Brake drum temps mystery

[Steph and Dud B]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

So what is your next step with your brakes? You sound pretty unhappy to me. ;(

I talked to the tech who worked on our Ollie. He disassembled all 4 wheel assemblies down to the spindles and rebuilt them. One theory of his, maybe the spindle nuts were too tight (shouldn't be, I watched his boss torque them last time), so he re-torqued. He couldn't find anything else. Going on a short trip tomorrow. We'll see.

[ScubaRx]

On 9/22/2022 at 4:40 PM, Steph and Dud B said:

I talked to the tech who worked on our Ollie....One theory of his, maybe the spindle nuts were too tight (shouldn't be, I watched his boss torque them last time), so he re-torqued. He couldn't find anything else. Going on a short trip tomorrow. We'll see.

Compare what you watched him do to these steps:

1- After the hub has been replaced and the spindle nut is started, spin the hub with one hand while tightening the nut with the other.

2- When the nut is hand tight, the hub will still turn but with possibly some resistance. 

3- Using a socket of the appropriate size, tighten the nut until the hub can no longer be turned by hand. This process is to properly seat the bearings into their races. 

4- Back the nut off with the socket until you can once again turn it by hand. DO NOT allow the hub to spin during this step. If it does, retighten with the socket.

5- Tighten the nut by hand until it stops. BACK OFF the nut to where you can insert the cotter pin. This could be up 1/8 turn.

6- Spin the hub to make sure it’s not too tight. Install the cotter pin.

Note: Some Dexter spindle/nut combinations do not use a cotter pin but rather a spindle nut retainer which I much prefer. Same steps apply. 

[mountainoliver]

Never lube hubs/bearings. I think that the built in bearing tolerance just requires that the bearings be torqued solid (I don’t know the actual number for this). This hundred or so ft/lbs torque will provide the correct running clearance. 

[Steph and Dud B]

2 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Compare what you watched him do to these steps

1 hour ago, mountainoliver said:

Never lube hubs/bearings. I think that the built in bearing tolerance just requires that the bearings be torqued solid

Yes, these are NevRLube hubs. Different spindle nut and procedure. It was done correctly.

Today's trip was encouraging. First, braking power was greatly enhanced. Until now, my brake controller setting had been on 5. That was way too high for the trailer today. I had to lower it to 2.5 to get balanced braking power.  Second, the temperature difference was only about 20-25 degrees today (96 on the left wheels, 115-120 on the right). Granted, it was a much cooler day than previous trips, so that was probably a factor, but I'm still encouraged by the smaller differential. 

Now I'm wondering if the problem was the left brakes. New auto adjusting brakes are supposed to be adjusted manually when first installed. I wonder if that didn't happen on the left side, so the right brakes were doing most of the work and overheating. When the tech reassembled the brakes this week he might have corrected the problem. Or maybe the right brakes just overtightened over time and the problem will return.  

Will keep monitoring. Fingers crossed.

[Steph and Dud B]

Final update (I hope). Just returned from a 500 mile trip to midstate NY. All 4 brake drums are running approximately the same temp now. I'm thinking the left shoes are finally broken in and all 4 brakes are working properly now. 😀

[MAX Burner]

Awesome thread,y'all - informative.  I inspected my wheel bearings, brakes/wiring, drums, shocks, rear jacks, and torque settings on the Dexter running gear yesterday in preparations for our 2nd "shake-down" cruise with our "new-to-us" Ollie - leaving later today.  No major issues discovered other than running gear had not been kept clean enough to provide accurate visual inspection of linkages and general running gear, so I broke out the pressure washer to remove old grease build-up and generally clean up a 5+ year old mess.

ABOVE:  Before...

 

Pic #2:  After...

I found 2 leaky shocks and mounting bracket nuts for rear jacks were about a half-turn less than properly torqued.  Although the wheel bearing grease appeared serviceable all the way around repacked with fresh, since I was there anyway.

- I

Getting ready to button up curbside after cleaning, inspection, and repack operations.

Headed to El Caballo Lake around noon for a long weekend of fishing, good company, and maybe a beer or 3.... HA!

 

[topgun2]

Interesting to note the difference in the condition between the two hubs - one is fairly rusted while the other is not.  I'd be sure to check both the brake pads and operation of those brakes - especially on the rear.  Also interesting is the difference in the two grease caps on the hubs.  By the look of the front cap it would appear that it is highly likely that the rear cap was lost while the front cap was installed in a reasonably brutal fashion.  I'd replace that front cap soon.

Nice job in getting that neglected running gear cleaned up - thanks for taking care of it.

Bill

[John E Davies]

3 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

running gear had not been kept clean enough to provide accurate visual inspection of linkages and general running gear, so I broke out the pressure washer to remove old grease build-up and generally clean up a 5+ year old mess.

Bravo, some people don’t like looking at nasty messes. I do caution that it will mess up a driveway, so it should be done over gravel. And always relube immediately after!  High pressure water directed at the joints will drive out the grease and replace it with water….. AKA the “universal solvent”.

I clean mine by hand with lots of old rags, brake cleaner, goggles and gloves. Yuck. 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Geronimo John]

When brake inconsistencies pop up, one of the basic and easy to do checks is to measure the amperage of power going to each brake actuator (magnet).  If they are all the same, then it eliminates them from the stew.  If you find that one or more of them are not drawing the amps (3 amps for our model and likely yours) per brake, then the temperature of the drums on the other side will be elevated. 

I fought the same problem as you did and ultimately my problem was that the brakes on the street side were not adjusted properly.  Likely by the dude doing the annual brake service.  Oh.... sorry.... that was me.  Once i tightened them up about 20 clicks the temp's equalized and the brakes work great.

PS:  years ago, JD suggested (and I implemented) the removal of the Ollie rim fat "hubcaps".  It makes getting a direct temp reading of the rotors SO much easier.  Also, it makes inspection of the grease cap (is it still there) or adjusting the spindle nut with the tire still installed (but off the ground) possible as well.  And at $9 for the little hub cap plastic cover no longer necessary it saves a few $$ too.

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

years ago, JD suggested (and I implemented) the removal of the Ollie rim fat "hubcaps".  It makes getting a direct temp reading of the rotors SO much easier.  Also, it makes inspection of the grease cap (is it still there) or adjusting the spindle nut with the tire still installed (but off the ground) possible as well.

Sure - but how will you know that the grease cap is off the hub if you can't hear it rattling around inside that "hubcap"?😁

[Geronimo John]

21 hours ago, topgun2 said:

Sure - but how will you know that the grease cap is off the hub if you can't hear it rattling around inside that "hubcap"?😁

Two possible tongue in cheek answers:

• With my hearing that is a moot question!  🙂

• My vision is far superior to my hearing. 🙂

 

 

[topgun2]

And here I thought that some "tongue in cheek" person would immediately say, "because the little center $9.00 plug in the "hub cap" is missing!"

More than one way to skin THAT cat.🤣

[Steph and Dud B]

It looks like the mystery of my hot brake drums on one side has been solved. Last fall I learned that the tires we received from the factory at delivery last summer contained balance beads. This is relevant because the first thing I did when we got the trailer home that summer was take it to a tire shop to have metal valve stems installed. I also had the wheels spin balanced for good measure. A little research revealed that tires containing balance beads will not spin balance correctly. It'll look right on the machine, but not be correctly balanced when the beads shift on the road. Maybe that was why both clockwise-rotating tires were running hot...

Before putting the trailer to bed last winter I removed all the stick-on and clip-on weights installed by the tire shop. We just returned from our first trip of the season, 2300 miles. Whereas the right wheels were running 60 degrees hotter than the left before (per IR measurement of the drums), I saw no more then 10 degrees difference between any two wheels on this trip. I think the problem is solved. (I will, however, continue to monitor wheel temps going forward in case there was residual damage to tires or bearings.)

[MAX Burner]

On 4/7/2023 at 7:24 AM, topgun2 said:

Interesting to note the difference in the condition between the two hubs - one is fairly rusted while the other is not.  I'd be sure to check both the brake pads and operation of those brakes - especially on the rear.  Also interesting is the difference in the two grease caps on the hubs.  By the look of the front cap it would appear that it is highly likely that the rear cap was lost while the front cap was installed in a reasonably brutal fashion.  I'd replace that front cap soon.

Nice job in getting that neglected running gear cleaned up - thanks for taking care of it.

Bill

I recently contacted the PO about the axles.  After getting to the "full disclosure" part of the discussion, I learned from him that the front axle was replaced in 2021 due to either not greasing the bearings properly or whatever.  He spun a bearing race destroying the axle and had to replace it.  I wasn't happy to discover this after buying it - but at least I know the "rest of the story."  Ugh.....  

At least the brake linings were equally worn between front and rear hubs.

Planning to contact Dexter to order new (correct) grease caps for the front and rear hubs, BTW...

[topgun2]

42 minutes ago, MAX Burner said:

Planning to contact Dexter to order new (correct) grease caps for the front and rear hubs, BTW...

You might want to re-think this in that the grease caps used by Dexter are not made of the heaviest material and are not the easiest to put back on the hub.

These things are not expensive nor are they complicated.  Where I've had to replace mine over the years I've gone to ones like THESE because they are made from heavier gauge material and given the "flat" top they can be installed much more easily compared to the "rounded top" variety.

Bill 

[MAX Burner]

2 hours ago, topgun2 said:

You might want to re-think this in that the grease caps used by Dexter are not made of the heaviest material and are not the easiest to put back on the hub.

These things are not expensive nor are they complicated.  Where I've had to replace mine over the years I've gone to ones like THESE because they are made from heavier gauge material and given the "flat" top they can be installed much more easily compared to the "rounded top" variety.

Bill 

Good call, Topgun - just ordered a 4-pack from Amazon for $12!  Thanks, amigo!

[topgun2]

de nada

[Allen Lee Rohner]

Can anyone provide a supplier who sells a chrome  cap with same specs as Dexter  cap?

Best Regards,

Allen

[Ollie-Haus]

4 hours ago, Allen Lee Rohner said:

Can anyone provide a supplier who sells a chrome  cap with same specs as Dexter  cap?

Best Regards,

Allen

Lots of choices on Amazon with quick delivery. You may be able to find them at the local farm store as well. 

Here's an Amazon choice with lots of good reviews:

https://www.amazon.com/Relube-Grease-000-3-Trailer-DC200L-DCRP/dp/B06XCK7ZNQ/ref=sr_1_59?crid=3E365J7L1VP3O&keywords=dexter+easy+lube+axle+caps&qid=1688472325&sprefix=dexter+easy+l%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-59

[MAX Burner]

57 minutes ago, Ollie-Haus said:

Here's an Amazon choice with lots of good reviews:

We bought these same caps in April from Amazon as well - peace of mind!

Old caps:

New cap installed after cleaning up brake drums and applying high-temp paint:

[topgun2]

These are the same caps I mentioned in my April post (see above).

Not only are they formed from thicker material as compared to the originals but they are easier to put into the hub too without damaging the cap since you can lightly tap around the formed edge of the cap.

Bill

[Allen Lee Rohner]

I would like to thank you all for your suggestions,  looks like I am using similar cap.   I was thinking a Chrome Cap would stand out more and match the chrome lug nuts.

Allen

 

[MAX Burner]

On 7/4/2023 at 10:22 AM, topgun2 said:

These are the same caps I mentioned in my April post (see above).

Right on, @topgun2 - we appreciate your research and vector to the supplier....

"Ravel-On!", brother!

Cheers, 

[MAX Burner]

14 hours ago, Allen Lee Rohner said:

I would like to thank you all for your suggestions,

We both definitely like the more "See Through" Sendel wheels and the nicely painted drums w/o the Ollie hubcap - much cleaner look.  We're actually considering the "Centramatics" modification....