Wheel Bearing Replacement

[JimC]

My Lunar Lexon EW Twin 2006 is in for an annual service. The Manager rang me to say one of my wheel bearings had separated when they pulled it of the axle, leaving the inner still on the axle.He has ordered a new bearing from AlKo. However I was reading in my Haynes manual where it says to fit this type of sealed bearing is a factory-only job and the drum has to be sent back to the manufacturer. Is this true? as I understand the the manager has said they will do the work in there workshops.

Jim

 

[forestgump]

yes if its a pressed in or frozen and they have the means to do so.

 

[JTQ]

Its a pity your service place is still taking the wheel hub off. Al-Ko have designed this assembly for the life of the van.

So often you hear of bearing replacements needed at the second or subsequent services that it begs the question, did the earlier removal and refit do the initiating damage?

I questioned why my new van did not have this done when they did not give me the old nuts as in previous services. I was told by them because Al-Ko had told them not to do this for that reason.

That was at one of the UKs biggest dealers.

 

[RogerL]

Al-Ko's official policy USED to be that the drum should be removed for cleaning and inspection annually - despite the fact that similar brakes fitted to cars don't - has anything changed?

 

[Damian]

The brake drums do have to come off to clean out dust and lubricate the reverse mechanism and shoe sliders.

It is also required to check the whole area of the brake linings for crazing and delamination from the backplate.

Bearings do wear, and if you use the van frequently, they will wear more quickly than a van used infrequently.

Wear will also be affected by the kind of roads used and state of the wheel balance.

To say they are an assembly designed for the life of the van is true in one sense, they will be there for th elife of the van, but still need stripping down to service.

 

[JTQ]

Well this is their statement in my handbook:

Maintenance and Cleaning:

Maintenance of Euro-Plus/Euro-

Compact and Euro-Delta.

The above semi-trailing axles come

fitted with maintenance free wheel

bearings (greased and sealed for life)

and no adjustment is necessary.

NOTE: The hub bearing is not

protected against water ingress.

Check wheel brake linings for wear

every 10,000 kilometers or every 12

months via the inspection hole

Absolutely no mention of removal but inspection via the provided hole on the maintenance free unit. Just as the dealer said to me.

 

[RogerL]

I asked if Al-Ko's position had changed because I took this issue up with them in 2008 and got the following reply:-

Dear Mr L----,

From a servicing point of view, we would recommend an annual service for our Euro axle system, albeit a mileage factor may have an influence.

It is correct that the Euro axle bearings are "sealed for life", in respect that they cannot be packed with grease similar to the old taper roller design with a castellated nut. Even with a relatively small mileage traveled, the type or touring with will also have a factor on the amount of brake dust that can be generated. It is for this reason why the brake drums should be removed on an annual service.

Regards

---- ----

Service Manager

 

[Damian]

Whilst a very limited inspection of the thickness of the lower shoe is possible through the hole in the back of the backplate, if you can get your eye level with it, you cannot see th eupper shoe, nor the whole width of the shoes.

Having just come back from Al-KO having been on another course with them, and being an Al-Ko Service Centre, I can very confidently state that your dealer is wrong.

Also, if he is an Approved Workshop, he is not following the Approved Workshop Service Schedule, which is what you rely on for warranty puropses.

Thus it leaves it open to debate, if your dealer is skimping on a vital safety issue, what else is he not doing?

 

[JTQ]

I repeat the official statement published by the German principal, is:-

"--Check wheel brake linings for wear

every 10,000 kilometers or every 12

months via the inspection hole "

Why would you be required to inspect the lining wear via the hole if you were about to or had pulled the wheel off? Its simply not real, Al-Ko Germany are not that daft as to retain such a statement if they then required it to be opened where lining wear would be more easily seen.

Al-Ko also make the whole internals, so if they need servicing or cleaning why don't they actually say so?

They very specifically only say check the "brake lining wear" via the provided hole. No talk of any other internal servicing requirement.

Anything more is to do with others making paid work, not any engineering requirement from Al-Ko Germany. And with these rolling element bearings introducing a risk of subsequent failure.

Personally I was very relived to know that they had only inspected mine and not pulled them apart.

As RogerL stated automobiles don't require opening, and they do several times the mileage and often include self adjusting handbrake mechanisms.

 

[JTQ]

I read what you say Damian; that being the case then Al-Ko need to sort their act out and get the official published information from Germany to align with what they in the UK are telling yourself, some dealers, and RogerL.

 

[Damian]

Quite simply, what you get when you buy a caravan, or car, or any other mechanical device, is an Owners Handbook, which is vastly different to the official Service Centre Service Information and Service Schedules.

The owners handbook is to let those who want to do something to check their vans be able to do so, it is not expected that the average home mechanic will have access to the tools and wrenches needed to fully service th ebrakes, nor is it intended that untrained persons attempt to do so.

Whilst caravan brakes are relatively simple, they do have internals which require cleaning an dgreasing, as the hubs ar enot water tight, and lack of use and long storage create ideal conditions for rust and seizure of the moving parts.

Brake dust is corrosive,look at any alloy wheel to see that, and it is to remove corrosion from the drum, and deglaze the shoes , as well as cleaning the dust from th ereverse mechanism and adjuster that he drums must come off.

However, I will continue to do what I know is right, you must continue to do what you think is right,,,for you.

 

[RogerL]

That's ** Damian.

The Owner's Manual of every car I've ever owned LISTS the service tasks and their frequency - it may only give details for those items the owner can reasonably do but it lists every one.

A caravan Owners Manual, and in this case the chassis manufacturer's Owners Manual should list every service item regardless of whther it's only possible for a dealer to do or not.

 

[Damian]

Roger, I agree that maybe the manual should include all the requirements, however, look at any of the caravan handbooks, they are all generic and rely on the user reading individual makers handbooks.

We all know the caravan industry are lacking in clarity in lots of areas.

 

[RogerL]

You can't justify it by saying they're all as bad - including Al-Ko.

 

[JimC]

It seems from the many answers to my question that the service on the brakes is in question. This van has had 4 annual service and the dealers have always removed the brake drum to service the brakes.

However on this occasion when they pulled the drum off the bearing parted company spilling bearings on the floor.

My question was does anyone know if the removal and replacement of the said bearing be done at the dealers, or is it a factory-only job as stated in my Haynes manual?

Jim

 

[Damian]

To answer Jim,the bearing can be replaced at your dealers if they have the tools to do it, which they should have.

For Roger, I am not trying to justify anything, I am simply working to the information I get from Al-Ko, BPW and the other equipment and appliance manufacturers.

 

[JimC]

Damian

I have just come off the phone to my dealer, and he has assured me he can remove and replace the bearing.

Thanks everyone for the input.

Jim

 

[RogerL]

That's the problem Damian - Al-Ko specify different things.

Leaving aside the inadequacies of caravan manufacturers handbooks, the Al-Ko Caravan Chassis Handbook http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/support/CaravanChassisBook.pdf specifically states:-

""Maintenance and Cleaning:

Maintenance of Euro-Plus/Euro-

Compact and Euro-Delta.

The above semi-trailing axles come

fitted with maintenance free wheel

bearings (greased and sealed for life)

and no adjustment is necessary.

NOTE: The hub bearing is not

protected against water ingress.

Check wheel brake linings for wear

every 10,000 kilometers or every 12

months via the inspection hole (Fig.

6/Item 1).

Adjust if necessary. Where

continuous travel in hilly regions or

high mileage is experienced, earlier

inspection and adjustment may be

necessary.""

Given that cars with drum brakes don't need internal inspection and cleaning every year, just check pad wear through the aperture and adjust as necessary, together with the absence of ANY Al-Ko documentation available to owners which specifies drum removal, it's hardly surprising that many caravan owners feel ripped off by dealers.

 

[xtrailman]

When vans had taper bearings, i would regrease the bearings every year, also check the brake adjustment mechanism, override and springs.

Nowadays with the one shot nuts i leave the brakes to the service engineer. As far as i'm concerned removing the hub every year should depend on the mileage towed that year, with a low mileage van hub removal every two years should be ok, the brake linings can always be checked to some extent via the peep hole, but i guess everyone will have there own idea.

The bearings now are parallel and should just pull off, and in one piece, provided the correct torque is used to refit the hub, no damage should result from the annual service.

Comparing disc brakes to a drum brake is quite pointless, drums collect dust, the linings could unseen be damaged or partly detached, with discs all is on show .

 

[RogerL]

When vans had taper bearings, i would regrease the bearings every year, also check the brake adjustment mechanism, override and springs.

Nowadays with the one shot nuts i leave the brakes to the service engineer. As far as i'm concerned removing the hub every year should depend on the mileage towed that year, with a low mileage van hub removal every two years should be ok, the brake linings can always be checked to some extent via the peep hole, but i guess everyone will have there own idea.

The bearings now are parallel and should just pull off, and in one piece, provided the correct torque is used to refit the hub, no damage should result from the annual service.

Comparing disc brakes to a drum brake is quite pointless, drums collect dust, the linings could unseen be damaged or partly detached, with discs all is on show .

I compared drum to drum !!

 

[JimC]

Personally I am more than happy to have the dealer remove the drum and clean & lubricate the brake parts.My own experience was that the bearing seized to the stub axle in 12 months.If this is left for an indefinite period of time irrespective of mileage. I think there is more chance of parts seizing or becoming unserviceable.

Jim

 

[JTQ]

Sounds like something went wrong when it was reassembled at a previous service?

Hope this dealer took care of your van.

 

[readcaravans]

when you attend the alko training it is clearly stated that the service does need and include the removal of the hub for the reasons already listed above.

any service centre not removing the hubs, is purely so they can save time servicing by what is really cutting corners.

we ourselves invested in a press for removing and replacing bearings and have happily been doing so for about 8 yrs now. a decent service centre should really have all the alko bearings in stock as well.

 

[Guest]

I don't think anyone would question the policy of keeping their outfit in as safe a condition as possible, and the annual service is a good place for this to be completed. However, it is also clear that ALKO try to be 'all things to all people' and do state different things to owners and to service agents. They also hide behind the same 'wall' as all other manufacturers and state that only parts with their name on it, are acceptable, although as all manufacturers tend to get their parts from 3rd party suppliers, this is a bit of a 'red herring'. Fortunately in the case of a trailer brake set up, the number of replaceable parts is small, so there is not that much of an issue, as for instance in a car.

Part of any maintenance schedule should take into account the use the outfit has been subjected to, and the area of operation. If you only take your brand new van a few hundred miles in the 1st season, then really removal of the hubs should not be an issue. However if you decide to cross the Sahara desert for 9 months then yes, a good check up is essential. However, as trailers do not have odometers the actual usage is a matter of word of mouth from the owner, and that is invariably a 'guestimate'.

Personally, I would have felt that under normal operating conditions removal of the hubs should be obligatory every 2nd year unless the use dictates otherwise. Squealing or pulling brakes is a good indicator of dust build up inside requiring attention. It is disappointing that ALKO do not make visual observation of the inside of the drums a little easier, so one does wonder if this is deliberate. As far as I can tell BPW do not share the same servicing requirements, but their hubs are grease filled.

However, as the difference in costs for the service whether or not drums are removed, is not going to change that much, it means that we as owners are at the mercy of the dealers in this regard, especially if we wish to maintain a warranty protection.

While there are many dealers out there who try to follow the 'best practice' in the interests of their customers, unfortunately there are also far too many others who do not, and tarnish all. This is an area where the industry really needs to tighten up its own internal vetting procedures vigorously, not just issuing little plaques to put on the wall, stating 'accredited'.

 

[RogerL]

http://www.al-ko.co.uk/braking-maintenance.htm
That's another page on Al-Ko's website which refers to annual maintenance of checking brake lining thickness through the back plate inspection hole.

That advice is totally pointless if they also require the drum to be dismantled.