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oldtrojan66's avatar
oldtrojan66
Explorer
Apr 12, 2014

two tech questions

Okay, maybe I'm being a hog here, but I have two questions at once. I have a GY614 spare that has never been on the ground. The 5er is an 07 Jayco 36RLTS. The date stamp is 2306. Should I trust this tire as a spare on a Indiana to Alaska round trip summer 2015?

The second came first time out after sitting all winter (since late Oct). The only thing I can think of that might be involved is this: I took off the front, passenger trailer tire to check brake material left and check wheel bearings. Everything looked really good so I just cleaned the seal and reinstalled the brake drum, and tire and added some grease via the zerk in the end of the axle. The grease area inside was not fill when I took it off, and I did not put enough in to fill it afterward.
Now when braking on the highway from cruising speed the truck starts to shake back and forth. Harder, or not so hard brake pressure doesn't seem to matter. Let off, it goes away. I have stopped the trailer with trailer brakes alone with no shake. The truck performs normally without the trailer and the truck brakes are less than two years old (by a trusted mechanic). Any ideas from the expert crew on here? I did not adjust the brake on the wheel I took off, since I didn't change anything. I don't believe the trailer tires were balanced on the rig, but they were spin balanced when installed last summer.

8 Replies

  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    May 03, 2014
    oldtrojan66 wrote:
    Okay, a little time has passed and some updating is in order. The shaking was definitely the one bearing I took off, not being tight enough when reassembled. I did replace the grease seals on all four, re-packed all the bearings and adjusted the brakes. Brakes were about five clicks out of adjustment. All pulls normally now and braking is improved as well. No shaking. Thanks for the replies. Happy Trails, david


    NEVER use the grease Zerk to properly lube or think you are packing an AXLE bearing. The ONLY correct way is to either hand pack the brearings or use the funnel type bearing packer with a grease gun. You repack to push the OLD grease out and pack with new fresh grease. The axle Zerc fittings are usually for boat trailers to help keep water out. You still pack Boat trailer bearings as I outlined above. Doug
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    May 03, 2014
    Glad to hear the vibration has been resolved.

    I would honestly run that spare without worry. Although I would plan to only tow to the first tire store that could supply a replacement. Worst case buy a like tire and bring it unmounted along for the trip. Then you have two spares. Probably easier to find mounting service than the tire.
  • oldtrojan66's avatar
    oldtrojan66
    Explorer
    May 03, 2014
    Okay, a little time has passed and some updating is in order. The shaking was definitely the one bearing I took off, not being tight enough when reassembled. I did replace the grease seals on all four, re-packed all the bearings and adjusted the brakes. Brakes were about five clicks out of adjustment. All pulls normally now and braking is improved as well. No shaking. Thanks for the replies. Happy Trails, david
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    Going to Alaska? I'd disassemble all the axle ends, inspect and service bearings, buy an extra set with seals, adjust brakes and replace any iffy parts, and get four good skins on the rims with two spares in reserve. The road up there will eat your running gear, it's a long ways between shops and maybe some wait for repairs.
  • Old-Biscuit's avatar
    Old-Biscuit
    Explorer III
    Apr 12, 2014
    Trailer tires don't wear out-----they AGE out. Yours is OLD and needs replaced.

    "I did not adjust the brake on the wheel I took off, since I didn't change anything"..........sure you did. You had to back off the brake shoes to pull drum (or they weren't properly adjusted prior too).
    So a few things......need to pull that wheel/hub and check for grease in brake area, properly install/adjust bearing play and then adjust the brakes not only on that wheel but the others also. (Jack wheel up, tighten star wheel while rotating tire until tire stops. Then back off star wheel until tire rotates with a slight drag)

    And why didn't you check the other wheels....bearings/brakes???
    One position doesn't mean ALL good
  • oldtrojan66's avatar
    oldtrojan66
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    ok BB, I will check that. I just watched a video of adjusting magnetic drum brakes and realized I put the bottle jack under the bracket that holds the spring to the axle. Would this be a problem?
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Apr 12, 2014
    Traveling in the lower 48 I would not even consider replacing the spare. BUT. A trip to Alaska is a different story. Even thought the GY614s are great tires. I am not sure I would want to risk possibly having to use the spare for a long distance in remote areas. For peace of mind I would replace it. Throw the old tire in the bed of the truck in case you need a temporary replacement in the middle of nowhere.

    For the second issue, I would pull the wheel again to make sure it still looks ok. Possibly something did not go back together exactly right, or you might have pushed grease thru the inner seal.
  • CA_Traveler's avatar
    CA_Traveler
    Explorer III
    Apr 12, 2014
    If you have to use the BadYear tire drive slow to a tire shop. I'd get a new one as it will be 8 years old. It's not a good idea to have marginal tires on a trip to Alaska.

    First suspect would be that the drum or nut wasn't installed correctly.

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