Switching from Oil Bath Drum Brakes to Disc Brakes

Updated 02/19/2015 | Published 02/18/2015

Question:

Want to swap from drum brakes to disc on ez loader boat trailer. It has oil bath hubs on it now, do disc hubs come with inside threads to install a clear cap. Trailer has 10inch hubs and 5 on 4-1/2

asked by: Glynn

Helpful Expert Reply:

When it comes to swapping your drum brakes for disc brakes, we offer standard grease filled hub/rotors with the 5 on 4-1/2 bolt pattern. At this time we do not offer oil bath style hub/rotors with the 5 on 4-1/2 bolt pattern. I recommend using the grease filled over the oil bath anyway. Oil bath hubs must be closely watched if they are submerged in water because oil will breakdown much faster than grease. The other problem is that when a seal goes out in a grease hub you can make it home typically to replace the seal without damaging the bearings or hub, whereas with a oil bath system once you lose a seal all of the lubrication disappears and you have to park the trailer. In order to determine if we have disc brakes that will work for you, I will just need to know your bearing numbers, grease seal number, and axle capacity.

expert reply by: Leah S