rubbing is really a sign of no maintenance or really poor...
 
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Drover

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Now you have made me feel guilty as my Service Board shows I haven't looked at mine since I replaced the shoes and magnets but I have given them the shake test and they don't get warm when driving ..... which is okay, how often does anyone check their tugs bearings I wonder, I just do a hub feel every so often and a shake when I rotate the wheels .................... old Jeep I had to pull an axle and replace a bearing, on a Dana diff thats a fun job .. drill, chisel and a hot torch.
 
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Hitting the road

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Jan 14, 2022
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Hmmm...I gotta do the wheel bearings in my van over the next few weeks too. The last time I had them out, cleaned and greased them, was before doing the lap...they appeared ok then so reused them with no issues since. They have covered around 36,000kms since I bought the van, and I don't know whether they are original or were replaced by the previous owner.
Not sure if I should just replace them all, or clean and check both cups & cones and if ok re-use?
 
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Drover

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Hmmm...I gotta do the wheel bearings in my van over the next few weeks too. The last time I had them out, cleaned and greased them, was before doing the lap...they appeared ok then so reused them with no issues since. They have covered around 36,000kms since I bought the van, and I don't know whether they are original or were replaced by the previous owner.
Not sure if I should just replace them all, or clean and check both cups & cones and if ok re-use?
If done properly should last the life of van or longer, Big Mals are 13 yrs old and when cleaned up spin smoothly so get repacked and refitted, new seals though is the thing as they get hard so crap gets into the hub.... I carry a spare set which I greased up as the original was just a smear, and they are all in a vac seal bag....

I put a good dob of grease inside the hub and a dob inside the cap, don't go overboard or it just ends up running everywhere when it gets hot and expands, will even push the cap off... Basically if the bearing spins nice when clean and dry with no blemishes, blue/purple colours then its good to get repacked and reused, if it growls when clean and shows some coloured spots its been cooked .... You can do a good job of packing but a poor job of tensioning them up, my way is to tighten up, spin wheel then tighten till wheel won't turn, then back off till I can get 1 or 2 free turns out of it, adjust brakes then go for a spin around the block, (hate it) then check hubs for heat, spin and shake....... use torque wrench on wheel nuts...................Next trip stop half hour down the road, pull up with little brake use, check hub temp then I know all good ... half hour still close to home and long enough to show if things are too tight, no use doing it hours down the road..... It is a job that all shoudl be able to do just like brakes.
 
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jazzeddie1234

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May 19, 2016
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I set my bearing preload with a spanner to just on where it feels tight and then back off to the first hole for the pin. The ute on the other hand has the preload relatively tight in caparison.

Next time will be a major service with new backing plates and possibly new hubs as they are pretty tired after so many dirt roads
 

Drover

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I go full tight then back off to bed the bearing and grease then back off to do a few spins before final tension, then the bearing should be settled and hopefully not need further adjustment ................................
Big Mal is now 13, somewhere between 90 and 100K km I guess, I have pulled my backing plates off, given them a good clean up, all good no score marks or cracks, so repainted and refitted and the drums no hot spots on drum or bearing surface, measured well within the specs so refitted......... done that twice so far I think along with spring service. with close look at axle surface .. Last time I was sure new drums would be the go but still okay, just new magnets and shoes, I do brake with gears a lot when towing where possible, big hills etc, saving the smokers for those Oh Sh*t moments......
 

Hitting the road

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Jan 14, 2022
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You blokes use the same method as I do...I have always after refitting tightened the axle nut until the hub is difficult to turn to seat the bearing, back it off then tighten up again, then back off again to the first split pin hole if suitable...once the wheel is refitted spinning it a few times just to ensure spinning freely.

I do brake with gears a lot when towing where possible, big hills etc, saving the smokers for those Oh Sh*t moments......

Yep absolutely...though I should really check the brake shoes and magnets, they were all pretty good last time I had the drums off...and as I don't ride the brakes or use them unnecessarily, or have the brake controller in the tug cranked up they hopefully will still be right to go...

I am sure we have all followed another van down a bit of a hill that has the brake lights burning all the way down...and the brakes more than likely...lol
I recall too a few years ago watching a bloke head to the gate of a Park, every time he touched the tug's brakes the van was locking the wheels up on the gravelly exit road...bit too high on the brake controller I reckon, I am sure when he was hitting the tug's brakes the van was actually slowing him down.

The drums are quite scored on mine so wasn't sure if they could be be machined at a reasonable cost compared to new

Brake drums fortunately have gotten quite cheap these days, machining them may work, but if the scores are deep the drums may not be able to be saved, plus getting shoes to suit might be difficult...