Wet Bolt Upgrade -Report

[RedHorse1]

Completed the install today and have a few pointers to pass on. I watched a couple of YouTube vids and read BigJohn's posts on his install.
I planned to do ODS one day and DS another. Dropping a wheel on one side proved to be very difficult. Started on the rear axle and I couldn't get the spring eye out of the rear hanger due to a binding. After figuring this out I moved to the DS and lowered that axle which relieved the binding.
Plan changed to doing rear axle the first day and front axle another day.
The old bushings (plastic) pushed out pretty easily using a small chisel. The big problem was installing the bolt in the outer hangers. The bolt has a shoulder just before the threads which would hang on the back side of the hanger. A bit of prying and "wiggling" eventually let the bolt seat properly. It appears the spring eye was not in perfect allignment with the hanger bolt holes from side to side. The shackles (connected to the equalizer between the axles) went on without issues.
I did the work at the storage yard and had a bit too few resources. 1 floor jack and one bottle jack and too few 2x4 cribbing pieces. I used the bottle to raise the 5th and jack stands on top of cribbing to support it and the floor jack to manipulate an axle end.
BigJohn recommended 2 floor jacks, he's 110% correct IMHO. He also recommended raising the TT and working both axles simultaneously. I worked on one axle at a time which means the other axle had the tires mounted which made lining up the spring eyes more difficult due to the weight of the tires on the other axle. I had difficulty removing all 4 tires due to a shortage of cribbing and I wasn't comfortable leaving the 5th "hanging" for a couple of days.
I tapped the new bushings in place using an old bolt with the knurling removed, did not use a ball joint press but that would probably have been easier.
So, to do over, I'd get another floor jack, getthe whole rig in the air and drop all 4 wheels and work on 1 axle at a time.
My apologies for not taking pics but the process has been doc'd many times, just thought I'd toss my $0.02 in the mix.
At the end of the day seeing the grease ooze out of the new bushings was priceless. My plastic bearings were not excessively worn but I've seen pics where they were.
I had MoreRyde eqalizers from the factory already had the brass bushings in place, they looked good so I cleaned and left them rather than cutting them out.
I think if you've got the mech talent to do this mod/upgrade, I recommend it.

[DanNJanice]

Where did you support the trailer? Near the axles or further down the frame? Did you try to jack the trailer up with both sides level or did you just jack up one side all the way and then the other?
I know on my trailer I would need quite a pile of blocks to get it high enough to get the wheels off the ground.

[RedHorse1]

DanN, we have a 5th so the front was supported by the landing gear. I had some cribbing but cut some more, shoulda doubled what I cut. I supported it about halfway between the rear tire and back wall. I got one side up and then the other. Read BigJohn's post, I think he alternated lifting sides in small increments.
Yeah, lots of timber is needed. I cut "purple" 2x4's (abt8') into 16" sections. So far I've cut 9 of them and probably could use 4 more. My bottle jack is 20 ton, plenty strong but could use more stroke.

[DanNJanice]

Thanks for the info. I am thinking about doing this upgrade as well, but am a little nervous about jacking the whole thing up.

[motorbreath]

I bought two 6"x6"x8' pieces of lumber and cut them into 1' sections. They make great cribbing, much better than just relying on jacks and jack stands.

I also use them under my stabilizers to avoid having to fully extend them, reduces the wobble to almost zero.

Originally Posted by DanNJanice

Thanks for the info. I am thinking about doing this upgrade as well, but am a little nervous about jacking the whole thing up.

[norty1]

I did this on my last fifth wheel. I did one side at a time and used 2 jack stands and 2 small bottle jacks and lots of blocks. I broke the lug nuts before jacking the side up and used the small bottle jacks to support the axles and jockey them into place.

This time I got the Neva lube inserts and plant to get started on it before our next long trip.

Last time it took me all day on one side and about 3 hours on the second side.

[Cosmik Debris]

I wonder how the dealer's shop does this task. I'll be pricing out that job with them for when it's time for wheel bear repack.
Frankly, taking this on myself scares the bejessus outa me. I don't mind putting in the time, if I had the required number of jacks and such, it's the idea of getting partly complete and then having it unmovable and having a mobile mechanic have to come here.
Why aren't these "upgrades" standard, and tack the small amount of cost onto the purchase?

[RedHorse1]

Norty, post how the Nevalube goes, I thought about them but in the end went with wet bolts.
Cosmic, I hear 'ya. I debated with self over this. Part of my prep was to cut more cribbing, and discovered I could use more. At the end of the day it was a manageable project, I spent 2 days at it and had no time deadline. My neighbor also was there to help and that really helped. A second bottle and floor jack would be a plus.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by norty1

snip...
This time I got the Neva lube inserts
...snip

I can't find that product with Google. Did you mean 'Never Fail' inserts?

(BTW, I have the Never Fail bushings on my trailer.)

[norty1]

I'll send a picture when I get home from my beach walk at Folly.


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[norty1]

Here they are! Never Fail bushings.


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[RedHorse1]

Do they use the original sized bolts? From what we see all you got were the new bushings. When I removed the orig bolts I noted they were shiny on one side and rusty on the other. Also curious about reusing the original nuts, instinct (frequently faulty) suggests they're single use. I'm guessing those are impregnated with graphite, silicone or something else slippery. My factory suspension came with Mor-Ryde equalizers which had bronze bushing already in place. Fortunately they were in good shape and I did not replace those. I expect removal would have required cutting with a hack saw and forcing out with a chisel. In any case, good luck and report your findings (inquiring minds and all that jazz).

[norty1]

Yes the bolts would need replacing if needed. They can be purchased locally.


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