Bearings and Brakes-Last time
Frequently the question arises about bearing,brake inspection and lubrication and how often they should be done.
Over the years I have responded a few times but decided I would no longer read or comment yet I will break my silence this one last time and describe what I have seen last year and last week
I am a fanatic about maintenance and upkeep of all my vehicles and detest having someone else do it.
A year ago I decided to check the bearings. I found two of the four sets of bearings had spalled spots on the cup and outer rollers. New bearings and lip seals. Hand packed and reassembled. One year later, last week, I thought I would check the adjustment of the brakes as we are going on a 2 week trip this week. As I rotated the FIRST wheel I thought the normal rubbing that brakes do sounded a little different. I peeked into the adjustment hole and saw the 2 wires and knew something was not right. Upon removing the tire and bearings I found the tab that the magnet sits on had broken at the bend and the magnet, with broken wires, were sitting on the bottom of the drum. Thus no brakes. The broken piece had a jagged surface and it and the arm appeared to be wrought iron. The new arm appeared to be steel because it had a different finish and texture. All brake assemblies are the USA made Dexter. The brake assembly on the wheel next to it had done the same 1 year ago and upon inspection, being only 1 year old also had what appeared to be steel.The second and remaining 2 were in good condition. I am not a proponent of the EZ Lube system and if I were it would have not indicated the issues I found.
I am not trying to convince anyone from doing checks differently but it may cause them to think about it. Prior to 1 year ago and 14 years I had never found an issue. Two years ago upon advice on this forum I did buy a clamp on AC/DC meter to check brake voltage. I am in the habit of checking the voltage before trips to verify the system delivers the correct voltage and that the magnet energizes. Had I done this before jacking up the wheel I would have found that same magnet issue.
Over the years I have responded a few times but decided I would no longer read or comment yet I will break my silence this one last time and describe what I have seen last year and last week
I am a fanatic about maintenance and upkeep of all my vehicles and detest having someone else do it.
A year ago I decided to check the bearings. I found two of the four sets of bearings had spalled spots on the cup and outer rollers. New bearings and lip seals. Hand packed and reassembled. One year later, last week, I thought I would check the adjustment of the brakes as we are going on a 2 week trip this week. As I rotated the FIRST wheel I thought the normal rubbing that brakes do sounded a little different. I peeked into the adjustment hole and saw the 2 wires and knew something was not right. Upon removing the tire and bearings I found the tab that the magnet sits on had broken at the bend and the magnet, with broken wires, were sitting on the bottom of the drum. Thus no brakes. The broken piece had a jagged surface and it and the arm appeared to be wrought iron. The new arm appeared to be steel because it had a different finish and texture. All brake assemblies are the USA made Dexter. The brake assembly on the wheel next to it had done the same 1 year ago and upon inspection, being only 1 year old also had what appeared to be steel.The second and remaining 2 were in good condition. I am not a proponent of the EZ Lube system and if I were it would have not indicated the issues I found.
I am not trying to convince anyone from doing checks differently but it may cause them to think about it. Prior to 1 year ago and 14 years I had never found an issue. Two years ago upon advice on this forum I did buy a clamp on AC/DC meter to check brake voltage. I am in the habit of checking the voltage before trips to verify the system delivers the correct voltage and that the magnet energizes. Had I done this before jacking up the wheel I would have found that same magnet issue.
