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Other indirect causes of bearing adjust issues or
failures, as it relates to wheel-ends, include premature
leaking seals, triggered ABS fault codes and
abnormal brake wear.
When technicians conduct inspections in the
shop, they have access to additional tools for
conducting PMs.
“TMC RP 631, 651 and 655 provide an excellent
starting point for determining the PM schedule
that fi ts your fl eet,” Maye
advises. “Your actual inspection
program should be based
on your own fl eet performance
history and will be diff erent
based on equipment specifi -
cations and application.”
Maye provides the following
suggestions for PM schedules,
dependent on the fl eet’s needs:
Every month, visually
inspect back of hubs and
hubcaps for seal or gasket
damage and leakage.
Every three months, follow
steps above for monthly
inspection. In addition,
check by touch for roughness
of wheel spinning, or
for excessive endplay.
Every twelve months,
remove and disassemble
hub assemblies. Clean and
inspect all components and
replace as necessary. Replace
seals and repack bearings
with fresh lubricant.
When a complete teardown
is required, Kolany suggests
the following: “Wheel hubs,
wheels, lug nuts, lug studs
and center pilots should be
cleaned, inspected and wire
brushed during removal.
Inspect hubs and wheels for
any cracking, missing or loose
lug studs along with checking
for excessive end play in the
wheel bearings.”
Once reinstalling the wheelend
unit, it is critical to follow
proper torque specs for stud
nuts, proper measurement for
endplay, and proper lubrication
levels. Once the unit is back on
the vehicle, “fi nal inspection
aft er installation should be a
road test of vehicle and then a
recheck of torque,” he adds.
Training and
next steps
Training is integral to proper
installation and maintenance
of wheel-end systems.
Many manufacturers can
provide wheel-end installation
training to technicians.
Additional training and certifi
cation is also available through the Tire Industry
Association (TIA).
“Th e best prevention is proper training for
technicians so that they can properly identify
the type of wheel-end being worked on, and know
how to service each system correctly, including
knowing the proper procedure for manual adjustment
and knowing what components to use for
proper installation of pre adjusted systems,”
Timken’s Domin says.
With regular inspection and proper maintenance,
many wheel-off situations are preventable.
Inspecting and detecting wheel-end conditions is
less time-consuming and more effi cient in the long
run to preventing damage.
START WITH THE
BEST AND KEEP
IT THAT WAY.
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