Roller Rocker suspension issues

Outback · Member

Roller Rocker suspension issues

Hey Jim · Guru

.Hi Outback,

Sometimes your grease gun can get a air lock in front of the piston. Try pumping the gun a few times unconnected.works for me. Or there could be a lot of grit/ sand bogging up the sleve. In which case you neen to remove and clean.

I replace mine on our tandum boat trailer because of the salt water immersion and the distances we travel.

To remove them. Support the suspention on both springs, Back off the retaining nut a few turns and tap out with a poddy hammer on the nut only. These shackle bolts have a spline shaft and will not turn. Hence the need to drive them out using the nut and then a smaller nail punch or simular.

Hope this helps. You can use Utube to help you as well.

Regards Jim

johnwf · Member

Sometimes you need to raise the van off the ground and let the suspension drop. The exit holes in the shackle pins may be in a position where the bush has maximum pressure on that area, by raising the van you sometimes lower the pressure at that point and allow the grease to escape from the hole. Worth a try.
regards,
John

iana · Guru

Another thing you may not be aware of and that is different types of grease guns have different pressures. The grease gun that has a flexible hose from the gun to the nozzle has a much lower pressure than the gun which has a steel tube going to the nozzle. If you can borrow one of these it may force the grease in.

Outback · Member

Hi Jim

Thank you so much for your quick reply.

The grease gun is working fine I notice there is a bigger nut on the inside opposite the grease nipple. Do I remove the grease nipple and tap it out from the nipple side.

Allen

Hey Jim · Guru

Outback wrote:
Hi Jim
Thank you so much for your quick reply.
The grease gun is working fine I notice there is a bigger nut on the inside opposite the grease nipple. Do I remove the grease nipple and tap it out from the nipple side.
Allen

Hi Outback,

No. Just undo the nut three / four turns at most and drive the shackle bolt from the inside using the nut as the driving head. this will protect the thread of the shackle itself. Remove the nut then. Use the punch to drive out the shackle bolt. Clean the bolt with a rag and a bit of petrol using as old ice cream container. Use A piece of rag with petrol and use it as a pull through of the eye of the bush. Check for play of the bush. The Bush is the hole that the bolt runs through. I replace these bushes as standard, as part of a general service, as they wear out very quickly if doing long trips of 12,000 Km or more. A new bolt combo costs $12.00 each. The bush's on my Boat trailer are nylon not brass and cost $1-2 each.

PS: When ready to reassemble, I grease both the New /old bush and Shacke bolt before assembly.

Some of these Shackle bolts do and are frozen, and need a bit of force to get them moving as the splines on the bolt number 12-16 groves.

If you go down to the trailer spare parts shop the guys will show you what they look like, and you will understand why they won't turn when installed because of these splines.

Regards Jim

-- Edited by Hey Jim on Sunday 17th of April 2016 03:51:26 PM

-- Edited by Hey Jim on Sunday 17th of April 2016 03:59:37 PM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

This is deffenatly one area where servicing saves you long time ..

blissonwheels · Senior Member

Gooday,

Have had that trouble too find if you give them a grease regularly, say every 100 Km you will not have too much trouble, the grease dries out in the hole half way along the shackle pin and as suggested you have to remove it and clean it out to get the grease through.

Grease is cheap compared to new shckles etc. If on Duirt row=ads I do ours every daY.

CHEERS,

Bliss on Wheels.

Outback · Member

Hi Jim

Everything was just like you said the bearings had seized. Took the best part of a day to fix. But all good now.

Thanks again for your help

Kindest Regards

Outback biggrin

dogbox · Guru

johnwf wrote:
Sometimes you need to raise the van off the ground and let the suspension drop. The exit holes in the shackle pins may be in a position where the bush has maximum pressure on that area, by raising the van you sometimes lower the pressure at that point and allow the grease to escape from the hole. Worth a try.
regards,
John

raise the van not the wheel always take load off so you get grease on the load bearing surface of the bush not much good having a lot of grease every were except where it is needed

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

It gets there though . Thing is to do do it often .,

ST391GQ · Senior Member

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
It gets there though . Thing is to do do it often .,

What he said....do it often ...at least every time you use van .....or weekly if on the road permanently.....and jack body of van up off the suspension...ie....let wheels hang.

Not hard to do .....just a little time ....a good jack....and a good grease gun...easy peasy.

Cheers Keith

mr glassies · Guru

Imo you shouldn't have to jack the van to grease it I used to grease machines every day and didn't have to jack them. If you have a good grease and a good gun long handle not a pistol grip it should have pressure or flow settings . A mcnaute or similar . As for grease I use morryes red it stayed longer than most it's a bit more per tube but it last longer and has a high wear factor . I used it in all my trucks and never had a complaint . If it still won't take grease with the handle on preasure I'd hit it with some heat as it probably has a dry or compacted mixture in the hole . If this happened to it I would get the gas ax or even a little gas soldering bottle and heat it up then pump it in not very often have to pull the pin out

Dibs

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

I use this stuff on low temp bearings especially when around water .. Graphite grease .. www.penriteoil.com.au/products_o.php

vkharrow · Member

Gooday, I had a similar problem on a second hand van, the service man was not doing his job with the grease gun. the nipples were ok, but the bushes were clogged with old hard grease. I removed the nipples and screwed a drill bit into the hole with MY FINGERS and this brought out a lot of old hard grease. I still could not pump grease into it so I sprayed WD40 into the hole, blocked it up and let it soak over night and next morning after a couple of hard pumps with the gun the problem was solved. I still need to pull them out and give them a good clean up or replace them. Use a good plug in the hole so the WD does not leak out. Regular greasing is the answer and save a lot of greif.

Cheers Dave.