www.iFourWinns.com

Thanks Lou - I think I may well do just that.

By the way, you're not anywhere near Northport are you?

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

I agree with Lou. I've heard others with Spindle Lube's told the same thing. Some people just think Bearing Buddies are the greatest thing since sliced bread, but whether they are or not, they just don't belong on Spindle Lube hubs.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Yep Northport Bay is where I do most of my boating.....

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Northport is where I spent the first couple of years of my life. I sold my folks house there a few years back. Wish I'd had the chance to do some boating there.

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Hey folks - anyone had to tap threads on the spindle lube spindles? One of mine isn't catching the threads on the grease fittings (going back to the original intent of the spindle lubes versus the bearing buddies).

Any advice? Seems to me like metal shavings, grease and bearings may not be the best combination....

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Did you remove the old grease fitting, or was it already gone? Are you sure the problem with the new one isn't on the new fitting and not the spindle? I'm with you, I don't like the idea of chasing those threads if you can avoid it since a shaving could get pushed farther back into the spindle. Do you have enough of the grease cleaned out to get a good look at the threads?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

The FW dealer (no longer in business) removed the fittings and installed the bearing buddies. I cant tell for sure that the threads on the spindle are the problem, but I have tried a couple of fittings which work fine on the other spindles...

Next, I'm going to try to see that the old fitting came out completely on that spindle - maybe it broke off or stripped.

Ugh...

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

If it comes to it, you could always get a small dental pick (they sell them everywhere) and use it to carefully pull everything back out as long as you limit how deep you go with a tap, drill, etc. Use the Force. Good luck, this could work out well or get ugly.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Yeah, if I have to tap, I'll pull the hub, clean up the threads and any debris and then "flush" the spindle with fresh grease.

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

Well, that's annoying.....I was putting the wheel back on and one of the wheel studs on the integrated Kodiak hub isn't threaded....I thought it was just the first thread that was stripped, but apparently none of the threads spiral at all - they're just a bunch of rings....

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

What happened with the grease zirk?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Grease zirk issue is on a different spindle - and nothing yet.....I was all excited to get one of them finished, but no.

Champion Trailers just redirected me to Kodiak for a warranty replacement. In the meantime, I suppose I can replace the stud with one from my old hub.

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

These are kind of old, but since it's kind of slow right now....

Did my brakes and hubs. I had to extract a sheared grease fitting on one spindle and re-thread another.

What do you think - was I premature in doing this job?

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2002 Funship 214
VP 5.7 GX Si
2003 Tahoe

WOW, and I thought disc brakes were a LOT more corrosion resistant than drums, but I guess in salt water you have to go with the most expensive stainless Kodiaks or replace rotors every so many seasons. My boat is moored all summer so the trailer only goes in the salt about 4-6 times a year and because of that I did not have to replace the drum backing plates until 5 summers of use. The drums I have are the zinc plated Tie Down ones and they have very little rust on the outside. For those with drum brakes, I found a couple of ways to make em work better and last longer. When I replaced the first set I found that
1) the rubber dust boot on the wheel cylinder is not water proof, water gets in around the piston and the salt crystals cause it to seize up
2) the adjuster gets corroded and freezes up.

So what I did was to take off the wheel cylinder on my new backing plates. Removed the dust cover and packed the metal piston with synthetic caliper grease. This is OK because the rubber piston is behind the metal one and the grease does not get into the hydraulic system. Then take some high temp RTV and seal the rubber dust boot to the cylinder and seal the pushrod into the dust boot. That will keep water out so the piston does not seize.
Then take some Bombardier/OMC triple guard grease and grease up the adjuster threads and any other pivot points well. This is one of the best water proof greases out there and it will stay where you put it even in salt water.
I like drum brakes even though discs are more popular for 3 reasons:
1) they are self energizing and can provide more braking torque with lighter trailers than discs, thats why on vehicles discs have to be power assisted
2) in hilly regions like where I am, the return springs are a more positive means of releasing the brakes than discs which only have the spring in the actuator and the seals in the caliper to release the brakes.
3) they can be made free backing and you don't need a reverse solenoid which can be troublesome.

If someone would only design a water proof aluminum wheel cylinder and make a high quality stainless adjuster, you could use drum brakes with less trouble.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

For Salt water I would go kodiak (stainless caliper -- SCAD rotor versions)
For Fresh water either brand are OK
A boater on another website just put on UFP brand (aluminum caliper and Plated rotors) those looked OK, but are brand new on his trailer -- also for salt water.

I have had older Tie-Down and newer Kodiak -- prefer newer Kodiak -- have had on for about three years and towed about 2000 miles, now on second set of pads -- mine are continually used in warm salt water here in Florida where corrosion is horrible.

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DaleG -- West Palm Beach FL
2003 240Horizon -- 5.7Gi -Duoprop