Hot Trailer Brakes

[missruby]

Yesterday i took out our 20' Sea Ray w/ Double axle front wheel hydraulic surge brakes. They got hot. Last season they got hot also so this winter i replaced backing plates, drums, bearings (timko), new grease/pack, lubed master cylinder. i'm stumped. Why are they still getting hot? They trek down into the lake is definately steep and i would expect they would warm up, but it was more than just warm. One side was reasonable, but the other side was flat out hot. Anyway, any ideas? I was very thorogh with my bearing pressure.....

 

[pinkham89]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

I'd start by checking the wheel cylinders to see if one might be sticking, also checking the return springs and other hardware. while youre in there check the adjustment of the shoes. they may just plain be adjusted out too far

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

They are adjusted all the way in, but i'll check anyway. Thanks

 

[Yepblaze]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

They may well just be doing their job of turning braking friction into heat.

Did you hug the front and rear brakes on the tow vehicle for a comparison?

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

i did check them both. Left side was warm but not alarmingly. Rear hubs cool as ice both sides. Right front, HOT. i'm missing something adjustment wise. it just doesn't add up. Does the master cylinder have a sensitivity type adjustment? In other words are they working too easily? I dont know.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

Maybe the rears on the tow vehicle need adjustment.

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

What do you mean?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

Brake issues on the tow vehicle have absolutely no bearing on how the trailer brakes work. Hydraulic surge brakes are self modulating. If the truck brakes are not doing their job, neither will the trailer brakes. If the trailer brakes are getting hot, there are few causes. 1) Master cylinder not releasing, 2) one or both wheel cylinders not releasing, 3) improper adjustment, 4) improper installation. Regarding improper installation, there are leading an trailing shoes although I doubt having them backwards would cause the problem. Lastly, you may have the wheel bearings adjusted too tight so the hubs are getting hot and you are blaming it on the brakes.

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

I honestly think i may have a wheel cylinder not releasing. pull the drum actuate the master cylinder while visually inspecting wheel cylinder? if not releasing then what? thank you all.

 

[pinkham89]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

i did check them both. Left side was warm but not alarmingly. Rear hubs cool as ice both sides. Right front, HOT. i'm missing something adjustment wise. it just doesn't add up. Does the master cylinder have a sensitivity type adjustment? In other words are they working too easily? I dont know.

both front hubs were hot and both rears were cold? i would definitely check the operation of the rear brakes... (i had a trailer like that that i pulled my hair out on till i realized some schmuck pinched off the brake line to the rear axle) making sure that everything is doing as it should. it sounds like the front axle is doing the work of 4 wheels or im inclined to agree with silvertip and say check on the hub itself, not just the brakes.

 

[pinkham89]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

I honestly think i may have a wheel cylinder not releasing. pull the drum actuate the master cylinder while visually inspecting wheel cylinder? if not releasing then what? thank you all.

i wouldnt pull the drum then actuate the switch- that cylinder may extend too far out and ruin it. id jack the trailer up and have someone actuate the brakes while you stand by and try to turn each tire. If the tire still sticks after you let off the brakes youve got a sticky cylinder which would have to be replaced.


brainfart: rear brakes may just need to be bled. you may just have an air bubble in the line if it wasn't bled properly after doing the front axle. (assuming the line was unhooked)

 

[mthieme]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

If you think a wheel cylinder is not releasing, this will usually occur after the brakes heat up. Drive it around, heat 'em up, then jack it up and see if a wheel won't turn.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

They are adjusted all the way in, but i'll check anyway. Thanks

All the way in is never the same on both sides. You have one brake that is hitting the drum before the other. Adjust them by spinning the wheel and adjusting them out until you notice drag and then backing off two notches. Same procedure both sides.

Take it for a ride and then check to see which one is hot. If the same one is hot then the one that is cool is the problem child not the hot one.

The hot one is hot because its doing all the work without any help.

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

ok so i pulled the wheel and drum. no obvious damage, seal is good, no water in bearing/race areas. Wheel cylinder is "slow" in releasing when i manually actuate the master cylinder. The pressure response is great but the recoil is very slow. however, when the master cylinder has fully retracted i still cannot get the brake pad adjustment small enough to free spin the drum without rubbing. 10" is 10" is 10" right?
Also the bearing pressure adjustment seems really sensitive. From one position, on the slotted nut, to the next the wheel response is either tight or there is movement in the toe-in/toe-out direction.

Here's my current questions:
1) Can i get a slightly wider (not taller)bearing set that might hold the outside edge of the hub away from the outside edge of the pads/shoes? This could be the answer to both problems? i don't know.
2) What do you all think of electric brakes conversion? is it worth the time/effort/$$? Can i override the e-brakes from the hand controller in the cab? i ask because i pull the last 1mi. into the lake (steep) in low gear and being able to manually control trailer could be the solution. Thanks everybody! i hope i get the chance to return the favors

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

Also....i'll bleed lines for purpose of air bubble (good call).

 

[missruby]

Re: Hot Trailer Brakes

Problem solved. THe shoes on my new backing plates are defective. Honestly the local store exchanged them. So i made a mark across the drum with a sharpie to determine where the rub was based on how much pressure was being applied by the spindle nut. The edge of the shoes were rubbing against the side of the drum rather than the face! They were the right size (2/25 X 10) correct bearing sets, races, etc. But the shoes were sticking out past the pads effectively making a 2.25 pad turn into a 2.5 pad. 220-221 whatever it takes. Just a lemon. Nothing like having less hair over something you can't control.