Trailer Mods

turbinedoctor

turbinedoctor

God
Just started the winter time mods I have been planning for the V. First is replace the springs and bolts. I got the springs removed and the axle out from under it. While I got the axle out I am going to strip off the rust and treat with rust stopper and paint with rust o leum.

Taking lots of pictures but to tired to post any now. Will keep you up dated and post pics later.

While Im at it I will check the bearings and grease them. What type of grease should I use. I have bearing buddies and need a grease to use in a grease gun. Any suggestions. ???
 
Been there done that...no power tools....old trailer....frozen bolts....my body still aches (2 years later). ;D
 
Turbo, other may dissagree, but when repacking bearings I have gotten away from the Lubrimatic Marine grease. I've been using the Wolfshead red grease. Same grease comes in tubs and tubs. It's heat tolerant for disk brakes and I believe it claims to be waterproof. Pick it up a Gibbons for 2/3 bucks a pop.

Airslot
 
ditto on what skools said. I use trailerkote (made by Pettit Paint) from west marine and have had very good results with it. It seems to have a watertite rust inhibitor property to it that is better than regular enamel. I used to do that and then coat with spray cosmoline(sp?) called linebacker. I found that the coating was ok for a while, but when it broke down, it would trap salt water against the metal. I always wanted to try "rhino-lining" an axle to see if that would stop rust.
 
I use water proof grease for no other reason then thats what I have always used.
I know a few that use the red high heat like mentioned above.

Not all grease mix with each other!! So start with one and stay with it.

I have painted a trailer before and it lasted pretty good, but you are always going to have to stay on it!

As for the bearings, get your self one of theses!! I redo mine every year!! I clean well to get all grease out then repack in seconds!~

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lisl...54854QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW#ebayphotohosting

What do you have for springs?? eye to eye or slippers?? I have a brand new set for a 4000# trailer here, the good thing about them is they are Mono, meaning it is one leaf! No more squeaking rusty noisy springs!!

I bought 7 years ago for my single axle and they worked great!! But the co. messed up and sent me two pairs instead of two springs!

But they were eye to eye and I wanted slippers, so wht I had a friend do, is heat up the eye, and bend it stright out, now I had a slipper and it was great for 4 years till i sold the trailer.

There yours for the price of shipping. If you needs eye to eye I will have to measure how long they are.
 
MJ I use the C hook springs, and I already have new ones. Thanks for the offer.

I have already stripped the rust and sprayed with Rust Converter which turns black when it hits rust. I feel pretty good about the rust but want to put a coating over it to keep out the saltwater.

Will try to post pics tomorrow while at work, Im at work now but so is the BOSS. ;)

Still looking into the grease.

Thanks for all your input. :D
 
I've been having trouble uploading more then one picture at a time, Maybe MJ can look into this for me. As of now I have a few pictures to post.

First I jacked the trailer up and secured with jack stands and removed the wheel wells



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Looks like the wheel wells will need some attention too.

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Second I removed the wheels and replaced the bolts that hold the spring mounting plate. Stainless ;D

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This little grinder and cutoff wheels make it easy work. ;)

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Now its time for a beer. Sure bet Air Slot would like one. ;D

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That beer hit the spot. Now it's time to remove the U bolts that hold the springs to the axle. Where did I leave that grinder ???

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Thats all the pics I have uploaded for now. I will start working on that next. Stay tuned for more updates. :D
 
Now that I have the sausage and eggs in me and some more pics uploaded I will bring you up to speed with where I'm at.

With the spring / axle bolts cut and removed I dropped the spring and supported the axle with the jack.

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I was hoping that the spacer between the spring and the axle would come off for cleaning but it is welded. Will have to clean with it attached. :(

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Here is a pretty ugly spring. I was getting worried when ever I towed it to the ramp.

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With springs removed, bolts replaced and the axle supported, I moved to the other side and did the same thing.

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Make sure you use anti-sieze when using stainless bolts. This stuff is expensive but well worth it.

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Now with the port side springs removed and axle out from under the boat, I replace these bolts too.

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After sweeping up my mess and putting some tools away, it's time to look at the axle.
looks like it needs the rust stripped and a coat of rust converter.

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Time for another beer. Be back in a minute. ;D
 
It took some time but I cleaned up the axle / spring spacers and sprayed with the rust converter. You can see how the rust converter turned black when it reacts to rust.

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With both ends cleaned and sprayed, it's time to strip the rust from the axle.

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Bought this new wire brush for the grinder with hopes it will do a good job. When I got home I found our the Max RPM's for the brush is 8,000 and the grinder no load RPM's is 11,000. :( Oh well, lets see if it will work. Kids done try this at home, I am a trained Do it Yourselfer and limited on places near by to get the right brush.

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This photo does not do justice to how well the brush works. Just to let you know, the brush fans out pretty good at high RPM's and I only had to pull two wires out of my leg. :)

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Now with the rust stripped I sprayed it with the Rust Converter.

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I will wait 24 hours for that to dry and give it a coat of paint.


Here is a photo that really worried me about the condition of the Springs. :o Look at these nuts, I guess this is what happens when you get old. ;D

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Turbo, you are doing some pretty work there bud. Only issue I have, it's obvious to me that you didn't use any of the never seez that you talked about. ;) If you had used it there would be finger prints everywhere and smudge marks on your pics. We all know you had that can out for show. ;D Heck, there weren't any marks on the can either. I say no way Turbo used it. ;D

Airslot
 
Your very right about one thing there Air, a little bit makes a big mess. But from years of experience and lots of hand cleaner I have learned to tame the beast. ;D

Here's a tip for ya, if you have a bolt that is is seized but will move in and out just a little, mix some Never Seez with some WD-40 or equivlent, and apply to bolt and work it back and forth to let it get into the threads. Worked for me in the past.  Lapping compound will work too but most people don't have it around.

Also if you have a nut to remove and have some threads showing, clean the threads and apply Never Seez and then remove the nut. The Never Seez will lube the threads and make it a lot easier.

One more trick I learned is to apply Never Seez to the threads of outdoor light bulbs and those Mercury vapor, High pressure Sodium or any light that gets really hot but lasts a long time. This will make them a lot easier to remove two years down the road. If you have ever tried to remove a Mercury vapor bulb that has been in service for three years, you will appreaciate this tip. I have had several, that where still energized, break in my hand while tring to remove them. Not to mention standing on the top rung of a 12 foot ladder.

Never Seez has a lot of Nickel and copper in it and it help to make a better connection. ;)

There are many uses for it. This stuff Never Seezes to amaze me. ;D
 
Your doing a great job!!

But!! see there is always a But!

First off, I have used the rust converter before many times, with mixed results and I will tell you what you did wrong since I have figured it out.
Its made to covert rust, after you wire brush it there is no rust and you are just using it like a primer, and it doesn't do a good job of it!
I found it is best to get the real scale off and not try to get to clean metal.

The other thing is I also use anti seez, But somethings are better off with out it!

Stainless would rust there for you no need it. And with all the banging and vibration from the road them bolts will loosen up faster the a drunken bar made!

All my new trailer hardware (yes I have done all that you are doing twice) was SS with SS lock nuts (the kind with plastic insert) and even after 3 years of salt I was able to remove with out ever using anti seez.

Here is a tip for you guys on rusted bolts. And it works!!

Heat up your rusted bolt, then instead of spraying WD40 or something like that and watch it burn off, use a candle! Thats right a candle, the wax melts and the oil in the candle sinks into the rusted area with out burning off.

And your right!! When people buy a boat the first thing they should get is a grinder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best tool ever!

Keep up the good work!
 
MJ: I am glad you think enough of me to honor me with your great and vast knowledge, BUT, there is all ways a but.

1) I did not strip it down to the bare metal, just knocked the rust off the rusty areas. There fore the rust converter is working like it should in the areas it should. The rest still has galvinize on it, with a coat of rust converter and paint. :P

2) I used the Never Seez as per the manufactures instructions. Stainless to Stainless can and most often will gall to itself, usually when tighting. If you get it to tighten then it will most likely come apart. I also have the locking nuts that you talk about and they are properly torqued to 2.5 grunts and three GEEZ's. And if there is one thing my wife has tought me in 16 years, it is to read the instructions.
Stainless would rust there for you no need it.
Click to expand...
Its called Never Seez not Never Rust. I now see why they call you wind talker:P  :P

3) If I do like I am suppose to, and I probably wont, I will check bolt tightness after the first trip. :P :P :P

MJ Dont take this reply too harsh, I wasn't born perfect, it took the first two years of my life to acheive. ;D
 
I am not taking anything harsh!! But were you brushed the axle looked to be all the way to metal, thats why I thought I would say something.

As far as Anti what ever you want to call it ;) I use almost every were!! spark plugs and all!
Just did not know if you were using nuts or locking nuts? I see you know what your doing so I will say no more. :-X

I sorry that I insulted your intelligent's :'( Please forgive me :-[

But one thing I will say is that on the springs you want to get some good grade 8 bolts made of steel!!
SS is nice but it is not as strong as steel and breaks much easier.
There is some big pressure on the spring bolts! ;)
 
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