Axle orientation - Right from Left? and Install Tips

[Yoda]

OK I did a search on this and nothing comes up here - but I could have missed something . A lot of instructions and videos stress to be sure you have the axle orientation right as brakes must be on the correct side to work properly. My new axles are supposed to be fully assembled, including brakes and hub mounted, so how do you tell which side is which?

I have been reading and viewing up on how to do the install my new axles and what I will need to do the job correct the first time. There are a few sketchy videos out there with what I consider inadequate support, etc. My lift table should come in handy

From a few videos I have watched is it safe to assume the following for Dexter axles. Etrailer has a few good install videos.

Axle tag should face the rear. My existing Dexter axles have identification tag to rear

Loose pigtail goes to drivers side and pre-connected brake wiring (wiring from tube is connected up) is street side. Right now my axles get power from the driver side - is that standard?

This on is a bit confusing, but the orientation of the backing plat when viewed from the back. I know the plates are different for each side. Are thier identification marks?

Install spring eye into fix hanger first, then the shackle end - all after center EZ-Flex assembly is installed. Shackles are last as spring/axle are swung into place. And watch for shackle inversion and be ready for the flip, or is there a way to prevent this during install?

Last - Make sure the knurled section of the wet bolt is fully seated before tightening the nut. In other words don't use the nut to pull the wet bolt home. Grease opening should be at the 3 or 9 OC position and mark the wet bolts first. Should I remove the zerk's before install to prevent damage or use the zerk nut flange to hold the socket in place for my C-Clamp or ball joint press?

As I mentioned the axles should come fully assembled, except for springs. Should I mess with the bearings at all, or just got with the factory set up. I really don't want to pull a brand new hub.apart unless it is really necessary. I do plan to do the basic end play and smooth rotation check.

Thanks for any help

Keith

[Jlawles2]

I'll skip all of the reading for a moment and tell you the axles are assembled such that the magnet wires enter the tube from the REAR.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I would compare new axles with old and orient the brakes the same. Decal placement on the tube would not be good enough for me.
The shackle and spring eye bolts go in together..so to speak....if the bolts are already pressed into a shackle plate. If not you can do them kind of separate, but still in the same operation.
I avoided shackle inversion by keeping the axle supported. You will need to load/unload the axle a bit at a time to align the bolts anyway.
Personally, I used the nut to pull the knurled bolt into position. I also do it that way on drums and bearing assy's. Never failed yet. On trailers, hold the bolt from rotating with a wrench while you crank on the nut.
Don't bother messing with the new bearings unless excess slop is noted.
Before you remove the old axles. measure where they are. From the front frame back to the each axle. And diagonally from the king pin to each axle. I used a plum bob and placed a marker on the driveway. Before you tighten up the new axles, get them in the same place as the originals.

[Guest]

Keith,

You can use the nut to aid in driving the pin in. Tighten the nut but not to full torque, then drive the pin in. Alternate between putting tension on the nut and driving the pin in. When the pin is flush with the hanger, torque the nut.

Jim

[TucsonJim]

Keith. Brake wires on the driver's side are standard. So you can use that to help orient the axles. If you're concerned at all, just pull one of the hubs to verify. The brake shoe with the smaller friction surface area is the primary pad, and it should face the front.

I wouldn't worry about the bearings until it's time to service them next year. I know of very few owners who worked on the bearings when their coach was delivered. Since you have complete axles, they are set up and ready to roll. P.S. I was one of those owners who replaced the bearings on day 1. I replaced them with Timken bearings. But these were the old LCI axles and I had leaking grease seals anyway. Your Dexter axles should be fine.

Jim

[Scott'n'Wendy]

You're not doing this in the snow are you?

[Yoda]

You're not doing this in the snow are you?

Heck NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! What good would I be here with a frozen hiney?

I should be ordering the axles today (6 to 8 weeks out), I am reading up (researching) on how to do the install correctly. By correct, it's not doing what half the you tube folks are. Example -One Morryde install a guy used a high power torque wrench to spin the BOLT (knurls and all) , not the nut to remove them. Also to install. He also installed the shackle spring end first and then had trouble installing the fixed end. Several used the nut to pull the knurl home, but numerous Morryde threads say not to do that as the bolt can be striped in the process. The issue was folks over torquing the bolts to pull the knurl home.

I plan to fully seat the knurls before tightening the nuts and being careful with orientation (marking the bolt head) as Jim mention in his tip thread.. I also plan to grease/flush all the wet bolts before installing to make sure they take grease and clean out any debris. A tip I learned here, but cant remember if it was Howard or Jim that mentioned it.

I'm just researching and looking for tips, like using my lift table as a separate safety block and stabilizer (it cant roll sideways). Hooking the truck up to stabilize for/aft movement was also mentioned, also as a safety against front jack failure.. This with all the tips here is helping me put together a shopping list. I know I need another set or two of jack stands (might borrow those), and to fix my broken furniture dolly (HF) I am good on floor jacks as I found my small lost one, so I have two - one for each end of the axle. Ill shop a few yard sales too.

Question - should I use anti seize on the inside of the spring eye and outside of the busing as recommended by a couple of articles, or is greasing the inside of the eye and outside of the bushings before install the same? I was also going to pre-grease the inside of the bushing, but wondering if the possibly getting grease on the wet bolt threads would be an issue in the proper torquing?.

Second question - one video the gentleman just jacked the frame up a few inches to install the jack stands leaving the tires still in contact with the ground. Then jacked each tire up (pad under U-bolts) to remove the tires and then lower the axle down. When done the axles were closer to the ground and seemed to appear easier to get at than in other videos. As my drive is slightly sloped I kind of like this approach. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help everyone
Keith

[Jlawles2]

You would need to know the unsprung distance from the frame to the ground in order to jack up the axle slightly and use a stand, then remove the tires. Also note that you will need a really short jack to do this as you loose potentially most of the distance from the ground to the bottom of the drum.

When you go to put the new wet bolts in, look for the existing knurling notches and align them. This will minimize the effort needed to push the bolts in place. You might also want to get a shim or cut 2 pcs of pipe to put between the hanger tabs to prevent bending them possibly. This same pipe could potentially have enough inside clearance to use as the thread protector on the bolt as it pokes through the second tab.

And since I have a large throat C-Clamp that is "SPRUNG" I am going to suggest : https://www.mcmaster.com/boiler-clamps/ the heavy duty ones as an option to minimize the potential for the normal cap clamp to jump off the bolt as it tweaks.

Another alternative may be a thick (ish) plate with a hole and a 2 jaw puller if there is one in your kit of stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Single-Puller...a-875266336967

[TedS]

Yoda from etrailer.

If the wires exit the axle tube, the wires are to the back.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Saw this today at WalMart....

made me think of a bearded guy eating salmon.......

[Yoda]

Saw this today at WalMart....

made me think of a bearded guy eating salmon.......

Its just not the same - needs a sawzall