al-ko axle bearing assembly mod

[john slater]

Hello, first time on here- I have been around trailering- launching boats for a lot of years, as a marine mechanic I service my boats and trailers, running gear etc. Recently purchased an Extreme 2600kg trailer, approx 1yr old, this was to replace a 12 year Peak trailer. Before placing RIB on the trailer I removed hubs, brakes etc. The 4 boat trailers I have owned and serviced all had indispension axles, these bearing assemblies as you know are greased and sealed with a rotary shaft seal and a hub bearing cap, bearing savers. The Al-ko bearing assembly is a twin row with a stainless steel shield for the contact part of the bearing. The outer and inner cage of the bearing and retaining circlip were quite heavily rusted. No seal or protection for the naked high carbon steel parts.Open to road salt and sea water You would be lucky to get a Season from this type of build. So I modified the hub asembly using a rotary shaft lip seal 50mm x 72 x 8 which fits perfectly into the hub and over the stub shaft which was all cleaned of rust and packed with marine grease. Just wondering if anyone else has come across a similar build problem with these axles, it's not nice when the bearing and circlip is all rusted as one and you cannot remove and renew the bearing. The cost of a new axle is over £500 for the sake of a £5 lip seal.

[Pikey Dave]

The AlKo bearings are sealed for life. I used to pack the outer (circlip) side with copper slip & then refit the dust cap, never had a problem. Similarly I copperslipped the inside of the stub shaft, no issues after 8 years.

[john slater]

thanks, for your q.r.p whats P.B.C rule 6

[Bern Hanreck]

Originally Posted by john slater

thanks, for your q.r.p whats P.B.C rule 6

What do you mean John ? Are you talking about "agreement on common ground " ?

I agree with PD . The Alko design seems far from perfect , but annual bearing replacement and servicing has worked for me for the past 10 years .

Now the brakes.......that's another story......

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Bern Hanreck

What do you mean John ? Are you talking about "agreement on common ground " ?



I agree with PD . The Alko design seems far from perfect , but annual bearing replacement and servicing has worked for me for the past 10 years .



Now the brakes.......that's another story......

I rated the AlKo bearings over the traditional taper rollers. I never had one fail & I ran them for 3 years before changing them & even then they were in good nick. It just seemed wrong not changing them[emoji848]

[john slater]

Sorry it's my shorthand, qrp, ( quick reply) PBC is a high pressure electrolytic bearing grease. Obviously copper slip is high temp grease and will be sufficient for the job. Lip seal mod may be another solution,thanks for your interest 8 years of copperslip ?

[Bern Hanreck]

My " mechanic " colleagues thought I was barmy discarding them each year , but " once bitten "

[jeffstevens763@g]

I ran mine for six years and we're still good ( sealed bearings)

[john slater]

Thanks for your interest, I know the bearings are sealed on the contact area, it's the other parts I am concerned about, the outer cage and the retaining circlip. I thought the lip seals would give a better protection from the elements for £20.

[littlewasp16]

Originally Posted by john slater

Sorry it's my shorthand, qrp, ( quick reply) PBC is a high pressure electrolytic bearing grease. Obviously copper slip is high temp grease and will be sufficient for the job. Lip seal mod may be another solution,thanks for your interest 8 years of copperslip ?

Copperslip is not meant for fast moving parts ,its for stopping things seizing,you need waterproof high temp grease usually white.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by littlewasp16

Copperslip is not meant for fast moving parts ,its for stopping things seizing,you need waterproof high temp grease usually white.

The copper slip isn't to lubricate the bearing, it's to protect the circlip from corroding & the outside face of the grease seal.