Trailer brakes sticking or bad bearings? you tell me

[jsz]

My rear axle was so hot the other day that it blew both buddy bearing bras off. And all I did was take it for a 10 mile drive. Let me give you the background before you guess at the problem.

It is an '02 trailer with surge disk brakes on the rear axle and even though the bearings have never been repacked, both axles get a few shots of grease before each trip (enough to make the buddy bearing indicator ring move). After a few months in storage, I decided to fill the gas tank. when I got to the gas station (5 miles away), there was a slight burning smell. It smelled like electrical so I looked around but nothing stood out. When I got home, the smell was worse and I noticed both rear bras were gone. That is when I noticed how hot the rear tires and rims were. Very hot compared to the front axle that was still cold.

I wondered if the brakes could have been activated the whole way but it seemed to drive fine. When I jacked the rear axle up, both tires spun normally.

My next guess is a problem with the bearings but I've heard keeping them topped off with grease should keep them OK.

Have any of you experienced anything like this? What was the problem?

[mtnsmith]

Dragging brakes made the heat that expanded the bearing grease and blew the bras off. Also take a look on the backside, since you have discs, the grease retainer seal on the inside could have been damaged as well. Speaking from experience here I had to put new seals on but the bearings were fine. Also changed the brake fluid cause when it boiled it got very dark. One of the calipers had corroded slides. Enjoy!

[TeamAllen]

Check the Caliper mounting bolts. Another owner with a 2002 had his come loose and fall off.
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...hlight=caliper

That's probably not the cause, but something to double check.

[jake's02-22i]

Mine did this every once in a while but what extreme told me to do is to make sure that after it has been stored for a long time. Push that button under the tongue before you take off just to make sure the beaks are released. We started doing that every time and haven’t had a problem with it anymore.

[gcalkins]

Based on my experience: The Bearing Buddy is nothing but a spring loaded plunger that forces and holds grease in the bearings. This keeps water from sitting in the bearing rollers, races and cages. As Mtn mentioned above, there is only a simple seal on the backside of the bearing to hold the grease in. This seal is nothing but a wiper ring of thin rubber. You should only need to replace / pump grease once (or twice?) per year.

Since 'both axles get a few shots of grease before each trip (enough to make the buddy bearing indicator ring move)' you have, I believe, blown the grease seals in back. Once grease breaks out, the seal is a dead. On axles with out brakes, the grease is being discharged on the inside of the wheel, slinging onto your wheel and from there into the the wide open spaces. But on axles w/ brakes, you are dumping the grease into the brake assembly. (Notice any decrease in braking ability?)

I would take the trailer, slowly, to a qualified mechanic and have all bearing dissembled and inspected. In my case, I had them replace / repack all bearings and since one of my brake disc pads were grease impregnated, I had those replaced at the same time. Not real expensive, but more than I would prefer. But then, I have never had pull over with smoking wheels on a late Sunday evening in Timbucktoo.

[noworries]

Your brakes were applied, for some reason, and the heat expanded the grease, pressurized the bras and blew them off. You need to determine why your brakes were applied probably continuously for a while. It can be as simple as a two mile steep 35 MPH downhill -- the bane of surge brakes, or sticking calipers. Definitely get it looked at. On my 2002 I'm going completely through the brake system this winter.

Don't regularly add grease to the bearing buddies. There needs to be some outward travel left in the plungers to handle heat generated grease expansion, and some inward travel to handle cooling when dunking them in the lake.

Edit: Oh yes, my brake axle bearing buddies are now going bra-less after a trip down the steep hill to Lake Clementine. Its nearly impossible to get the brakes released on that hill.

[jsz]

I narrowed the problem to the brakes.

I lifted the rear axle again and this time the tires would not spin freely. After bleeding some fluid out at the caliper and prying the pad away, it would spin again. I then went to the front and compressed and released the hitch. The tires were now stuck again until I bled the line.

For some reason the brakes are not releasing by themselves. I heard a rusted piston could cause this but I'm also wondering if there is supposed to be some sort of a return spring?

Have any of you ever pulled the calipers apart to check/sand the piston?

Could it just be a bad return spring?

[Razzman]

Yes i have, i used to be a front end and brake mechanic many moons ago. There are no "return springs" on hydraulic brakes, releasing pressure via either stopping or acceleration releases them. Trailer discs are the same thing as your car brakes. You more than likely have debris in the caliper hanging the pistons. It could also be dirty brake fluid clogging a port in the master or caliper. If you've never done these procedures before then don't attempt it yourself unless you have someone that has assist you. Word to the wise also, stop your little squirt of grease each time you go out. Unless your losing grease or the ring indicator is no longer showing then you have plenty of grease in the hubs. In fact you've probablt too much now. All your going to do is blow your seals and let water into your bearings by doing that.

[jsz]

. Word to the wise also, stop your little squirt of grease each time you go out. Unless your losing grease or the ring indicator is no longer showing then you have plenty of grease in the hubs. In fact you've probablt too much now. All your going to do is blow your seals and let water into your bearings by doing that.

I should have been more clear on this. I check the bearings every trip and only add if the blue ring doesn't move when I press on it. When I do add grease, I stop as soon as the blue ring starts moving to avoid over greasing.

[Razzman]

Assuming you have UFP Bearing Buddies with the blue ring that protrudes then you only add grease when you DON'T see blue. If you can see blue when standing there then they are good. This came direct from UFP btw.

[jsz]

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

The bearings were fine but the pistons in the calipers were rusted and causing them to stick.

New calipers are on now and it's all good.

[hoopykat]

Make sure when parking the trailer, especially if you're backing it into its spot, after stopping, pull forward a bit to release the pressure on the piston and release the brakes. I've read that the calipers can stick to the disc if that pressure isn't let go. I would think over time it would dissipate anyways, but...

-Mike

[jsz]

I agree...

I also occasionaly push and pull on the tongue by hand during winter storage to keep it from getting stuck in any position.

[jsz]

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

The bearings were fine but the pistons in the calipers were rusted and causing them to stick.

New calipers are on now and it's all good.

Here are the pics of the old brake pistons. Notice how bad one side was compared to the other. No wonder it was sticking and not releasing.

[TeamAllen]

Good update. Glad you found the problem and shared it with the rest of us.