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How difficult is it to replace the axel on a trailer. I just purchased a pre-oend boat and the trailer is aluminum. The previous owner replaced many of the bolts, and u bolts with stainless. The oly thing he did not get around to replacing the a corrded axel.
How much trouble or how expensive is it to have the axel replaced?
I had one made by Champion Trailers last summer, since I wanted to put brakes on the trailer and the old axle did not have brake flanges. It cost a little over 100 or so (3500 lb axle) and the installation was a pretty easy do it yourself project, provided you can get the nuts on the axle u-bolts loose. If it was used in salt water, you should soak those bolts in PB Blaster for a couple of days before trying to get them off.
Check out their website www.championtrailers.com
__________________ 1988 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee
4.0/NV 242 Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited
5.7 HEMI/Quadradrive II
As far as the difficulty, it depends on if you have a torison axle or an axle with leaf springs and if you have brakes on the axle. Except for the brakes, it's just a matter of removing the old parts and replacing them with new. If you have brakes you will need to adjust and bleed them afterwards. And it wouldn't make sense to install the old brakes on a new axle unless they are disks in good condition. If you are handy with automotive repairs and have the tools and space to do it, it's just a matter of some time and effort. If not, go to a trailer shop, boat shop, or RV shop and get a price.
Trailer is a pretty simple aluminum trailer for a 16' boat and it is a single axel trailer without breaks. The previous owner just replaced all hardware, u-bolts, lug nuts etc with stainless in the last year so getting the nuts off will not be too bad.
Replacement is straight forward, a 4 inch grinder with a cutoff wheel will go right through the rusty bolts, new axles are usually "made"...measure the width and diameter, the spindles are welded to the axle stock, a decent trailer shop can help you....Mick
It is easy...I called the original trailer manufacturer (in my case Trail-Rite of southern California), gave them the serial number of my trailer (and my credit card #)...they shipped me a new axle with new pregreased hubs, new leaf springs, and new hardware...all identical to the old stuff...4 jackstands and 3-4 hours later I was in business.
Be VERY careful while under the boat...and think about what you're doing as you jack the boat up. Do things evenly and slowly. There is a way to do it using the trailer jack too...something like lower it all the way down, put jackstands under trailer in the rear. Raise all the way up, put jackstands in front of trailer. Lower trailer jack. Now trailer is suspended on the jackstands...may or may not work depending on how much "slack" you need to get the load off the leaf springs. There is a detailed description on this site somewhere.
As others have noted, Champion Trailers will make you an axle to your specs pretty reasonably. I replaced two on my last boat and trailer and said goodbye to bearing problems
One trick...
When you are ready to pull the old axles, I find that putting a metal cutting wheel in a circular saw is the only way to remove stubborn u-bolts between the springs and axles. Beats the heck out of 4" grinders, and when done at night, it makes a pretty shower of sparks
__________________ I/O, I/O, Got to restore, I know...
1987 Stingray / 165 Mercruiser
Also looking at my trailer I do not see any leaf springs, the axel is tubular galvanized steel (badly corroded). I do not see any type of springs just a straight bar?
Also looking at my trailer I do not see any leaf springs, the axel is tubular galvanized steel (badly corroded). I do not see any type of springs just a straight bar?
The "springs" are a rubber compound inside the tube. They work very well, don't corrode, and don't squeak. They also allow the boat to ride closer to the ground which makes it more stable on the road and easier to launch and retrieve.
Thanks for clearing that up, I do see what the picture shows. Any major issues in replacing torsion axels as opposed to axels with leaf springs?
No major issue at all, they are simpler to replace. There's two U bolts on each side and you're done. They can't be welded on, the heat would ruin the rubber. A big advantage of bolted on axles is that they can easily be moved if necessary to achieve the correct tongue weight for the loaded trailer.
It's important that the axle tracks correctly, that is, at 90 degrees to the centerline of the trailer. You can measure from a crossmember or do as I've done and cut a piece of 2X4 the distance between the crossmember and the desired position of the axle to use as a jig. This insures that both ends are the same distance from the crossmember.
BTW: It's possible for the axle to shift if it's not bolted tight or if you hit a serious pothole so it doesn't hurt to make a couple of marks with a marking pen so you can check on this from time to time.
PS: Put the axle on facing the same way as the original. I can't see mine from here but I'm almost positive the arms face the rear.
Trailer axel replacement 
