Troubleshooting Overheating Hubs on a Trailer With New Bearings and Grease

Question

Question:

My 8inch hub runs quite hot even with new bearings Timkin and fresh grease. After about 15 miles at 60 mph, I am not able to hold on to the hub... its too hot. The nut is not that tight... just tight enough to have no slop. How hot do these 8inch wheels get? My trailer is empty so its not a weight issue. Any ideas?

asked by: Tim

0

Expert Reply:

Hubs will heat up when driving, but if it feels like they are getting too hot, then you will want to look at a few things on your hub. My guess is that the spindle nut is too tight and the added stress on the bearings is overheating the bearings and hub and could be causing damage to the bearings.

When you install the castle nut you will want to tighten the spindle nut while turning the hub. When there is a slight bind on the bearing, the parts are seated correctly. Back the nut off up to 1/4 turn to allow .001 inch to .007 inch end play for the bearings.

Failure to back off the adjusting nut could cause the bearings to run hot and be damaged.

Once you have backed off the spindle nut you will want to bend the cotter pin or tang on the washer to prevent the nut from backing off. I have attached a video of our technician installing a hub on a trailer and how the spindle nut should be tightened to prevent over heating. You can skip to the 1 minute and 45 second mark to see the hub installation.

expert reply by: John H

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Joey L.

7/22/2020

Hi can I wire 5th wheel brakes to bust bar to work together. Instead of them individual. Wire them to come on at same time instead of one getting power first let them come at same time and work together. Thanks

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Chris R.

7/28/2020

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. How do you currently have the brake assemblies wired?

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Joey L.

7/28/2020

They are factory wired. I was thinking I could wire them were they would come on at same time using a terminable board or something else where they would Get the same power at the same time.

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Jon G.

8/5/2020

Any delay between the individual brakes being applied will be extremely minimal. The way that your current brakes are wired is standard and you shouldn't be experiencing any noticeable delay. If you are then you're going to want to check your wiring for any places where it is damaged.

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Andres G.

5/28/2020

I change out my wheel bearing on my trailer last week drove about 5 miles but still think it's still getting hot

Reply

Chris R.

6/1/2020

Have you tried backing off the spindle nut or just making sure it isn't too tight? How hot is the hub getting?

Reply

Answer 1

So long as a hub uses the correct bearings that match the dimensions of the spindle that is on the axle there is no worry about using two different brands of products, such as a Dexter hub on a Lippert axle. That in itself is not a concern. When a…

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Answer 2

Yes, the temperatures you mentioned are normal. If you were getting over 200 degrees that would be a bad sign. But typically if all of the hubs are the same temperature you're good and it's only really an issue if one of the hubs is hotter…

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Answer 3

The short answer to both of your questions is yes. You can remove the backing plate or brake assembly and use the existing hub with integrated drum by itself, or, you can simply replace it with an idler hub. Based on the photos, I would suggest…

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Answer 4

If you blow out a grease seal on a trailer hub by overfilling it with grease using a Bearing Buddy the seal would not still be okay as it would need to be replaced but the Bearing Buddy like the #BB1980A-SS would still be fine. It's very easy to…

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Answer 5

The first thing to try to is add some penetrating oil like WD40 and let it sit for awhile. You can then try tapping the bearing to try and remove it. You don't want to hit it too hard because you can damage the spindle. It is possible that the…

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Answer 6

After you've packed the bearings and assembled everything, carefully slide the hub assembly onto the spindle and install the outer bearing. Install the spindle and tang washer and run the spindle nut down finger tight, then rotate the hub back…

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Answer 7

I went out in the warehouse and pulled the Redline Grease Seal, part #13194. It does have the markings on the inside of the seal that say TCM 13194 TM Taiwan and the number 11. It also has the spring around the inside lip. This seal will work for…

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Answer 8

There is no specific torque rating for the castle nut that holds your hub in place. We recommend tightening the castle nut down until it stops, and then backing it off to the next notch wheel the tang washer will fit into the castle nut. Over…

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Answer 9

Of course! We have two really good options for you which both come if white or black. The first is the Advent Air RV Air Conditioner w/ Air Distribution Box, Start Capacitor, and Heat Strip - 13,500 Btu part #ACM135CH for white or part #ACM135BCH for…

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Answer 10

Unless you want to completely clean out every bit of grease you will need to stick to a LMX red grease like item #L11390 that comes with the CE Smith Trailer Idler Hub Assembly item #CE13515. You can use your blue marine grease but you can't mix…

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Answer 11

Since you have a 2,200 lb axle with a 5 lug bolt pattern the hub you'd want as a replacement is the part #8-258-50UC1-EZ which comes with bearings. Or for just a bearing kit you'd want the part #BK1-150 and you'd be set.

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Answer 12

In order to determine the torque rating for the lug nuts on your trailer you will need to know check out the chart I attached that shows all of the torque specs for all the trailer lugs available based on stud size, wheel material and wheel size.

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