kaner747

I have a 2007 single axle venture trailer with surge brakes. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed one of the wheels was locked up. I took off the rim/tire and was trying to get the drum brake off, when the wheel unlocked. There are four nuts on the inside of the wheel that I was trying to loosen when it unlocked. It seemed like the nuts and bolt just spun together and I did not get the nuts off.

I have a couple of questions as this is one of my first experiences with a trailer with surge brakes ( and working on brakes).

1. There is a "nipple" right near where the brake line connects. It looks a lot like the one inside the hub used for greasing the bearings. It is covered by a rubber cap. I put my grease gun on there, but it looked like no grease was going in and it just spread out. What is this thing for?

2. How do I get the drum off? I did not see any other screws or nuts other than the ones on the back side of the wheel. What would the best method to get these nuts off in case the brakes lock up again and I need to repair or replace some of these parts?

3. I normally rinse off the salt water, wash the trailer with soap and water, check the lights and brake fluid level, and grease the bearings with lucas oil red grease. Is there anything else that I need to do?

TeamBadFish

?#1... lol thats for bleeding the brakes.. do not grease that

flukin nuts

Was the boat on the trailer. If not you could try having someone sit on the fender and pull it. I have had it happen a few times. I find if you hit the drum with a sledge with the wheel off in towards the trailer from the side breaks it loose about 60 percent of the time. Not a full swing just a little tap. You could also try prying it off with a pry bar. Once you have a lot of tension on it hit it with a hammer. If not there should be a plug in the back of the backing plate at the bottom. Pop it out and go in there with a screw driver and loosen the adjuster if its not seized up should get it off. Go look at a brake so you can get an idea how to loosen the adjuster.

Maskeeter

change them to kodiac disk brakes

__________________
Capt.Gerry
Skeeter ZX 24 Bay
19 Flats Cat F 150
Duramax 2500 4x4

kaner747

Thanks. I guess I should have asked here before I asked the chick with the tatoos at auto zone. The boat was off the trailer at the time.

How do I get this assembly apart if I need to?

jeffnick

Have you removed the spindle nut? If you have and still can't get the drum off you may have a ridge on the brake drum preventing it from sliding past the shoes.

First try unadjusting the brake (all the way) by using a large flat bladed screwdriver in the slot behind the backing plate, moving the star either up or down until it stops (the correct direction is the one that doesn't lock up the drum). If the drum still won't come off, you'll need to chisel or grind off the spring keeper heads on the back side of the backing plate...this way the shoes will be free to let the drum pull off.

More info here