Trailer Brakes Problem

[seth]

I was towing my boat in a hilly area with lots of downhill braking. I got to my buddies house (on a hill as well) and parked facing downhill, so the brakes were engaged. Got out and came back to my truck within a few minutes and heard a sizzling sound. Looked at my braking axle and sure enough the axle was so hot that the bearing grease was blowing out both sides of the axle. Has anybody seen this before? Could it have had anything to do with my brakes being engaged when they were hot? I disengaged the brakes and drove (very carefully) about 20 miles to my storage, frequently pulling over and feeling my hubs, which actually progressively cooled down on the drive. I had a similar problem after I bought my boat but that was because nobody ever checked the pads (including myself) and they crumbled and were stuck grinding on the rotor causing the same thing. I repacked the bearings and put new pads on and that was about two years ago. Is it time to just pull it all apart again and rebuild or could I have another problem? I always make sure my bearing buddies are full enough.

[skiinxs]

Probably all the down hill braking. Sometimes you can help that situation by tapping the gas a little when it is possible to coast without braking. That will help disengage the surge brakes. Quick question - does your trailer sit level when hitched up to your tow vehicle or do you tow with the tongue low? Towing without the trailer level can keep your brakes from releasing properly.
Dave

[seth]

I do get some sag on my Tundra and it sits lower than level, but it doesnt look alarmingly low like some trailers you see out there. Ill look into getting a hitch with an inch or two less drop. If grease comes out of the seals do I have to replace them no matter what or could they still be good? Im assuming that since I drove it 20 miles without the axle heating up the internals should be ok? I would have no problem redoing seals, races, bearings but my boat is 120 miles away. Thanks!!

[skiinxs]

Seth,
If it got that hot, it probably damaged the greas seals and possibly the bearing buddies, I would pull the wheels off, replace the inner seals, clean, inspect, and repack the bearings if they look ok, and ispect the bearing buddies or whatever system your trailer has. I am often accused of being over-cautious, but I don't like failures when I am heading to the lake.
Dave

[seth]

Yeah, I feel ya on that one. I know if I just grease them back up and dont pull my wheels off and see whats up it will be in the back of my mind whenever I pull the trailer!! I guess I just wanted somebody to come and and say, "Dont worry about it, youre totally fine!" Thanks again!

[crobi2]

Probably the biggest problem is that the grease liquified and flowed out of your bearings compromising the packing job you did two years ago. If it did not get hot enough to boil brake fluid, your calipers (I assume disc brakes) probably are ok and the rotors probably did not warp. If you could repack your bearings without pulling off the wheels, you'd probably be good to go.

One time the break away brake on our old trailer got activated (1977 Attwood drum surge) by a tight turn and stayed on. When we pulled in for gas, the smoke was billowing (grease probably just below ignition temp). Needless to say, that incident deserved a complete tear down because the grease and boiled-out brake fluid had ruined the shoes. Interestingly, the modern grease seals survived (I replaced them anyways). I think I also ended up putting on new wheel cylinders.

[Agent banks]

Hey c rob. I have a question ? My 2000 San brakes on passenger side of boat go nuts every once in a while when braking! That shake and it sounds like a machine gun went off. What's goin on I've looked and replaced the hub and bearings ! I'm lost bro

[crobi2]

Hey c rob. I have a question ? My 2000 San brakes on passenger side of boat go nuts every once in a while when braking! That shake and it sounds like a machine gun went off. What's goin on I've looked and replaced the hub and bearings ! I'm lost bro

Couple questions:

Tandem trailer or single axle?

disc or drum brakes?

bang bang bang bang or slam slam slam slam (machine gun?) like they are locking?

have you ever done anything to the brakes?

[mcbridek]

Could have been caused by all the down hills, but I doubt it - I am wondering if your trailer brakes are not completely releasing when you release the vehicle brakes, but continue to rub creating the excess heat. I had this problem on just one side. lubed the parts in the caliper - but I still have problems with the brake not completely releasing. I figure my problem has to at the caliper since it is only on the one side.

[OKWAKEBDR]

Had a friend in Colorado burn up his hubs towing in the mountains. The problem was, the boat was pushing on the truck causing the surge brakes to engage nearly all the time. He replaced them with electric brakes. I did a brake job on my trailer last year and decided to do the same thing - electric brakes are really nice.

[Agent banks]

C rob tandem axle and drum. Bang bang bang. Only when applied firmly. No brake work has been done but springs look fine and in working order ? Like I said it's confusing !

[crobi2]

I thought it would be drum. It sounds like that one side is locking and releasing when you get on the brakes hard. You could try to crawl under there and adjust the shoes on both sides so they are even. You can do it with a flat screwdriver if you don't have a brake spoon. It's best if the wheel is up on a jack so you can tighten the shoes until they just start to rub on the drum and slow the wheel down when you spin it by hand.

I saw later that you were on another thread so I think I remember you saying that the bearings and all of the brake parts appeared in serviceable condition. So, with that the case, I would try to adjust them as a next step.

Did a lot of grease ever get on the shoes? Is the drum out of round?

[Agent banks]

You know I don't think that grease got on the shoe. And it appears to be round. I think your wright about the adjustment, I will look in to that. Thanks for the info. Is that a common problemb with drum breaks?

[crobi2]

Unfortunately on trailers, there is no provision for automatic adjustment of drum brakes as there is on cars. Drum brakes are pretty rare on cars, but in the day, if you backed up and pumped the brakes or just pulled the handbrake repeatedly, it would tighten up the brakes. Can't do that on a trailer, so you are stuck doing them manually.

It has always been a PITA for me and I near always have a hard time remembering which way to crank that little wheel with the screwdriver to tighten them up. On a car if you were manually adjusting, the auto adjust mechanism prevented you from loosening them. On a trailer brake (if I remember right), one of the brake springs just bends over the star screw to keep it from loosening, so you can adjust either way. Since you'll have the wheel spinning, you will soon see if it stops (if you are cranking the correct direction).

One last question if you please: which axle is the brake on - front or rear?

I have always heard brakes to the rear (I guess to sort of drag the trailer back to keep from a jackknife). But I have seen certain applications with the brakes on the front axle (more braking power I guess).

[Agent banks]

Front axle has the brakes. I've had more trouble with my trailer then my boat ha ! I even replaced the steering cable and had no trouble. The next step is to change my impeller so I can learn to do it for future references look kinda cramped back their?