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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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

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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?

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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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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

Jumping from 12 inch wheels to 14 inch wheels is a large jump. You'd me moving from a diameter of 20.5 inches to about 26.3 inches. If you have the room, that will work but you do need to have about 4 inches above your tire for proper suspension…

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Answer 4

It really does sound like you have a Dexter 3,500 lb axle. The brake assembly that would work for you is the part #23-26 for the left hand side and part #23-27 for the right hand side.

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Answer 5

Thanks so much for that info and we do indeed have the left hand Dexter electric brake you need for your 3,500 lb axle; I'll also list out the right hand just in case. Based on the info you provided, the correct parts are the following: - Left…

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Answer 6

I would be happy to help you. The 023-216-00 number you found is for a 10" x 2-1/4" left hand drum brake assembly. To replace it you will need the Left Hand: Dexter Electric Trailer Brake Assembly - 10" - 3,500 lbs item #23-26 and…

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Answer 7

The biggest difference between Dexter brake assembly #23-459 and etrailer/AxleTek assembly #AKEBRK-7L-SA is the pad material. The Dexter assemblies use pads that are snapped off of a long strand of the material. The ones on the etrailer assemblies…

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Answer 8

Hey Wade; thanks for writing in, and you can absolutely replace your manually adjusting Dexter 023-026-00 & 023-027-00 electric trailer brakes with self-adjusting brakes. The 023-026 and 023-027 are 3,500 lb brakes, and what you can use to…

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Answer 9

Thanks for the part number! We have a couple of options to replace the brakes on a Dexter 3,500 lbs axle depending on whether you want the self adjusting brakes or the standard ones. I have listed both options below: Self Adjusting - Dexter…

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Answer 10

AxleTek is who makes our etrailer brake assemblies like the #AKEBRK-35-SA. We have found that while not considered to be as much of a premium brand like the Dexter assemblies they work just as well and happen to cost a lot less. To put it a different…

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Answer 11

The best solution as you alluded to is to bypass the factory "Smart Tow" trailer package which is what is responsible for only sending power to the 12 volt pin when the vehicle is in gear. This is actually pretty easy to do and we have a…

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Answer 12

There can be a few different causes for excess heat on a trailer hub assembly. The first thing I would do is to ensure the bearings are installed correctly with the proper amount of lubrication. The next thing you will want to check is that the…

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Troubleshooting Overheating Hubs on a Trailer With New Bearings and Grease

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