Texas to Florida with 5 ton.Eventually

[implden]

Left Kileen, Tx on Friday am week end after Memorial Day. Made it to Beaumont, Tx before breakdown. It is a M925 5 ton with 8500mi and a rebuild in 2010. Cruising along at 58-60, stuck behind a semi and started smelling something hot. I thought it was him. On I10, a pickup pulls next to me and flags me over. As soon as I stopped, smoke pours out of right fender well. Run around and see flames coming out of the brake drum/ backing plate. Oh, did I say some dummy, the guy that is always prepared, didn't get a fire extinguisher for the trip.ME. After three attempts, 6 bottles of water, and dumping the ice water and ice from the cooler on it, it finally went out. could of easily burnt right to the ground. No warning , vibrations, sounds wobbles, nothing.
Horror story just begins. Three trys to get road service and only one guy will come look at it. Then he says he doesn't know anything about it and won't help me. While waiting on AAA, I called the Freightliner Dealer and the said they would look at it. Then I find out they are just a mile away. I move slow and easy, plus it a squall so cool, They looked at it and decide that the the drum was out 2" compared to the other side. ie bearing out, spindle nut loose etc. And buy now it is 4:30 pm Friday. They couldn't tear it down until Monday. I work Monday in Florida.
I call Boyce Equipment in Ogden, Utah and talk to them about what happened and see if they have parts. "No problem. Was your truck rebuilt? We have seen several rebuilds that they don't pack the bearings, thinking that they are oil bath. Being dry, they burn up the bearings and sometimes they whole wheel assembly comes off.Making for a very bad ride. We check all 5tons that come in and often find dry bearings."
Just heard from freightliner and everything on the right except axle and stearing knuckle has to be replaced. The bearing on the other side is dry and going bad. So will replace that.Boyce i.s sending the parts
Certainly, it would of been a lot cheaper to have it shipped than try a 1300mi "Adventure". Too late now. I will have to fly back and get it in a couple weeks and drive the remaining 1000mi. They ride and drive good.
Moral of the story is before you drive very far on a "Rebuilt" truck , have the bearings checked.

 

[Triple C]

Sorry to hear of your luck! Hope it all works out for you. Other than that, how was the ride?

 

[implden]

Triple C.
Ride was great. A little bouncy at spots of bad road joints. But, overall great.

I look forward to finishing my jaunt. A lot of looks, honks and waves.

I just posted to let others know about the bearing thing.

It could of been real bad if the wheel/drum would of come off at 60. Plus I was real close to the whole thing burning. A little rise in the blood pressure when after the 4th bottle of water, it flashed back and was licking the side wall of the 14.00/20.

I have kicked my own butt for not having an extinguisher. My BAD. Certainly know better and give others a hard time if they don't have all their safety stuff. ****, I made a special trip to Tractor Supply to get safety triangles. I just was over confident in it having only 8k mi and rebuilt.

While we were prepping it for the trip, found the winch gear boxes dry. Should of been an indication.

Oh, well, it was an adventure. No one got hurt and I've got a good story to tell. Certainly would do it again.

 

[MWMULES]

Where was your rebuild done at?

 

[Jeepsinker]

I'm betting on RRAD.

 

[implden]

MWMULES,

I don't know.We were so busy prepping it that I didn't even look.

 

[Tow4]

It's a little late now, but in the future take an IR thermometer. I ALWAYS stop a mile or two down the road and check temps on everything. You check axle center sections, bearings at the hubs, brake drums, transmission, transfer case, radiator, etc. Then I stop 10 or 15 miles further and check everything again. If I have a concern, I stop a third time, but usually twice is sufficient. After that, every time I stop I check things when I get out. I may not use the IR thermometer every time, but I put my hand on the hubs and reach through the rim slots and touch the brake drums. That's how I found the dragging brake on my M915 when I was driving it back last month. It didn't start dragging until I was almost home.

 

[implden]

Tow4,

Great pearl of information. Makes a lot of sense.Thanks.

When you found your brake was dragging, what did you do ?

And is it easy that way to distinguish between heat from the brake and axle bearings ?

 

[Tow4]

Tow4,

Great pearl of information. Makes a lot of sense.Thanks.

When you found your brake was dragging, what did you do ?

And is it easy that way to distinguish between heat from the brake and axle bearings ?

Since I could get home the rest of the way without needing the brakes, I released the parking brake and manually pulled the slack adjuster back to fully release the brake. S-cam brakes are different from the wedge brakes on your truck.

You check the brake drum for brake heat or the hub for bearings. Of course if the brake gets hot enough the hub will get hot too. The one that is hotter is the problem. You have to check both.

 

[M813rc]

On several recoveries done by myself and friends, things start out fine, then heat up later down the road (particularly on trailers). Even stuff that we have had in service for a while will suddenly decide to drag a brake and heat up.

Apart from regular stops to put hands on the hubs/drums, I carry several fire extinguishers (from experience with a buddy's trailer tire catching fire, and me using my big fat extinguisher on it and having it continue to burn merrily after the extinguisher was expended).

I also carry full water jerry cans and a couple of 3' sections of washing machine hose, which fit nicely over the smaller spout on the water can, and allow you to direct the water exactly where you want it to cool things down. If you have ever tried to get the water where you want it between a set of dual tires, you'll see the value in this!
And yes, pouring cold water on a very hot brake drum may cause it to crack, but better to replace one of those than to survey a pile of ash and scrap metal on the side of the road.

Cheers

 

[pctrans]

OR......you could just drive 90 miles up the road and pick one up that has already been gone through....

 

[implden]

PC Trans,
Could of , would of, should of ! Too late now. ha. Looked all over for a couple months to find this one.Only way a guy can be sure is to do a complete service their self. Just, wrongly, didn't think I needed to due to only 8k mi and '10 rebuild. Parts are ordered and on their way from Boyce Equipment. Hopefully can go get it next week end. The road trip part is cool, the break down part, not so much. I'll honk as I go by.

 

[implden]

Thanks for the pointers. Flew back out and picked the truck up July 7. Beumont Freightliner did a great job. They were sad to see it go, because it drew lots of attention. everything went great. Had a little fuel issue due to there only being 65 gal usable and I was expecting 80. Was running out of fuel as I pulled to the pump. Guess it is a pick up tube problem. Haven't ha a chance to look into it. I had a Polar Tech A/C put in it in Kileen , Tx . Combo unit sets in front of passenger seat but the vents blow to the roof. Going down the road at 90+ deg not great but your not dripping in sweat. I am going to work on duct work and get it better. My truck is an A1, so had to clock the power steering pump to 11o'clock for the A/C compressor. Tagged it Friday. People at County vehicle reg didn't know what to do with it. So registered as a big truck under 23k weight. So only 1 tag. It ia an 86 so in 2 years I can register as Antique. Glad to have it home . Ran into another Steel Solder at locksmith. We were both trying to get our military steering wheel chain padlocks picked and keyed. You never know.

 

[m715mike]

Glad you made it home safely!

 

[R Racing]

Any pictures of the truck ?

 

[implden]

R Racing. Haven't done much . Will post asap. Std M925 Green camo with troop seats and some bows. I have a top , but no cross bows.