• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Breaking Revelation

Forums New posts
_RG_

_RG_

Forum Supporter
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
4,242
Reaction score
3,008
Location
Bryan-sort of-Texas
I hope the guy who came up with trailer brakes lived a long and happy life. Trailer breaks are pure magic - when they work. When they don't work things can be more exciting than I care to enjoy.

Thus was the case. I had me a puzzle and my puzzler was just about all puzzled out. This is on a pretty heavy trailer and without brakes...well, it just ain't right.

Folks over at Goose Neck said it's just gotta be a loose connection. Couldn't find one. Other folks said the truck controller was flaky. Brakes worked perfectly on a different trailer. Ohm meter showed the magnets doing just what magnets are supposed to be doing. Rigged up a battery to do some testing and the sound of magnets clunking was music...but still no brakes.

This was getting to be a matter of principal...

So, took one apart. It's a seriously nasty job and my hands will never be the same.

I found a clue...

20141205_150307.jpg


Brakes never stood a chance. Looked like the seal was shot and the EZ Greezy thing was just greasing the brakes...really well, too.

NASTY...NASTY...NASTY.

Three of the four looked like this. The fourth was just getting started.

After a little TLC...and some new stuff.

20141205_154642.jpg


Went ahead and did all four. New 6K springs on the rear axle just for added piece of mind. Ready to roll.

20141205_154522.jpg

 
Well there is your problem! Those are the shoes that were covered in grease? If so, they cleaned up quite well.
 
Those were the shoes, but it looks like he put on new stuff. There's no way I'd trust cleaning them after that.
 
Did no one at Goose Neck bother pulling off one of the wheels to take a peek?
 
I'd still be out there cleaning those old shoes. Heck, it took 4 gallons of gas and three cans of brake cleaner just to wash off the axles and clean out the drums. Did I mention this was seriously NASTY? The first wheel I pulled had shoes worn pretty thin. Another one had brake material separating from the metal. New shoes looked like the better option. They don't cost all that much, anyway. GooseNeck guys were just going on what I could tell them at the time... which was erratic and intermittent (and poorly described). And that did sound like an electrical issue. They're great folks and I'm lucky to have them right here in river city. They were intrigued enough to offer having a look at it if I'd bring the trailer over. Probably could have saved some time if I had but this had become a challenge. :headbang:

Two things have been new about this trailer: I broke an axel spring going through a construction area near Post last summer (didn't know trailer springs break) and then these doggone brakes. Weird stuff for me but figured some one else might gain from knowing about this little escapade.
 
Trailer bearing and brake maintenance should be a yearly endeavor. If the trailer doesn't go under water, there's almost never any reason to pump grease into them. If they need grease, they also need work.
 
chaissos said:
Trailer bearing and brake maintenance should be a yearly endeavor. If the trailer doesn't go under water, there's almost never any reason to pump grease into them. If they need grease, they also need work.
Click to expand...

I'll second that. Probably had had too much grease pumped into them and the grease had no where else to go but past the seals onto the brakes.
 
SpiritAtBay said:
I think the title of this thread should be "Braking Revelation"


:rider:
Click to expand...

For the spelling & grammar nazis among us (of which I'm one), too true. But a very enlightening thread nevertheless. :-P

About 10 years ago I was coming down the west side of Monarch Pass with my 2900 lb Coleman camper pushing the Cherokee as hard as it could. I hadn't bothered to notice - until the Jeep's front brakes overheated and I had a major "pucker" moment - that the trailer brakes weren't functioning. With that problem later solved (dirt in the plug), I realized just how much I had grown to appreciate and rely upon the brakes on that trailer.
 
mattc said:
I'll second that. Probably had had too much grease pumped into them and the grease had no where else to go but past the seals onto the brakes.
Click to expand...

Yep. Nothing ever designed is worse than those fittings to pump grease . People just keep pumping and pumping and pumping,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Toopid!
 
tshelfer said:
For the spelling & grammar nazis among us (of which I'm one), too true. But a very enlightening thread nevertheless. :-P

About 10 years ago I was coming down the west side of Monarch Pass with my 2900 lb Coleman camper pushing the Cherokee as hard as it could. I hadn't bothered to notice - until the Jeep's front brakes overheated and I had a major "pucker" moment - that the trailer brakes weren't functioning. With that problem later solved (dirt in the plug), I realized just how much I had grown to appreciate and rely upon the brakes on that trailer.
Click to expand...

Or principal vs principle...:ponder:
 
Monarch pass is one place I would NOT want to be discovering brake problems. Truck seat would suffer terribly.

The EZ Greazy things look great on paper. There's a little hole at the back of the spindle where grease pushes out between the seal and back of the inner bearing. Grease is stopped by the seal (in theory), goes through that bearing...through the outer bearing and toward the dust cap. A little rubber plug comes out of the dust cap. When you see grease coming at you - stop pumping and put the plug back in. Or so go the instructions. All of this assumes a really good seal.

If this was on a trailer hub (no brakes) then more grease is just messy so pump away.

I've seen many boat trailers lose wheels. Boat trailers are different. Bearing Buddies were a gift from above and I hope their inventor won the Nobel Prize.

My Dad used to say the same thing that y'all mentioned - road trailers don't need an abundance of grease. I believe it's true. But when you have these really neat little EZ Greazy things... live and learn.
 
Last edited:
_RG_ said:
Monarch pass is one place I would NOT want to be discovering brake problems. Truck seat would suffer terribly.
Click to expand...

Mine nearly did. Brake fade is scary as heck, and that's the only time I'd experienced it in the last 25 years or so - since back when my 4,000 lb 1962 station wagon had F/R drum brakes.
 
I hate working on drum brakes. I made a promise to myself last time I did it, never again!
Can't believe you did 4 ! And in that condition ! :clap:
 
Good find RG thanks for sharing.

EZ-Lube axle (that is Dexter's name) require a double lip seal to work properly. Most trailer bearing kits and parts stores will have a single lip seal. I have seen this several times where the seal is replaced with a single lip then they allow the grease to be pushed into the brakes.

I agree that trailer bearings should be done annually , I don’t always do so. I have two trailers with the easy lube style system and have never had trouble with them. My method is to remove the dust cover, not just the plug and to slowly pump grease in. If I don’t immediately have grease pushing out the front of the out bearing I stop, if grease comes out the front of the outer bearing I continue to flush old grease out until I see the new. Last step is clean the mess and install dust cap.

Bearing Buddy is a different sort of animal, it is spring loaded and holds the grease under pressure. This system has nowhere for the grease to go except out the seal. This system should never be used with trailer brakes. The only good use for this is boat trailers were the positive pressure helps to keep the water out even if your seal is less than perfect.
 
Vinny said:
I hate working on drum brakes. I made a promise to myself last time I did it, never again!
Can't believe you did 4 ! And in that condition ! :clap:
Click to expand...

Vinny, it was an epic mess and tough on the body. Still have sore spots and dabbing on antibiotic every night. These brakes are a job better left to someone who knows what they're doing. (I don't) :giveup:

Gary, it had double lip seals but totally worn out. Previous owner used it to haul race cars. No idea how well it was maintained. Somebody was surely trying to keep the bearings well lubed. Whenever I've used it, the thing was going down the road a good ways. Proactive maintenance is just going to have to be the way it is for this one.

Most of my trailer tires rot with old age way before they ever get a chance to wear out. This one, that ain't necessarily so. I've seen where folks say trailer tires don't get near the miles that regular car tires do. But, if you're carrying a load - trailer tires are rated for the weight - car tires are pretty limited.

Here was another little challenge: Following the regular RV wiring color standard didn't work. I finally had to send volts down each wire separately and see what lit up. Forget wire colors. After that, matching up a trailer wire function with the truck plug's contact position had things working pretty quick. :mrgreen:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top