Tackling Bearings (Lessons Along the Way)

[Country Campers]

Howard,

Just a guess on my part but I think that those tabs were bent when installed, this would keep them tight in place and not rattle. On most vehicles there is some sort of anti rattle spring plate so the brake pads do not rattle when going down the bumpy roads. When they installed these pads they only push so far in, the bar in the middle of the pad, so they bend the tab at the end so the pad is not loose. I would not worry about bending the tab or give it a little bend after the caliper is installed if you want.

Brian

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Howard,

FWIW, the rear seal does not have to be set flush. As long as it is square to the recess it can be set a little deeper. The reason that the seal bore is deeper than the thickness of the seal is so that the seal can be set deeper to avoid wear grooves in the spindle if these are present from the previous seal.

The pads that came with the EoH kit from Stop Your Trailer that I installed myself, are semi-metallic and are wearing evenly inner and outer. I have had the calipers off twice (for bearing repack) and the sleeves were not seized. I lube these with grease intended for this purpose. I did not bend over the tabs on the outer shoes (actually never heard of this until I saw the etrailer video that you linked) After many thousands of miles, I cannot detect any problem caused by not bending over the tabs.

Rob

[Jlawles2]

Howard, to bend the tab if needed, apply power to the brakes so the pump clamps on the rotor and using a punch, drive the tab down.

Some say the seal seating farther down in the hub is there for when a groove gets worn into the axle shaft so you can get a new sealing area. I would not worry about it, you will be back in there in 24 months doing it all over again, hopefully without the pad replace.

[Cate&Rob]

Not that I'm a brake engineer, but dang these seem poorly designed . . .

The problems that you are encountering go directly back to incorrect original installation by MORryde . . . not poor design of the parts by Kodiak.
(In the opinion of this former brake engineer)

Rob

[howson]

Howard, to bend the tab if needed, apply power to the brakes so the pump clamps on the rotor and using a punch, drive the tab down.

That's exactly what I did! But I didn't wack it too aggressively. Based on Cate&Rob 's post, in the future I'm not going to bother. If the tab is long (like the one on the Kodiak pad) my guess is bend it. If it's real short like the one on the pads I bought--just toss the pad on and go.

Country Campers -- a spring pad or clip is what I'm used to dealing with (again, experience from the Goldwing). Mystifying (to me) how this GM-inspired system is supposed to work. (Not a slam on GM, just a statement of my ignorance on how different configurations work.)

Rob--I royally dorked up that rear seal. No way I could leave it installed or I'd have worked myself into a frenzy worrying about that wheel. It's all good. I've got the time and it's one more item on my "lessons learned" chart. (That sucker is one heck of a LONG scroll.)

Howard

[Cate&Rob]

Rob--I royally dorked up that rear seal. No way I could leave it installed or I'd have worked myself into a frenzy worrying about that wheel.

LOL . . . we have all bin-ther-dun-that!

I used to build engines as a hobby. The rear main crankshaft seal (not unlike a hub seal) was always my greatest fear. Getting that wrong meant stripping down and pulling the engine (again), removing the transmission . . . and so on. It is well worth the wait for a new seal to know that it is right.

BTW . . . this will be a very valuable thread for those doing this in the future. Your explanation of problems encountered and good advice from many others on things to consider. A prime example of what this forum is all about.

Rob

[Jkwilson]

Rob--I royally dorked up that rear seal. No way I could leave it installed or I'd have worked myself into a frenzy worrying about that wheel. It's all good. I've got the time and it's one more item on my "lessons learned" chart.

Howard

BTW . . . this will be a very valuable thread for those doing this in the future. Your explanation of problems encountered and good advice from many others on things to consider. A prime example of what this forum is all about.

Howard, sorry to “nitpick” your grease choice and PM, but I hoped to catch you before wheel #2. I only see those things because I read posts like this closely, hoping to learn, or at least to check my own knowledge.

I agree Rob. Discussion of the gotchas is of as much or more use than manufacturer instructions for assembly with clean, new parts.

[howson]

Howard, sorry to “nitpick” your grease choice and PM, but I hoped to catch you before wheel #2. I only see those things because I read posts like this closely, hoping to learn, or at least to check my own knowledge.

I agree Rob. Discussion of the gotchas is of as much or more use than manufacturer instructions for assembly with clean, new parts.

No issues, John. I truly appreciate the constructive comments--I still have a lot to learn.

[Lonestar]

Some say the seal seating farther down in the hub is there for when a groove gets worn into the axle shaft so you can get a new sealing area. I would not worry about it, you will be back in there in 24 months doing it all over again, hopefully without the pad replace.

I notice you say "when" not "if" a groove gets worn into the spindle. How common is this? I've repacked bearings on trailers lots of time and never really looked for, or noticed wear rings. I'll definitely take better care to check in the future. Good to learn the seals can be set deeper.

I've use double lip seals and don't know if that would increase the possibility of wear rings vs. single lip.

[howson]

Lubricated what MORryde references as the torque bracket this morning while waiting for the seal. On two of the four brackets grease only came out of one side. In two of the brackets water came out first (yikes!). I sent MORryde an email asking if I can remove those bolts to service what looks like should house a bushing. There's nothing in the service or owner's manual.

I can't blame MORryde for this one--manual says to lube every 6,000 miles or once a year and I'm embarrassed to admit this is the first time I've looked at it.



Also found a failed zerk fitting--grease came streaming back out as shown below. First time I've ever seen this happen. According to research it's a failed check ball inside of the zerk.




Also, for those who have the IS, this is how I suspended my trailer. The main jack is my truck's 5 ton hydraulic and the stands are integrated 3 ton jack w/stands. The trailer is attached to my truck (and it's emergency brake is on, too).

Someone will undoubtedly ask about the weird looking bulge...it's foam that I squirted into the open metal channels (part of the MORRyde IS). Those open tubes seemed like way too much of an invitation for bugs to build a nest in there. (I trimmed off the end of the foam after seeing this picture!)






Off the the parts store to get my seal...

[Jlawles2]

Howard, not uncommon for the ball in a zerk to fail. When you remove that zerk, look for the spring and ball before you put the new one in. A loose ball and spring floating around may create issues and unnecessary wear.


Lonestar It takes many miles for a groove to get worn into the shaft I think it usually occurs on items that lack maintenance. Not a lot of people like the 2 piece seals but they include a sacrificial wear component that usually gets left on the shaft (by accident) that creates issues.

Look at the 3rd pick from the left to see an example of wear: https://www.clubfrontier.org/threads...repair.239897/ Moderators may remove the link if inappropriate.

[Cate&Rob]

Lonestar

A groove in the spindle is possible if something harder than the spindle gets lodged in the rubber seal and dragged against the spindle for many miles. Another reason to pull the hubs, clean and inspect the bearings, hand pack the grease and replace the seal . . . not just a couple of pumps with a grease gun on the spindle zerk fitting. (In my personal opinion)

An important part of installing a new seal is to lubricate the interface between seal and spindle with bearing grease. If this interface is dry, the lips of the seal will burn off in the first few miles. This will result in grease on your brakes. LCI had a production problem with this, several years ago . . . but, that is a whole longer story. On a double lip seal, I fill the space between the lips with grease before reinstalling the hub.

Rob

[Lonestar]

Lonestar

A groove in the spindle is possible if something harder than the spindle gets lodged in the rubber seal and dragged against the spindle for many miles. Another reason to pull the hubs, clean and inspect the bearings, hand pack the grease and replace the seal . . . not just a couple of pumps with a grease gun on the spindle zerk fitting. (In my personal opinion)

An important part of installing a new seal is to lubricate the interface between seal and spindle with bearing grease. If this interface is dry, the lips of the seal will burn off in the first few miles. This will result in grease on your brakes. LCI had a production problem with this, several years ago . . . but, that is a whole longer story. On a double lip seal, I fill the space between the lips with grease before reinstalling the hub.

Rob

OK, guess I've never picked up any foreign objects in the seal so that's why I've never had an issue. I can sure see how that could happen. I would never, never use the EZ Lube method to grease bearings. I always do as you mention. In fact, I have been told that filling the cavity between the bearings is bad because it lowers the ability to dissipate heat generated in the bearings.

And I always coat the spindle before reinstalling the hub. It also allows the seal to slide on smoothly and not damage the lip as it slides towards the rear of the spindle.

[howson]

Lonestar , Cate&Rob and Jlawles2

So what do you think caused this? Yes--that's the inner seal spring sticking straight up. You can see the spray of grease that escaped from the rear of the assembly. (This is the front, curbside hub assembly--the last one I worked on today.)



I knew as soon as the outer dust seal came off that something wasn't right. The grease looked dry, or "caked" instead of, well, like grease. Much different presentation than the other three hubs I'd already serviced.



Thankfully there's no damage to the spindle, race, hub, or bearings.




Another item of note is the difference between the Dexter and the seal from MasterPro. The latter fits--but sure is different. It's solid, if that makes any sense, versus the Dexter that has the gap between the outer and inner part.

[Jlawles2]

Howard, the caking can be caused by location of the grease. It just happens to be in the perfect place to not get flushed and mixed with the other grease in the system, thus allowing the grease to separate out.

For the failure of the spring / seal. That's almost like the chicken and egg question. Did the spring fail first, or did the lip seal start failing first. By the look of the expulsion of grease, it appears the seal may have been slightly damaged on that one side, or deformed by excess weight. By chance did you check the play in the bearings before removing the assembly? Simply removing the retainer (personally I think the gold clip is garbage) and hand tightening the nut to see if it's 1 or more flats before getting snug will indicate the amount of play.

Damage to the seal could have started when it was installed. Those springs are easily damaged (may or may not have played with one or more growing up) and the original installer could have initiated damage to the seal by pulling the hub back off at the factory.

Another personal preference is to avoid the Dexter seals (made in China) and opt for a different brand / origin.