Replacement Brake Shoes and Complete Brake Assemblies for Axle Tek 12 x 2-Inch Trailer Brakes

Question:

Last year I bought 12 inch brake set for 2006 Forest River 5th wheel. when I replaced brakes found out I had over greased the hubs. cleaned out the grease with a grease cleaner. I checked the brakes by jacking up each wheel and squeezing hand control to setting 10. with each tire the brakes engages and stopped the free spinning tire. On one wheel once the brake engaged with some effort I could still rotate tire. I cleaned the drum and brake shoes very throughly of grease. Did I miss something?

asked by: Al B

Expert Reply:

If you had an accidental grease leak within your trailer's hub/drums and the shoes were exposed to grease you will want to replace them. The brake shoe material has porosity that will let some of that wheel bearing grease work into the surface. It is not possible to completely clean this grease off. You can clean the drums but either the brake shoes or the entire brake assemblies should be replaced.

I checked your ordering history and found that you have 12 x 2-inch Axle Tek brakes rated for 5200- to 7000-lb axles. For new brake shows you can use kit # AKBRKR-S-12. If you prefer to bolt on all new brakes (recommended) you can use 5-bolt assemblies # AKEBRK-7-SA which are rated for the same 5200- to 7000-lb axles.

expert reply by: Adam R