Suspension questions

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msw3113

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Posts
606
Location
New Hampshire
Crawling underneath our 5er today (something I need to do more frequently) I noticed that the spring shackle bolts have zerk fittings on the outside ends.  Are these "wet bolts" I've heard of?  And how often should I apply a grease gun to them?

The axle tubes (Dexter 7k) have noticeable arcs in them, an eyeball estimate of 3/4 to 1" upward from a horizontal plane.  I didn't see any obvious marks on the undersides to indicate they had sustained damage.  Should they be perfectly straight, or is there a built-in caster that would account for the deflection?  New tires won't reveal any wear patterns.
 
Yes these are wet bolts. I would grease them once a year depending how much traveling I do. I go to FL every winter and back to NH.
The axles are made that way. The idea is when you load the trailer, the weight will have the tendency to straighten them somewhat.
 
Apparently the previous owner installed wet bolts.  They cannot be greased too often, if it is difficult to pump grease in, jack it up by the frame and try again.  If grease goes in easily, the hole is probably on the unloaded side of the bolt and little or no grease will get to where it is needed.

I doubt that the axle is bent an inch, put a straight edge across the bottom and check again.  Yes, it should have an upward bend and some camber will have little effect on tire wear.
 
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