Wheel Bearing Issues again?

[ryand]

If you might remember, last year about this time I lost my Left Rear Wheel bearing, Hub, Brake backing plate and almost the wheel. I had paid a shop to install an axle the april before...so this makes this all the more frustrating.

Today after traveling home about 2 hours, after unloading the rig i decided to hit the hubs with the temp gun. What do ya know....the Left Rear is 20-25F higher in temp than the other three. I would assume this is reason for concern but wanted to get the opinion of others here before I tear into this myself.

Also, FYI the shop I used just went back with a generaic hub, and never even put the zerk in the EZ lube. Should I replace the cap with the correct one as well as the zerk?

[Iggy]

Zerk fitting is always nice if you have the shaft for it.

If you have more heat on your rear I suspect you have too much weight on the rear axle and not enough on the front axles. How balances is your rig when attached to truck? is your trailer nose up , level or down?
It just seems too many issues with the same after effect.

[OldCoot]

Would suspect a dragging brake if only on one wheel.
Jack it up and try spinning the wheel.

[ryand]

Weight balance is good..right side no high temp. I agree that it's odd and likely a reason for this. Could the new axle be bad? Tires are wearing ok so could it be the actual spindle possibly out of spec?

[ryand]

Coot...never thought of this. I'll check when I get back to the storage lot. This is the brand new brake assembly

[Twisty]

"It just seems too many issues with the same after effect."
Yeah. I looked at the floor plan and I'll bet that the TT is heavy in that corner even when dry and empty.
2011 Coachmen Catalina 28DDS Trailer Photos, Pictures and Videos
If you are loading the pantry and fridge full and also using the bunk areas for storage then there could be quite a lot of weight back there.
Plus there is the weight of the bathroom - and holding tanks - and the outside storage -

[ryand]

Left rear is the problem as you are sitting in the driver seat of TV.

Guess I should say "road side".

I could see your point however if it were on the other side. That hub is the same as the front axle. 100-104f

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Twisty

"It just seems too many issues with the same after effect." Yeah. I looked at the floor plan and I'll bet that the TT is heavy in that corner even when dry and empty. If you are loading the pantry and fridge full and also using the bunk areas for storage then there could be quite a lot of weight back there.
Plus there is the weight of the bathroom - and holding tanks - and the outside storage -

It's not that much different than our 8528RKWS as far as loading. I suspect a dragging brake more than any loading and it should heat both of the tires/wheels on that side. JMO

[rr retired]

brakes too tight or a bearing adjusted a touch too tight

[Twisty]

sorry - nevermind

[ryand]

Well...there was a slight grab to the brakes. It did make a revolution and a half with moderate force. There was zero play in the wheel top/bottom side to side. I remember my mechanic days with hubs that there was a ever so slight play in the bearings when pulled this way. Either way, I am going to tear down this hub and take a look this weekend and replace the seal. Just odd. It is a different hub than the rest so it might be the nature of this hub vs the others. Who knows.

Am I crazy to think a delta of 25f is something to be concerned about?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by ryand

...Am I crazy to think a delta of 25f is something to be concerned about?

Not at all. The hub really shouldn't make any difference, it's the brake shoe clearance you're interested in. There should be very little if any drag on the shoes. I have a brake drum/shoe caliper that you can adjust to the drum ID and flip it over and adjust the shoes to match. Use the RH side to measure the drum and the adjust the shoes to fit inside the LH side of the tool.
On trailer brakes, I usually adjust them to a 1/2 of a complete turn of the star wheel to increase the clearance to the drum.

[ryand]

Thanks OldCoot. I think I am going to back down the brakes a bit. The other thing that I thought of is that this was a brand new brake assembly, magnets might be a bit stronger than the remaning three. I also set the gain on my controler a little higher than the standard that the Ram Auto set up configures too. This is someting I normally dont do. I have a fishing trip in next weekend and I will pay close attention to the temps. Our last trip that I monitored the bearing temps was in march....it was snowing so that gives you some indication of the ambient. All hubs were in the 70-80F range.

I just am ultra aware now after the whole hub fire thing. I would rather not go through that again.

[ryand]

Pulled the hub today....shocked at how the spindle was chewed up but mainly in the space between the bearings after the wheel came off....another lesson learned about doing it yourself. Nothing stood out until I hit the bearings with some solvent...then I noticed that the outboard bearing and race had a small groove in it. Went ahead and replaced them with a set of USA Timken's and installed new races. Set the bearings and backed off as prescribed. Also cleaned the shaft and hub and spring for the synthetic grease. We will see if it makes a difference in temps. Packed the bearings and packed them again...this hopefully should do the trick. Hub spun much much more freely with the new bearings. Cheap chineese units were what I ended up getting from the shop who did the work. Also replaced the seal. Hard to see the groove in the race, don't know if that's enough to cause a problem but it will make me sleep a little better knowing it was replaced. Now to do the other 3.