Recently returning from a west coast trip wife and I were some 55klms west of Kimba, SA. Permit me to digress a little here. When on a trip we always carry a flask so the we can stop around 10.30 for morning tea. In this instance I decided to stop earlier at around 10.00am. Pulled into a nice spot for a cuppa. Got out of the car and noticed a smell of what appeared to be burning rubber, having ascertained that it was not the car, I walked around the van and found the rear dual wheel sitting at a crazy angle with a red hot brake drum.
Took the wheel off when it had cooled down and found the wheel bearing in 11 pieces,(I counted them!) Fortunately it had not caused any damage to the axle and having put the spare bearing in we were back on the road within an hour or so. The point that I make is that I have never been a believer in ESP or any other phenomina of that kind, and I have no idea why I chose that time to stop, but I reckon that wheel would only have been a few more klms before collapsing and the consequences of that happening on a busy road do not bear thinking about. Do we have a guardian angel?????
PS If you carry a spare bearing, do not forget a can of grease!
Gerty Dancer said
09:29 PM Sep 19, 2013
Yep, blame the Guardian Angel!!! And goodonya for having the spares needed and knowing how to fix it Magnarc.
bill12 said
09:34 PM Sep 19, 2013
It always pays to have spares for everything, spouses included.........Bill
QueenKombi said
09:52 PM Sep 19, 2013
Very fortunate indeed. Well done for having the foresight to carry a spare bearing.
Oma said
11:45 PM Sep 19, 2013
We did have a collapsed bearing early in this trip. Fortunately we stopped to get the phone charger out of the van & could smell rubber burning. Got out to find smoke coming from offside back van wheel. Grabbed the fire extinguisher but no flames then got wheel off (very hot)Had come about 9ks that morning with friends behind us. Had all bearings to replace etc but decided to use out ultra RACQ & they were at Goroke from Horsham within 40mins. Cost us nothing. If we had not stopped in the town to get charger? To make matters worse this town had no Telstra cover so this was the first time in 7 years that we have had to use the Sat. phone.
Happywanderer said
12:46 AM Sep 20, 2013
It really makes you wonder what spares we should carry.
Glad it all turned out good for you magnarc
GaryKelly said
07:10 PM Sep 20, 2013
I'm not a believer in fate either but you guys sure were lucky to spot the prob before it became a catastrophe. I bet you become a checker-holic from now on.
-- Edited by Sheba on Friday 20th of September 2013 07:41:09 PM
QueenKombi said
07:55 PM Sep 20, 2013
If this link works, it will take you to an SKF site where the information relates to a simple wheel bearing failure warning device that picks up on vibration. It's made for trucks, but could possibly be adapted to fit any wheel bearings?
Recently returning from a west coast trip wife and I were some 55klms west of Kimba, SA. Permit me to digress a little here. When on a trip we always carry a flask so the we can stop around 10.30 for morning tea. In this instance I decided to stop earlier at around 10.00am. Pulled into a nice spot for a cuppa. Got out of the car and noticed a smell of what appeared to be burning rubber, having ascertained that it was not the car, I walked around the van and found the rear dual wheel sitting at a crazy angle with a red hot brake drum.
Took the wheel off when it had cooled down and found the wheel bearing in 11 pieces,(I counted them!) Fortunately it had not caused any damage to the axle and having put the spare bearing in we were back on the road within an hour or so. The point that I make is that I have never been a believer in ESP or any other phenomina of that kind, and I have no idea why I chose that time to stop, but I reckon that wheel would only have been a few more klms before collapsing and the consequences of that happening on a busy road do not bear thinking about. Do we have a guardian angel?????
PS If you carry a spare bearing, do not forget a can of grease!
We did have a collapsed bearing early in this trip. Fortunately we stopped to get the phone charger out of the van & could smell rubber burning. Got out to find smoke coming from offside back van wheel. Grabbed the fire extinguisher but no flames then got wheel off (very hot)Had come about 9ks that morning with friends behind us. Had all bearings to replace etc but decided to use out ultra RACQ & they were at Goroke from Horsham within 40mins. Cost us nothing. If we had not stopped in the town to get charger? To make matters worse this town had no Telstra cover so this was the first time in 7 years that we have had to use the Sat. phone.
Glad it all turned out good for you magnarc
http://www.skf.com/group/industry-solutions/trucks-trailers-buses/wheel-end/skf-wheel-end-monitor/index.html
http://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/Item/68230/skf_monitor_detects_early_damage_to_wheel_bearings.aspx
-- Edited by Sheba on Friday 20th of September 2013 07:41:09 PM
If this link works, it will take you to an SKF site where the information relates to a simple wheel bearing failure warning device that picks up on vibration. It's made for trucks, but could possibly be adapted to fit any wheel bearings?
http://www.skf.com/group/industry-solutions/trucks-trailers-buses/wheel-end/skf-wheel-end-monitor/index.html
If the link doesn't work, copy and past the line into Google and you'll soon find it.
Here's another one that should work..............
http://www.fleetequipmentmag.com/Item/68230/skf_monitor_detects_early_damage_to_wheel_bearings.aspx