One reason why Pretrip inspections are important!

Thanks for the interesting story Lepton, I am amazed that no one was killed or injured. And since we're storytelling I've got one too..

The way I learned about wheel bearings was the hard way. My second truck was a 88' 379, it was a flattop with a custom hydraulic tank welded and hidden in the passengers side fuel tank. It was a maroon type color with two gray stripes from front to back. It was a very nice truck but it had a 444 Cummins with a low flow cooling system. The engine had great power but it would get hot too quickly and I would have to kick it down a gear and increase the rpm's to cool it down, needless to say I wanted a new truck..

I called around and the best offer I could get on a trade in was $8,000.00, so I kept looking and finally I found a guy named Shelby Elliot out in the midwest who would give me $12,000.00.

But first of all, I just want to say that I was raised never to lie. And I really have no interest in lying for a few bucks on a trade in. I have too much pride for it.. Anyway, me and Shelby talked over the phone and he was real interested in the truck since it was a flattop. I told him everything I knew about the trucks history and we agreed that I would drive it in to make the swap for another 379 with a Cat and a 18 speed.

On my way out I stopped at a Petro truck stop to replace the rear shocks on a warranty and I ended up getting late to Sikeston. I met Shelby outside and shook hands with him. He wanted me to leave the truck with him but I told him I wanted to stay with the truck one more night, so I drove around ten miles to a TA and returned to the office in the morning.

While we were going through the paperwork I happened to question him on one of the documents which to someone like him was insulting, which of course I didn't mean to be. So now he wants to check the truck out. I'm like.. 'great, I come all the way out here and he's making excuses not to give me the agreed trade in price'..

I took the truck down to the local Volvo dealer. Now I had those old brake covers on both tandems so I couldn't see the drums. My last load with the truck was Idaho back to Hunts Point with a load of potatoes. At that time I happened to be concerned about the drive train on the way up, so I had it checked out in a garage in Utah. I was told the rear tandem was low plus the color was a light gray, he told me it was Ok and that it just needed some oil.

Well, now I'm standing outside of the Volvo dealer thinking I'm being set up, I'm not allowed in the garage and when the mechanic finally came out I asked him if everything was alright and he tells me he's not allowed to tell me anything, so I pushed it a little and asked him if the rear tandem was low on oil, he reluctantly says it was..

I head back to see Shelby, I walk in the office and he tells me everything was fine outside of the low oil in the back tandem. OK, great! this guy is a man of his word! and gives me the $12,000.00 on the trade in. We proceeded to do the paperwork, shake hands, and I leave with my new Pete that had the 550 cat and 18 speed I wanted.

..well about two weeks later Shelby's wife Connie calls me, at first she hesitated for a moment, and then asked me if anyone had worked on the axles, then she put Shelby on the phone. He asked me if I had anyone had worked on the drive train and if I had any paperwork. I was confused at this point and asked him what happened..he told me that they drove the truck around the lot and the entire tandem came off with the axle attached to it, and it rolled into the side of a pick-up truck doing around $10,000.00 in damage.

Apparently the call was the result of him either not having insurance or the insurance company not wanting to pay. After I received the bad news I called my mechanic and he tells me that if the oil was low it could burn up the bearing which results in having the tires, rims, and axle walking off the housing in one piece. I'm like "thanks for telling me now!"

So, after that episode which could have happened to me on the drive out to Shelby since I literally drove the truck the last mile before it released I jumped right on the new truck and had all the bearings checked and nuts re-torqued. When I drove the new truck down the road after the re-torquing and hub oil change it felt like I had put new shocks on, the ride was more solid, stood higher, and was smoother.

So I learned a lesson the hard way, both me and Shelby were lucky since something worse could have happened although he unfortunately had to pay the price. The mechanics at the Volvo dealer in Sikeston were really the ones at fault since they never warned Shelby that the wheel was getting ready to fall off. And as I said before I never lied or hid anything, I just didn't know better.

http://www.shelbyelliott.com/home/

The first thing I now do on a pre trip is to look at the outside hub level, then I look at the drums and see if there is any oil leaking out. If there's not I proceed to check the tires for wear, if there is hopping it indicates a loose bearing. Now here's the problem if you're not in assigned equipment and you're doing a lot of drop and hooks you don't know if the tires were changed or when they were changed making it uncertain if there is a loose bearing.

This is how I do my drive train pre trips now..

I always check the hub oil for its level and any present leaks. I also look for past leaks to make sure it was fixed. I'll then look at the gasket on the hub and then look into the drum for oil. I look at the tire for unusual wear, and, most importantly I observe how the duals are sitting,.. if they are not straight up but leaning out either top or bottom then that is also a sign that the bearing nut is loose and needs to be re-torqued.

So I'll have to disagree with you rwdfinch as I cannot see how a bearing would seize unless it was worn out. I would say that the wheel and hub design is as perfect as it gets. The problems come down to basic maintenance. For example..If a engine seizes it would be the result of a worn bearing that stopped spinning and fused onto the crankshaft. I can't see how the design could cause the seizure. I think it is the fault of the driver for not catching the problem as well as the shop not doing proper preventive maintenance.

Driving school never taught me the proper drive train checks and maintenance which is one problem. Bad mechanics are also a problem since they like to keep O/O's in the dark so they can manipulate them for greater profit. And btw, I'm not ashamed of my past ignorance I can only hope this will help any new drivers who are unaware of these problems.

 

Thanks back at you for that instructive story and your procedure for pre trip inspection. Lessons to be learned.

 

oki....so how will someone KNOW when a hub or bearing is getting 'bad'..Other than hub oil checks?

I use lucas in my hubs.......But I wanna know BEFORE hand when an axle is about to stress........

See......You can keep your 'pretrip' checks good..But what you CANT see will hurt you and other innocent people....

Are we suppose to remove the wheels,brakes and drums,Pull the bearings just to inspect the condition of the axle every 6 months? I DONT THINK SO!

Needs to be a better answer/way

 

I do my pre trip everyday but that didnt help the U joint and lost my drive line (short shaft) while driving. What a racket that made, destroyed both my drive brake cans.

I did signal a 4 wheelers that his trailer had lost his rear tire completely and the rim was sending sparks onto the roadway. Didnt stop, but thankfully he did. He was cruising too, at least 75 mph. It could of been catastrophic had he lost the last wheel.

 

I carry one of those laser thermometer guns. After I've been running hard and things are up to temp, when I stop for fuel or something, I'll run around and temp the hubs. It's hard to say what they should read, but when I get one reading hotter than the rest consistently, I have that one tore apart. I just started that about a year ago, and I had one running thirty five or so degrees hotter all the time, had the bearing replaced and it temped with the rest after that. They usually range 6-8 degrees. I hit my tires with the laser as well, not as a substitute for thumping or gauging, but once you have a laser you'll find yourself temping everything. Tires seem to be influenced by the sun as well. I've temped my tires with the truck sitting in the yard with one side in the sun and the other in the shade and of course the sun side tires are warmer. It'll affect tire pressure as well.

 

Having a laser thermometer is a great idea! There's quite a price range on these, from about $15 to $180. What make and model do you use, osokusmc?

 

I remember when I drove for FedEx a few years ago, they had a special lug on one of the lugs at the axle plate. It had a center that would pop out kind of like one of those turkey thermometers if it were running hot. They had one per axle, with regular lugs for the rest. With that, you could tell at a glance if it were running too hot. I never saw one with the center popped out, so I don't know if it actually worked, but I'd think they wouldn't have spent all that money on them if they didn't work.

 

Mine is a Raytek Minitemp MT6, I think I bought it at Napa, within the last couple of years for 40 or 50 bucks it seemed like. I used to walk around my trailer and put my hand on the hubs and that one was a little hotter feeling so I thought about the laser and got one. I don't know at what point a bearing needs to be changed (I don't pull full time so it seems I go through seals more often than bearings) but that one hovering hotter than the others was nagging me, so I had it fixed.

 

The bearings should be inspected and re-torqued every 100,000 miles or at least every time the brakes are replaced.

 

I am witn you there... I dont see a lot of drivers doing pre trips... I am wkth werner and we are on qualcomm. ? So we are supposed to long on duty pre trip for 15 before rolling.. I know of drivers who log on duty pre trip then just sith there in the cab waiting for the 15 minutes to pass...
Personally, I find the 15 minutes goes by faster when I get out and do a pre trip than it does sitting in the cab waiting...