3500lb axles bad design
Probably most medium size trailers have the 3500lb axles and 10" brakes. The design of the spindles has little to no shoulder to locate the inner bearing. When I looked up the blueprints, I found th...
Forum Discussion
The seal surface is not a sleeve, it simply is too small in diameter giving virtually no support to the bearing. Even if the shoulder could be trued, you would be back to basically a sharp corner as the only lateral contact between the bearing and the spindle.
When a bearing is manufactured, the steel blank has the radius cut in so that area will not be touched by the finish grinding operation. That surface is not expected to be used and may not run true, it is just clearance for the spindle radius.
There is nothing to stop a bearing from turning on a spindle, as you know, the bearings are a slip fit on this type of axle. With the extremely small shoulder contact, bearing adjustment is lost in short order. The seal inside diameter should be 1/4” larger giving full support to the bearing.
This is a #84 spindle and is used by all the axle brands, it is poor design and has nothing to do with the quality of my work. I posted about this several years ago, only to have the thread locked in a matter of hours.
When a bearing is manufactured, the steel blank has the radius cut in so that area will not be touched by the finish grinding operation. That surface is not expected to be used and may not run true, it is just clearance for the spindle radius.
There is nothing to stop a bearing from turning on a spindle, as you know, the bearings are a slip fit on this type of axle. With the extremely small shoulder contact, bearing adjustment is lost in short order. The seal inside diameter should be 1/4” larger giving full support to the bearing.
This is a #84 spindle and is used by all the axle brands, it is poor design and has nothing to do with the quality of my work. I posted about this several years ago, only to have the thread locked in a matter of hours.
