Suspension Inspection - Six Years/25,000+ Miles

[Jlawles2]

We did it without a floor jack on each end, but there were 2 of us.

https://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-...lly-58316.html with bean bags or small sand bags to cradle the axles.

Don't laugh at the name too hard, but these were handy when in WI for a winter. Useful for round object rolling resistance (put in middle let bag deform) or counterweight in the bed of the truck. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete...5960/100318522

[Yoda]

We did it without a floor jack on each end, but there were 2 of us.

https://www.harborfreight.com/30-in-...lly-58316.html with bean bags or small sand bags to cradle the axles.

Don't laugh at the name too hard, but these were handy when in WI for a winter. Useful for round object rolling resistance (put in middle let bag deform) or counterweight in the bed of the truck. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete...5960/100318522

LOL I have the HF dolly's. They are handy for a lot of stuff - finally broke one after 10 years.

[TucsonJim]

So... When Rob Cate&Rob suggests something, it pays to listen.

As I'm going through this suspension rebuild, Rob says "before you assemble everything, make sure the wet bolts are not defective by pumping grease in them". Great idea. I've only installed one wet bolt so far, I'll check all the other ones to make sure they work fine. After all, they're from MorRyde, what can go wrong? All of the wet bolts easily passed grease through them! BUT - I had a teeny tiny nagging feeling about the one I'd already installed. But, if statistics mean anything, if you have 13 wet bolts that take grease, what are the odds that one won't? I'll tell you what the odds are - they are 100% that son of a gun is defective. I had the entire suspension assembled and all the bolts took grease.... EXCEPT ONE!!! Yep, that rascal would not take grease at all.

So I removed the wet bolt that was holding the CRE3000 to the hanger, and tried pumping grease while it was out of the RV. No dice. It was plugged solid!! I took it to the garage and switched the zerk. Still plugged. Come to find out, the small hole on the side of the bolt was not drilled all the way through. I put the proper size drill bit in the drill press and had to drill a few thousandths before it opened up. I put the zerk back in, and boy, did that baby take grease!!! Yipee. Ten minutes later it was reinstalled and torqued with a new nut and took grease just fine.

There are two lessons.

1. Try pumping grease through new wet bolts BEFORE installing them.
2. Listen to Rob.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the compliment . . . Murphy is always watching over whatever we do. You can guess how I learned that not all wet bolts are correctly drilled .

Rob

[Yoda]

So... When Rob Cate&Rob suggests something, it pays to listen.

As I'm going through this suspension rebuild, Rob says "before you assemble everything, make sure the wet bolts are not defective by pumping grease in them". Great idea. I've only installed one wet bolt so far, I'll check all the other ones to make sure they work fine. After all, they're from MorRyde, what can go wrong? All of the wet bolts easily passed grease through them! BUT - I had a teeny tiny nagging feeling about the one I'd already installed. But, if statistics mean anything, if you have 13 wet bolts that take grease, what are the odds that one won't? I'll tell you what the odds are - they are 100% that son of a gun is defective. I had the entire suspension assembled and all the bolts took grease.... EXCEPT ONE!!! Yep, that rascal would not take grease at all.

So I removed the wet bolt that was holding the CRE3000 to the hanger, and tried pumping grease while it was out of the RV. No dice. It was plugged solid!! I took it to the garage and switched the zerk. Still plugged. Come to find out, the small hole on the side of the bolt was not drilled all the way through. I put the proper size drill bit in the drill press and had to drill a few thousandths before it opened up. I put the zerk back in, and boy, did that baby take grease!!! Yipee. Ten minutes later it was reinstalled and torqued with a new nut and took grease just fine.

There are two lessons.

1. Try pumping grease through new wet bolts BEFORE installing them.
2. Listen to Rob.

Jim

Wow
Now I get to have fun checking all the wet bolts I have in the MorRyde kit and those from the X-Factors. Good to know this going in. Jim - can you explain how you determined which hole needed to be deepened? Did you just insert a stiff wire and compare depths? Hope I don't need it but I do now have a drill press - some assembly required.

Thanks
Keith

[TucsonJim]

Wow
Now I get to have fun checking all the welt bolts I have in the MorRyde kit and those from the X-Factors. Good to know this going in. Jim - can you explain how you determined which hole needed to be deepened? Did you just insert a stiff wire and compare depths? Hope I don't need it but I do now have a drill press - some assembly required.

Thanks
Keith

Once I established it was not passing grease, I removed the zerk fitting and stuck a small drill bit down the main hole. This drill bit went in deeper than the side hole, so I knew the main hole was drilled deep enough. Then, I pushed a small drill bit in the small hole while rotating the larger drill bit. I couldn't feel the larger bit spinning, so I knew the small hole wasn't deep enough. I drilled the small hole just a little deeper and you could feel the drill bit pop into the main cavity. After that, the grease flowed nicely.

Jim

[Yoda]

This may sound like a dumb question. In what orientation do you put the grease outlet hole during installation, or does it matter? I understand that a 6 OC it could be under suspension pressure and hard to grease, but that is that not where the grease needs to go. Is the 5-7 orientation better or 4-8? I have read folks say 3-9 position to have the least pressure. Maybe I am over engineering this - like usual

Keith

[Cate&Rob]

Yoda Hi Keith,

If the grease opening is pushed hard against the bushing, you will not likely be able to push the grease in. I know that it seems like this is where the grease would be needed the most . . . but, first we have to get it into the small clearance space between the bolt and the bushing. As the suspension moves, the grease will creep around the entire space . . . at least, that is the plan. The 3 or 9 o'clock positions are usually not on the heavily loaded path, so this is what most choose.

The point of the earlier discussion is that, even though MorRyde knows this, they provide components with the grease opening at random angles, requiring disassembly of bolts and shackles and proper alignment before installation.

Rob

[TucsonJim]

So I finished the suspension and bearing maintenance and put the tires back on this afternoon. When I compared the old springs to the new springs, the two on the kitchen side of the trailer were about 1/2" shorter with no load. After six years and lots of miles, this did not surprise me.

But, I built a brick slab to park on and set it to the correct height so the trailer was level from side to side. I was using my Level Mate Pro to adjust the hitch so that I was level from front to back. But interestingly, the Level Mate Pro shows that the heavy side is now 1-1/4" higher than it used to be. So I guess my spring sag under load was a little more pronounced than I though it was.

Jim

[Yoda]

So I finished the suspension and bearing maintenance and put the tires back on this afternoon. When I compared the old springs to the new springs, the two on the kitchen side of the trailer were about 1/2" shorter with no load. After six years and lots of miles, this did not surprise me.

But, I built a brick slab to park on and set it to the correct height so the trailer was level from side to side. I was using my Level Mate Pro to adjust the hitch so that I was level from front to back. But interestingly, the Level Mate Pro shows that the heavy side is now 1-1/4" higher than it used to be. So I guess my spring sag under load was a little more pronounced than I though it was.

Jim

Jim does that mean you need to go on a diet like me? Sorry

BTW I started through my MorRyde kit and so far I have found all the grease holes at the 3 OC position or close on the fabricated HD shackles. I still need to check more. I still need to get my axles ordered - been busy shoveling snow . I plan to mark the other wet bolts by the zerks for the proper orientation when installed..Did you ever get a picture of your blocking system?

Thanks - Keith

[Jlawles2]

Has anyone ever considered taking a file or grinder to the wet bolts? Small lowered area (use round file to avoid notch) "groove" to allow the grease to get between the surfaces if clocked wrong? I know in some of our hydraulic jacks at work, they machine circular grooves and a cross way so oil can get under the piston if it's all the way down. Anytime you get fluid between the surfaces it helps to "lift" and possible get the fluid around to flow.

[TucsonJim]

Jlawles2

I'd considered drilling the grease hole all the way through the bolt in order to give the grease two paths to exit. But I'm not a mechanical engineer so I couldn't determine if that would put the bolt strength at risk.

Jim

[Guest]

Jlawles2

I'd considered drilling the grease hole all the way through the bolt in order to give the grease two paths to exit. But I'm not a mechanical engineer so I couldn't determine if that would put the bolt strength at risk.

Jim

Jim,

Less material, less strength. I would not do it. It would be nice if the spring eye was larger to accept a proper fitted grooved bushing. the 3 and 9 positions are best as well as a high pressure grease gun.

Jim

[Yoda]

Jlawles2

I'd considered drilling the grease hole all the way through the bolt in order to give the grease two paths to exit. But I'm not a mechanical engineer so I couldn't determine if that would put the bolt strength at risk.

Jim

I would be very leery of doing that - maybe at a different location. That would be a good question for GD, Lippert, MorRyde, or a wet bolt manufacturer.

[Jlawles2]

It would not take a deep groove, almost like a decent scratch, and yes it's probably in the worst spot. Ideal would be a spiral in the bronze bushing or on the pin.

Again, anything to help promote getting grease around the bolt vs it running dry b/c no one wants to figure out how to unload the bolt to force grease in it.