Working on my Boat (Updated)

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Trapper02

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Muskogee, OK
Taking off the bearings and inspecting the hubs.

How concerned should i be with all this rust?

My first thought is to replace this rust bolt. But looks like its attach to the trailer itself maybe? all i can see is the nut. any tips on this would be helpful.
imagezdy.jpg


And as you can see we have all kinds of good ole rust. Can i just grind that stuff off? Then protect it properly? Replace some of the other rusty nuts and bolts as needed?

imageznk.jpg

imagerhie.jpg

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my trailer looks way worse,and i put about 2000 hard miles on it so far.try grinding with a wire wheel or cup brush and see how it looks.
 
If the bolts haven't lost much diameter from the rust, then, I wouldn't worry about replacing them.

As far as cleaning and treating rust....if you don't have a sandblaster.....get a BFH (2 lb hammer), a set of earplugs and some safety glasses, park the trailer out in the driveway, and commence to using the BFH to knock all the rust scale loose.

Once you've done that, get a gallon of Ospho, or phosphoric acid surface etcher (you can find that in the paint section of Home Depot)

Using a small pump sprayer, apply the ospho at full strength. Wear safety glasses and a mask when spraying this stuff, and try to avoid breathing the mist. Let the ospho soak into the rust, and wait until you see the rusty surfaces turning black. When you see this, then, rinse the entire trailer down with fresh water, and let it dry.

At this point, the acid has made a chemical reaction with the iron oxide of the rust, turning it into iron phosphate, which neutralizes the rusting process.

Now, you can prime and paint the trailer, or better yet, get several cans of Rust-O-Luem cold galvanizing spray paint, and paint all the surfaces, paying particular attention to the suspension hardware, the axle, and the cross members, as these are the most prone to rusting. You want a heavy coat on all those surfaces.
 
That bolt may be the positioning pin for the axle.

I purchased a used fiberglass boat and towed it home about a hundred miles. I thought I had a lot of surface rust on the trailer and was just going to sand and paint. Then I saw a small hole so started pounding with a hammer. The trailer was held together by the paint! A new trailer was purchased for that heavier boat.

My tin boat's trailer was only surface rust (it passed the hammer test) so sanded and painted it. I did replace the axle though as I have had bearing failures on a previous trailer and it was not fun. The bad bearing ate up the spindle on the axle. A new axle only cost about $110 so it was the peace of mind for me.
 
The carriage bolt in the spring hanger in the last pic concerns me more than anything else. Most of the rust looks like surface rust.

sf
 
The bolt through the spring pack does two things. It holds the leaves together as a pack, and locates it on the pad welded to the axle tube. It is not welded to the axle tube, and the head has no flats to it like a regular bolt. The head indexes into a depression in the middle of the axle pad. The u-bolts hold the spring pak on. That one doesn't look too bad.
As was mentioned already, get rid of that carriage bolt from the shackle in the last pic. Those are, many times, softer than a regular grade 5 bolt. If you do go about replacing bolts that you're uncomfortable with, use not less than grade 5, preferably grade 8, and get yourself a bottle of anti-seize. Either copper or nickle based will do. That stuff will be a Godsend the next time you need to unbolt things.

Roger
 
I agree with everything PSG-1 says about using ospho on it except I would not rinse with water after applying the ospho. Also, no other primer is needed when using ospho...just paint it. It won't hurt anything to use a primer, but it is unnecessary with ospho. I've been using ospho regularly for at least 30 years and it is really good stuff. I usually let it dry overnight and then wipe off any excess residue before painting. You want to keep it in a dry place after applying the ospho as any moisture getting to it before painting can cause it to rust again.

I think I would just clean off all that rust with a wire brush or wire wheel on a grinder, apply the ospho with a brush, let it dry overnight, wipe off any excess ospho residue and paint immediately. My dad was an expert in the coatings industry for over 40 years and he turned me on to ospho when I was a teenager. I've worked as a professional painter and have used many gallons of ospho in my life. It does exactly what it is intended to do....stop the rust!
 
nomowork said:
That bolt may be the positioning pin for the axle.

If you're referring to the picture with the bolt protruding up from the leaf springs, yes, that's exactly what this is, it holds the leaves together, and is used to position the axle tie plate in place, on the center hole of the tie plate.
 
txneal said:
I agree with everything PSG-1 says about using ospho on it except I would not rinse with water after applying the ospho. Also, no other primer is needed when using ospho...just paint it. It won't hurt anything to use a primer, but it is unnecessary with ospho. I've been using ospho regularly for at least 30 years and it is really good stuff. I usually let it dry overnight and then wipe off any excess residue before painting.


That's why I blast off the excess with the water hose, because the residue can cause problems for painting, even when you wire brush it off, there's still some left. My thought is that if you get the residue off while it's still wet, it's a lot easier.

I would recommend doing the ospho treatment in the early morning while the metal is cool, then doing the rinse afterwards, and leaving the trailer in the sun, to dry thoroughly, then put it under cover before the evening dew sets. At least, this is how I do it.

If the trailer is wet when the sun goes down, yes, it will probably be rusted by the next morning.
 
Had somethings come up today, never fails when you make plans to work on the boat!

But yea most just seems to be surface rust and is coming off.

I really wanted to replace the hubs with the bolts and nuts. went to tractor supply and thought i found a replacement, i brought my old and described the shape of the axle as just being a straight. Get home and tried it out seems to wobble. So i dont think it was the right one. after putting in the bearing and then putting that axle nut back on there is still space and it wobbles.

Is there something i can measure? or do to get more info on which one to get?

The old hub pretty much has zero info on it. The hub on the other side the nuts are so rusted i can't get them off, gonna grab some wd-40 and see if that helps.
 
It's possible that you have an axle with a 1 1/16" and a 1 3/8" bearing. They're not common on smaller trailers, but, they do exist.

More than likely, you have a 1 inch straight spindle, and you've got a 1 1/16 bearing set in your replacement hub.

The best way to measure is to pull the hubcap, then remove the cotter pin, castle nut, and washer, then slide the hub off the spindle. You can do this without removing the tire and rim. As for the rusted lug nuts, try some PB Blaster, instead of WD-40.

Use a dial caliper to measure the OD of the spindle, and check to see that it has the same OD on both ends.
 
Yeah the replacement hub is 1 1/16

You know there is no washer after the castle nut when i took mine off... hmmmmmmm

I dont have a dial caliper but i'll see what i come up with what i got.
 
Thats what it is the old bearings are different size than the new, i drop the old bearings in the hub perfect fit! The old bearings seem fin, nothing busted just maybe needs some fresh grease, i may keep them on and pick up a spare for the future.
 
You know there is no washer after the castle nut when i took mine off... hmmmmmmm

Mine had no washer either. I found that the castle nuts on mine had a shoulder on the inside which serves the same purpose as the washer. I added a thin washer just for the heck of it for wear protection.
 
The bearings should have a number on them and if you take it to a auto parts store that knows how to read a parts manual they can probably get you a replacement, Take your old one with you.

Like others mentioned I would take the carriage bolt out of the spring shackle and replace it with a grade #5
 
Trapper02 said:
Yeah the replacement hub is 1 1/16

You know there is no washer after the castle nut when i took mine off... hmmmmmmm

I dont have a dial caliper but i'll see what i come up with what i got.

I've worked on a few trailers that were missing this washer. The washer serves as a surface for the face of the bearing to ride against, so, you should see about getting a replacement.

As for a dial caliper, it's a good thing to have.....you can probably pick up a cheap one at a Home Depot, or auto parts store.
 
WD 40 worked on the rusted lug nuts. After pretty much stomping on the socket wrench. Lol but I got it! And guess what this side had a washer. Haha I measured it and I'll go see if I can find another.

Agreed I'm making a list on my bolts and will be replacing and upgrading.
 
The scariest thing I see in the pictures is the lack of a jack stand!! Jacks are made for lifting not supporting a load for an extended period of time.
 
How well do I need get that rust off before protect and repaint? I feel I could be grinding away on that for a long while. I really gotta get that boat off the trailer that would help out.
 
Probably one of the easiest ways to get the rust off would be to use a wire wheel and a cupped wire wheel. The more you get off the better your paint job will come out and the longer it will go before it starts rusting again.
 

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