Re: Stuck Bearing Races
Well, that certaily was a good deal on an axle and hubs. The last axle I bought cost me right around $140 delivered, no hubs were included of course.<br /><br />I am very much suprised that your managed to fry the inner bearings without destroying the outer ones. Its the outer bearings that ususally go first.<br /><br />OK, you've got the hub off and what seems to be the remnanats of the inner race looks like it has welded itself to the spindle. You didn't say anything about the size of your trailer so I'll assume that rather than one of those garden cart sized trailers you actually have one with the more standard sized axle/hub combinations on it. The most common of these uses a 5-lug hub with lugs on 4.5" centers. This is sometimes called the "Small Ford" pattern. Most of these things use 1 3/8" inner bearings and 1 1/16" outer bearings. Replacement hubs for these things can be bought lots of places but if you've got a couple of days go to
Champion Trailers and get the ones you need. A standard 545 hub with bearings and seal should run you right around $25.<br /><br />When you fry a set of bearings it rarely gets so hot that it actually welds the inner race to the spindle, though it does happen some time. Break out the sharp small chisel. Have at it. Don't be afraid, you aren't going to harm anything. A faster way is to take an angle grinder to it. Make absolutly sure you wear eye protection no matter how you do it, but get it all off of there. Do not be overly concerned about how the spindle looks though.<br /><br />Once you have it off of there take the angle grinder and clean it up. Have a new bearing handy when you do this and constantly make test fits. What you are trying to do is grind it the minimum necessary so that the bearing can be slipped onto the axle and back off by hand with minimal pressure. Of course you try to be symetrical about your grinding too but if you use a grit wheel (looks like heavy duty sand paper) you will not take too much material off of the spindle. You would be simply amazed how bad a spindle can look and still function just fine.<br /><br />Now, about ordering axles, which is what you have to do sometimes. You need a couple of measurements, only one of which is the spring centers. You also need the distance from one hub center to the other. If you look at the on-line Champion catalog it will show you where to measure. I have bought a couple of axles from them over the years. It normally takes about a week from the time you call in the order until the UPS truck arrives with your axle. If you decide to replace yours a new set of hubs probably makes sense. Get them at the same time. If one of your hubs can be saved, which is usually the case, then order a replacement set of bearings for it as well. After you have the new axle on take the old hub and replace the bearings with freshly packed new ones and then pack the hole in the hub full of grease too. Install the seal and then using duct tape cover over the big end hole. On the other end stick a thrust washer, cotter key, and axle nut (get spares from Champion) in there and then seal up that end with a dust cap or bearing buddy that is knocked into the hole about half way. Take that and stick it in the tool box of your truck. If you ever have a bearing failure out on the road you will name your first born son after me in thanks for having suggested this to you.<br /><br />Also, it would appear that you are probably a little bit new to this, so here is a link to an article I wrote about how to deal with these things. I hope it helps you out.
Wheel Bearing Article <br /><br /><br />Thom
