Damaged Spindle Causing Bearings to Spin on Hub
Question:
Hi, I recently installed new hubs on a boat trailer at my boat club. The work had been prompted by a wheel/hub assembly falling off while I was working on the boat - as it turns out, the inner race, rollers and cage of the outer bearing had completely disintegrated/rusted away. Ive gone to fairly great lengths to educate myself on the topic, so Im reasonably confident Ive got most things right with the refit, but Im unsure of what I hope is the final adjustments. Id cleaned the spindles very well before installing, since they to were not in great shape. However, Id gotten them fairly smooth and the inner races slipped on easily, so I decided not to grease the spindle, for fear that the bearings would revolve on the spindles, but this has happened anyway. I followed the instructions on this page about adjusting the castle nut. With the nut set as stated, there was virtually no play in the hub and the wheels spun very freely, but both the inner and outer bearings tend to spin with the hub. With the nut tightened by an extra notch, the bearings stay in place, but now the wheels still spin cleanly but there is clearly more drag and they tend to stop by sticking to the spindle as opposed to coming to rest naturally. Thinking rationally, it occurs to me that this is a natural effect of the grease producing drag within the bearing, but it feels to me as though there is too much pre-load on the bearings. Presumably the spindles would ideally be replaced, but this is a trailer for a coaching launch, so is very much a secondary piece of equipment, so I doubt that theres be funding to effectively replace the entire running gear of the trailer. Is there an alternative, quick fix to stop the bearings from spinning without over tightening the castle nut? Thanks in advance.
asked by: Michael B
Expert Reply:
When you say that you got the spindle to the point where it was smooth, it sounds as if you had to remove some material from them. If the spindles were damaged to the point where scratches or gouges have to be smoothed out, the diameter of the spindle has been changed, thus resulting in things not fitting together the way they should. The spindle really should be replaced.
If the trailer is being infrequently used and is only towed for short distances, you might be able to get by with leaving the spindle nut in the looser position you mentioned, although this would be what I consider merely a temporary fix. If you are operating the trailer on public roads, for the sake of safety you really should replace the spindle and have a qualified welder install a new one.
