Are these brake magnets warn?

[MN_Ben]

I have had this about 4 years. I am putting new wheel seals all around and I'm unsure of the condition of the brake set. I do not know how to tell if the magnets are warn. I checked the brake pads and there seems to be a lot of meat left on them and there are no cracks in any of them. So here are a couple of pics of the magnet and one of the pad.
I found some sets on etrailer but wondering if I can get a few more years from these, and save some cash.

[MN_Ben]

Thanks Jerry. Thoroughly hand packed.

Thanks Mike134. I should have stuck a toothpick in there to gauge the depth.

This job is done! Thanks again everyone.
Ben

[Mike134]

The four holes on the magnet are "wear indicators" if any of them are gone it's time to replace the magnet.

[MFL]

Ben...if you hand packed the bearings, there was no reason to use the zerk to fill the cavity at this time.

To answer your question...yes you need to add grease until it comes out the front bearing. Depending on use/miles, you should not need greasing again for several years, maybe more.

It may take a couple cartridges of grease to fill 4 cavities, when the time comes to do it. If you feel you did a proper hand pack, I would just leave it for now, enjoy the tow, you're good.

Jerry

[MN_Ben]

Well other than leaking seals, everything on these assemblies looks good. I hit them with degreaser and then break cleaner. I did amp and ohm resistance testing on each individual magnet. They all fell within the limits. The assemblies actually look to be a couple of years old with paint still on the springs and very little wear on the back plate. I believe this '08 rig does not have a lot of traveling miles on it even though APR 2007 was printed on the assemblies.
The bearings all cleaned up very nice so after new seals everything went back together.
I do have one question. The hub cavity has room for a good amount of grease. I packed the bearings and greased the races and ended up pumping about 15 squirts with the grease gun into the axle zerk while spinning the wheel. Do I need to pump grease in until in comes through the smaller outer bearing?
Thanks everyone for your help.
Ben

[BurbMan]

If shoes and drums are smooth them I would leave them for now. Bear in mind that you will need to order new drums when you do brakes...very few shops even turn brake drums anymore, and I was not able to find ANY that would do a trailer drum because the inside face where the magnet rides needs to be turned too.

Last time I did brakes on the TT I got the 4 brake assemblies, new bearings, new seals, and new drums from etrailer for about $500 delivered.

ALSO: be sure you get self-adjusting assemblies, upgrade from that post-WWII technology where you have to adjust the brakes manually with a brake tool.

[Sjm9911]

No need to replace them if they are not worn. Yea, its easy to replace the whole assembly, but you stuff looks good. My breaks on the TT needed replacement at about 10 years. And that was probably because they were undersized.

[MN_Ben]

Thanks for the replies. The magnets and drum are fairly smooth. I will do some voltage testing to check their functionality. If any are bad, I will replace the whole unit.

Ben

[MFL]

I agree with complete replacement being easier/cheaper, but the question is, does he need to do it now? I'd not be in a hurry, going by pics. I do know that things in a picture, can appear better than they really are.

Jerry

[ford_truck_guy]

^^ What TXiceman said.... Far better to replace the entire enchilada, then piece mealing it....

They have 2 different for each assembly - a right side and a left side..

disconnect 2 wires, remove 4-5 bolts, remove the entire assembly and install new..
End result is all new everything except the mounts and wires leading to assembly

[TXiceman]

You will find you are better off to replace the whole backing plate brake assembly rather than trying to replace individual components. It is a matter of undoing two wires and 4 or 5 bolts to replace the whole backing plate.

Ken

[MFL]

Just going from pic, looks good to me. If they are wearing smooth, and evenly, they are okay.

Jerry

[Sjm9911]

The magnates look good to me. Way better then the ones I replaced when I had the pop up and TT.

[BurbMan]

How is the surface of the magnet? If you run your finger vertically, can you fell pronounced ridges like a ripple potato chip? Also check the inside surface of the drum that the magnet rides against.

If the drums and magnet faces are fairly smooth then I would leave them alone for now. Depending on how many miles you plan to tow this year, you might get another season or two out of those.

[MN_Ben]

I read additional information and articles state if exposed winding is visible they would be worn. I did not see any, I guess. Articles also talk about testing the voltage and ohms. I can start there.