1966 Starcraft Holiday Engine Repower

[66Holiday924]

So does that mean no title or paperwork came with the trailer?

Yes, it's pretty common here. He wrote me a bill of sale. For a trailer this small all you need is a weight slip in Michigan or Ohio. They'll put it down as a homemade trailer and charge me for registration according to weight. I live in Ohio but like to register in Michigan. Michigan trailer plates are permanent. There is no renewal fee. They're good for the life of the trailer for the one time fee when you register.

 

[mickyryan]

Thats what Florida does as well

 

[66Holiday924]

I guess the first step with this trailer is to get it reliably mobile. It currently has two different size tires on it, both which are dry rotted and the guy who spray painted the hubs, painted the zerk fittings, says he re-packed the bearings 4 months ago... So I think I better check the bearings. I've never did any kind of trailer work before. I hear it's pretty simple. Can anybody tell me how these are supposed to come apart?

 

[ab59]

Pretty simple, take a block of wood and a hammer and tap the bearing buddies out by working them side to side ( gently ) until they come out. That should expose the spindle nut that holds the hub and bearings on . Just take the castle nut off and pull the hub assembly off , check your spindles and bearings , replace and or repair same . Assembly in reverse order.

 

[66Holiday924]

Thanks ab59 , that was pretty simple. I tapped it off with my rubber mallet. I noticed that the spindle nut was on there pretty loosely, I'm assuming that's how it's supposed to be. I took off all the loose pieces and have them soaking in gas to get the paint and grease off, so I can better see what the condition is. There was a lot of grease in there. It was all black, but I think that's to be expected. From what I saw, the bearings seemed to be in pretty good shape. The passenger side had a rubber piece on the inside of the hub. I'm guessing that's the seal. The one on the driver's side was gone, appeared to be melted to the axle.

The axle seems to have some minor wear. I think it's minor. Like I say, this is a first for me. I'm hoping somebody will tell me if it's good or bad. :noidea:

 

[Watermann]

Personally speaking, I would buy new hubs and toss those in the garbage. You just have to make sure you get the correct hubs for your particular spindles.

On my spindles I filled the groove you can see that was caused by the seal using some Marine Tex and then sanded it smooth before putting on my new spindles.

 

[66Holiday924]

Thanks Watermann , that's why I'm asking. I don't have any experience with it and can't tell when it's time to scuttle it. I don't think any of it is all that expensive. I was just going to take whatever parts seemed to be damaged or worn out to a trailer shop and ask for the exact same stuff. I don' think any of it is all that expensive. Were those crown nuts supposed to just be hand tightened on there?

 

[froggy1150]

1. Spindles. You can see where bearings were spinning from top view(12:00). Look at the bottom (6:00) and if there is any wear deep enough to see daylight thru with a straight edge going across (.003 thousanths) more so on the small outside one, means bearings were spinning and spindles are no good.
2. Can't tell how deep seal groove is but you can get seal saver sleeves, set the seal a little bit out so it don't ride in same groove or if it isn't really deep, leave it. You will be pumping grease in it all the time anyway. As for the hubs... replace races and the rest can be cleaned up. The studs can be changed.
3. the way I set new bearings is after packing and assembling I will tighten the nut while spinning hub to about 30 to 40 foot pounds by feel. Then loosen. That sets the cone. retighten to touch while spinning(.000) play side to side.then back off to next cotter pin hole.(.003 -.005). Reinstall bearing buddy then wheel. Grab at 3 and 9 and pull with one hand push with the other- reverse-reverse reverse-reverse. You should feel the slightest play. If no play you are too tight and when it heats up and expands it will tighten up and eat itself. Timkin will have the spec for your size online but between cars trucks and roller-coasters that's a good start

 

[Watermann]

Thanks Watermann , that's why I'm asking. I don't have any experience with it and can't tell when it's time to scuttle it. I don't think any of it is all that expensive. I was just going to take whatever parts seemed to be damaged or worn out to a trailer shop and ask for the exact same stuff. I don' think any of it is all that expensive. Were those crown nuts supposed to just be hand tightened on there?

No that spindle of yours is in great shape, here is what I had to work with on my Escort trailer.

New hubs with real deal SS bearing buddies.

 

[66Holiday924]

Thanks guys. I've been looking at spindles on line, both new and damaged and I've been looking closer at mine. I see what you guys are talking about where the bearings were riding. I'm sure there are grooves there. You would have to be a mutant to see them with the naked eye. They are immeasurable. The only way I know they are there is by scratching with my fingernail. You get the ever slightest resistance when you scratch across them. The steel is a little rougher there. Looking at it and looking at what marks some of the new axles have and what damaged looks like. My axles aren't brand new, but I don't think I'm in very bad shape as far as those grooves go.

However I did see some other damage on the driver side and I think it is the worst of what's wrong with my spindles. I don't know what it's called, the corner edge? It looks chewed up I attached pictures of a new Dexter axle (which is what I think I have) and my new concern with my spindles.

I plan to trailer my boat a lot so I want to be safe above all. A new axle is about $160 plus tax and delivery, not the end of the world, especially to be safe but I don't want to spend it If I don't have to.

 

[Watermann]

The issue where the bearings explode on people's trailers is that they don't inspect the trailer before use. What happens is the seal goes out, the grease come out, water goes in and the bearings fail. If you see grease on the inside of the wheel then you will have bearing issues.

My little 14'r has a Caulkins trailer and the trailer will need similar work as it has grease on the inside of one wheel. I always feel the trailer hubs after trailering to make sure it's not getting hot.

 

[66Holiday924]

I looked at these before I took them apart. The seal on the driver's side had failed. There was grease coming out onto the axle. I figured the PO blew it out over filling it. I also feel my hubs to make sure they aren't getting too hot.

 

[66Holiday924]

I think I'm in the market for a new axle. I posted some pictures to a really popular trailer website and they said the chipped surface that the seals butt to are an issue, and my Brother-in-Law who is a very good mechanic immediately said the same thing when I sent him a picture. The seal that was leaking was perfectly intact on the hub, probably leaking due to that damaged edge.

It's going to be cheaper to buy a new axle than to replace the spindles. I can probably get spindles for $80-$100 but then they have to be welded on... Might as well buy an axle ready to go that I can install. Besides, the trailer isn't exactly mobile right now.

I basically have two options. I found the exact same axle online, only the hub-to-hub face measurement is 1" longer, $169. Or the local trailer shop says they'll build me an exact replica, $240. I don't think there is any problem with having the extra half inch on either side if I go with the axle online, they won't hit the fenders or anything. I don't know if there's something else it could hurt that I'm not thinking about though. I have an aching suspicion that the trailer shop's version of building me an axle is ordering an axle and welding the spring seats in the correct location. They might even put the 88" on it and tell me it's the same.

 

[Watermann]

Good plan, I'll probably do the same with my little tinny trailer

 

[froggy1150]

So just for reference/general info. I went and dug up a bad spindle and a good used. In the first 2 pics you can see how the bottom/load side has worn to the point where you can see light. This is due to bearing race spinning on spindle. 3rd pic is a good used. 4th and 5th are just to see what they are and the application. We ut and wet mag these every season along with visual and measure them. So I know you are replacing due to damage where the seal rides but in the future always look for this wear. I have seen where this wear with cheap Chinese soft washers causes the bearing to gall up and snap spindle ......

 

[66Holiday924]

That's awesome froggy1150 . This is definitely my "learned something new of the day". I had no idea that measuring tool exists. Of all the websites, Forums, and conversations I've had nobody mentioned this. That's definitely worth buying you an emoji beer: :very_drunk:

Yesterday I dropped my axle and took the leafs off. I'm going to see what I can get for them online. Maybe somebody else who doesn't plan on using their trailer a bunch can make use of them. There are marinas all along the Lake Erie Shoreline filled with boats that never leave. They either sit at their dock or on a trailer, but they spend decades in the marina. It's a perfectly fine axle for that situation.

I'm going to seize the opportunity to paint the bottom side of my trailer. I still have a lot of paint and hardener leftover from my boat project. I'm going to get the bottom (especially where the leafs attach) cleaned up, prepped and brush some of the Van Sickle Industrial Tractor Paint on it. That Van Sickle paint is great stuff. Working on the boat, surfaces that I had painted with it took some pretty good blows with the hammer on occasion, not a scratch. It should be good on the trailer's underside and in the fenders where stones are going to hit.

 

[Watermann]

Oh yeah the VS paint with hardener is awesome and using the poly beads for surfaces that needs non skid makes it perfect.

 

[66Holiday924]

Today I flipped my trailer. My lower back is not a fan of that move, but I feel like I can do a much better job of prepping and painting the bottom of this trailer with it flipped like this. You can see in the pictures where the PO neglected to address all the little corners and crevices in his paint job. Additionally I squirted the hose through the box tubing to rinse out the decades of debris in there, and then I gave the trailer a basic car wash with soap and water.

Tuesday, is my day. Tuesday it will be nice enough to complete the painting and it can dry per can instructions. It's probably the last window of opportunity for paining before winter. I'm hoping I can get my prep done and paint down on Tuesday. The primer dries pretty quick. I like to apply the top coat while the primer is a little tacky anyway. I think the two different paints bond better that way. Then, my top coat will have the hardener in it, so it is going to dry extra fast, but the temp should stay warm long enough for proper curing.

 

[66Holiday924]

Today I painted the bottom of the trailer. It's not the best looking paint job, but that wasn't the goal. The goal was preservation and I'm pretty happy as far as that's concerned. First I hit everything with a wire wheel. Then I came back with some 120 grit sand paper and did some rough sanding. I decided to use up some POR-15 Pre-paint Degreaser and Pre-Primer Metal Prep that I had from another project. The Pre-Primer Metal Prep stuff is great. It etches any surface you put it on, leaves a zinc coating, and it chemically converts rust to another material. After I treated the frame I applied my Van Sickle Primer and Paint w/catalyst hardener, now it's curing and the weather should be good for curing for the next 36 hours.

I got to take a closer look at the trailer and expose areas where there was surface rust. I was really happy with the frame. This trailer doesn't have much rust and it's not even close to rusting through, anywhere.:thumb: The worst of it was where the leafs attach and I made sure to pay extra attention to those attachment points. All-in-all I think I did a pretty good job. I spent about 7 hours working on it, and that's just the bottom. I guess time will tell.

 

[Watermann]

The battle of trailer rust is one worth fighting, your trailer looks good and has what it needs to keep it going for many years.