Groove in inner bearing seat.. replace?

[erikgreen]

Hey all, time for another dumb question.

I'm reworking my trailer that I had in an accident for electric brakes, new coupler, new rollers, etc.... it's a 1973 sea ray trailer. It's very heavy, lots of solid metal. I have no concerns about the trailer's structure.

Taking off the old hubs (need new ones for the brakes anyway) I have one spindle that has a shallow groove on the second step from the inside, where the inner bearing sits on the axle. It's maybe 1/32", enough to see and just enough to feel.

What I'm wondering is if I have to replace this grooved axle spindle... I can get a new one with flange for $30, but I have to rent a welder (mine can't do metal that thick). Or could I get a sleeve for the one with the groove?

Thoughts? I'll take a pic later tonight if I can.

Erik

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Groove in inner bearing seat.. replace?

I think I'm gonna answer my own question: I'll order a new spindle and weld it on somehow... a bearing failure would be at best inconvenient and at worst painful or fatal depending on when it happened, and I've already had one accident this year with this trailer.

So, not gonna take any chances.

Erik

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Groove in inner bearing seat.. replace?

Welding on a spindle is no easy task. Apart from the obvious structural issues, you gotta get that spindle absolutely square to the frame (both lat and long).

Post a pic, it's possible that the grooove is nothing to worry about or a speedi-sleeve may fix it.

 

[rndn]

Re: Groove in inner bearing seat.. replace?

Take it to a professional welder. It's a structural component and should not be welded by anyone other than a certified welder. It's not worth trying to do this yourself to save a few bucks.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Groove in inner bearing seat.. replace?

Well, I spent the day getting the old spindles off... the trailer can't travel on the road, (couldn't before, either) and I'm very short on cash (still) so the pro welder is probably out of the question - he'd have to come to me($$).

I did think about the speedi-sleeve, but the groove crossed over into the inner bearing surface, and the only sleeves I found were for the seal surface.

I feel somewhat comfortable welding this on.. getting it square (really, getting it parallel to the other side with a slight toe-in) shouldn't be a problem, but I'm going to either have to pre-heat the bejeesus out of it with a torch or else rent a 200amp welder to get it on there... my crappy little mig won't penetrate far enough on its own.

I'd love to have a pro welder do it, but my choices at this point are probably do it myself, or wait until next season to get the boat in the water.

Argh. Maybe I can borrow a bigger welder.

Erik

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Groove in inner bearing seat.. replace?

I think I found a solution. I managed to scrape up enough cash to buy a cheap stick welder or *maybe* pay a welder... then I searched this board again, and checked into the suggestion of a prefab axle.

I found this product at northern tool:

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200330481_200330481

which seems to be what I need... and it costs just a bit more than the two spindles I bought cost me. I may be able to return those too.

At any rate, I'll find out tomorrow if northern tool stocks them... if not I guess they can order them or something. Forget welding, I'll just replace the whole axle and call it good.

Erik