Well guys I finally got around to getting the bearings replaced on this rig with new USA made Timkens. When I pulled the rest of the bearings, they all looked OK as you will see in the pictures attached. I guess we just had a bad one in one wheel or it didn’t get installed correctly at the factory.
Someone had requested part numbers for the 8000 lbs axle bearings so see the attachment for the bearings, races, and seals numbers.
Also wanted to give you all a heads up to keep an eye on your suspension bolts. When I dropped to axle that caught fire to install the replacement, I found one of the wet bolts on the opposite side was broken in half. It looked ok but, when I took the nut off and pulled it, only half came out. It must have been broken for a while because it had eaten through the bushing in the spring. It had plenty of grease so who knows.
Best thing I can say is that you can’t check this stuff too often and you still might not see it. This rig had been far less than 10,000 miles when all this happened so you need to look no matter how far you have been.
Happy Camping and stay
safe out there!