No Cotter Pin

joey nathan

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
185
So I've replaced the hub on son-in-laws boat trailer - no problem. Except for the fact that the spindle doesn't appear to have a hole in it to accept a cotter pin.

There's a flat machined into the end of the spindle, so is some sort of special washer needed to secure the castellated nut? I don 't do this sort of thing every day, but I really expected to find a hole to accept the new pin.

Possibly the hole is so full of gunk I overlooked it??

Thanks in advance for any insight here...
 

BobGinCO

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
539
Re: No Cotter Pin

Yup, you need a tabbed washer that bends down into the castle nut notches.
It has a flat side inside so it doesn't spin.

That's the setup i have on my trailer.

It's called a tab lock washer. Champion Trailer Parts has 'em... part # 308
 

robert graham

Admiral
Joined
Apr 16, 2009
Messages
6,908
Re: No Cotter Pin

If you can't get it, then I'm confident you could take a flat washer, a hack saw and a bench grinder and make something that'll work!
 

Thalasso

Commander
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
2,876
Re: No Cotter Pin

Yes! Thank You BobGin...

What happened to the original one??? HaHaHa Let me guess.It was destroyed getting it off. The first time i saw that set up it had me scratching my head because i never saw that either.It took me a bit to figure out how it came off.
 

old boat 54

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Oct 12, 2008
Messages
79
Re: No Cotter Pin

I have the same type of spindle lock washer. These are used on easy lube type axles. See if you have a zerk (grease) fitting on the end of the axle. That is the reason they use a washer instead of the cotter pin, as the axle is bored to the rear where the inside bearing sits. (If they drilled a hole, for cotter pin, the grease would come out that hole first. ) There is another hole in the spindle at this point for the grease to exit into the back of the hub and push it out to the face of the hub.
Check your axle. Just some addition info, hope it helps.
 

sccatfish

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
147
Re: No Cotter Pin

I have the same type of spindle lock washer. These are used on easy lube type axles. See if you have a zerk (grease) fitting on the end of the axle. That is the reason they use a washer instead of the cotter pin, as the axle is bored to the rear where the inside bearing sits. (If they drilled a hole, for cotter pin, the grease would come out that hole first. ) There is another hole in the spindle at this point for the grease to exit into the back of the hub and push it out to the face of the hub.
Check your axle. Just some addition info, hope it helps.

Mine has easy lube axles and has cotter pins. The zerk fittings are offset.

I would be puzzled too if I saw one of those. The zerk fittings on mine had me puzzled until I found that hole where the grease came out. While that is a good design, the caps for those are horrible and the rubber doesn't last long and will let water in. I did find some caps at tractor supply with better rubber in them but it still seems like they let water in fairly easily. I'm planning on making my own caps this winter to have a proper seal and will still give easy access to the zerk fittings.
 

Thalasso

Commander
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
2,876
Re: No Cotter Pin

Mine has easy lube axles and has cotter pins. The zerk fittings are offset.

I would be puzzled too if I saw one of those. The zerk fittings on mine had me puzzled until I found that hole where the grease came out. While that is a good design, the caps for those are horrible and the rubber doesn't last long and will let water in. I did find some caps at tractor supply with better rubber in them but it still seems like they let water in fairly easily. I'm planning on making my own caps this winter to have a proper seal and will still give easy access to the zerk fittings.

If you splash your boat as soon as you get to the ramp without letting hubs cool down, the hot hubs will suck water in.
 
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