Bearing repack - hub noises?

[penguin149]

I'm in the process of putting new tires on my TT and will do bearing maintenance at the same time. Got one of the wheels off; when I spin the hub, it makes a dragging, scraping sound. The hub stops after about 1/4 of a turn. I'm pulling the hub tomorrow and inspecting, repacking, etc. Does this sound like a bearing or brake issue? Or is this normal? It's a single axle Jayco with a 3500# EZ lube Dexter hub.

[penguin149]

My dad would be proud! "Don't pay someone to do something you can do yourself"! He's been gone for almost 9 years now.....

[azdryheat]

Good job.

[deltabravo]

penguin149 wrote:

enblethen wrote:
Did you have the drums machined?

No. There was not any deep scoring on the drums. Cleaned them up and put back on!

That's the best approach since you weren't replacing the brakes or magnets.

[penguin149]

enblethen wrote:
Did you have the drums machined?

No. There was not any deep scoring on the drums. Cleaned them up and put back on!

[enblethen]

Did you have the drums machined?

[penguin149]

Thank you all for the replies! Took both hubs apart and saw a lot of brake dust. Cleaned everything, repacked the bearings and replaced the grease seals. Adjusted the star on the brakes slightly and now the hubs are spinning much more free now. Still some noise when turning by hand but will now make multiple revolutions instead of stopping almost immediately. The grease was somewhat thin compared to what I am used to. Cleaned it all out of the parts, spindle, etc.

Hoping my gas mileage will improve after this!

Replaced my 6 year old Towmaster tires from Sam's Club with Goodyear Endurance from Amazon (bought them in March when they were $67 each). Should be good to go now!!!

[enblethen]

OP stated that he could turn the brake a quater turn before it locked up. This could be high spot in the drum

[azdryheat]

deltabravo wrote:

azdryheat wrote:
Strongly disagree with the above post. The problem isn't the electric brake. The brakes's star wheel is adjusted too tight, which is why the wheel isn't turning, the brakes are too tight.

Your post is contradicting. It says the problem "isn't the electric brakes" but then goes on to explain that the problem is the brakes being adjusted to tight.

The information you are probably trying to convey is "the problem isn't the electric function of the brakes, but the manual adjustment of them"

Not contradicting at all. Anyone who has worked on drum brakes knows the brake pads can be manually adjusted by rotating the star wheel to loosen or tighten (contract/expand) the brake shoes against the drum.

The electric portion of the braking system is activated when the driver steps on the brake and electric current is sent to the brakes which applies the brakes. Unless there is electric current going to the brakes there will be no activation of the brakes.

The only things causing the wheel not to spin is brakes that are adjusted too tight (with the star ring) or the wheel bearings being too tight (axle castle nut too tight). The electric portion of the brakes is not a factor as there is no current going there.

[deltabravo]

azdryheat wrote:
Strongly disagree with the above post. The problem isn't the electric brake. The brakes's star wheel is adjusted too tight, which is why the wheel isn't turning, the brakes are too tight.

Your post is contradicting. It says the problem "isn't the electric brakes" but then goes on to explain that the problem is the brakes being adjusted to tight.

The information you are probably trying to convey is "the problem isn't the electric function of the brakes, but the manual adjustment of them"

[deltabravo]

penguin149 wrote:
Does this sound like a bearing or brake issue?

Brakes. It's usually the magnet dragging against the rotor, and partial contact of the brake shoes.
BUT, the wheel should spin more than a quarter turn after rotating it if you give it a good hard spin with your hands. So with that said, the brakes are likely adjusted too tight.

azdryheat wrote:
While you're there check the adjustment of the castle nut, which holds your wheel together. It should be hand tightened then backed off to the first hole the cotter pin can go through.

Not all axles use cotter pins these days, they use a little keeper doo-dad that goes over the nut

Here's a video on repacking the bearings I did on a cargo trailer I have.

[12th_Man_Fan]

If it has been sitting for awhile the rust on the drum will certainly make a dragging sound but I don't think it should stop in a quater of a turn. Probably adjusted a little too tight.

[fj12ryder]

I've had my brakes apart once, and I honestly don't recall hearing any dragging sounds when I turned the wheel. Just another data point. Seems to me if the magnet is dragging hard enough to drastically slow a turning wheel, then there is going to be a lot of friction and wear happening very quickly. It just occurred to me that an electromagnet shouldn't really be doing anything if not energized.

[Mike134]

dodge guy wrote:
Ok people. Electric brakes will make a noise when turned. The magnet is in contact with the drum by a spring. It rides along the drum until the brake controller sends a signal for current. Then it drags harder against the drum and increases braking proportiently. So it's normal to hear a scraping/dragging noise when turning. The drum will not freewheel because of this. It does sound like it may be slightly adjusted too much. You should be able to freely turn it with a couple fingers and not much effort.

Here's the parts of the magnet, notice the spring to keep the magnet against the drum when brakes are not applied

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/etrailer/AKBRKR-M10.html

[SweetLou]

dodge guy wrote:
Ok people. Electric brakes will make a noise when turned. The magnet is in contact with the drum by a spring. It rides along the drum until the brake controller sends a signal for current. Then it drags harder against the drum and increases braking proportiently. So it's normal to hear a scraping/dragging noise when turning. The drum will not freewheel because of this. It does sound like it may be slightly adjusted too much. You should be able to freely turn it with a couple fingers and not much effort.

Exactly. I was going to say it should drag a bit.