Leaf Spring Bolt Bushing

[MrLeadfoot]

Yes, shackles may indeed be oblong after all this time. But, believe it or not, all the other bolts seem tight and void of play when I bounced the trailer up and down after launching the other day. Only the one bolt I initially mentioned seemed to have a broken bushing, like it wasn't even there.

Thanks for the suggestion abou wet bolts, too. I'm going to talk to the shop about them. I'm thinking wet bolts with nylon bushings instead of bronze. This way, if I later have greasing issues, or get lazy, I won't be metal on metal.

[fishnfireman]

Yes, shackles may indeed be oblong after all this time. But, believe it or not, all the other bolts seem tight and void of play when I bounced the trailer up and down after launching the other day. Only the one bolt I initially mentioned seemed to have a broken bushing, like it wasn't even there.

Thanks for the suggestion abou wet bolts, too. I'm going to talk to the shop about them. I'm thinking wet bolts with nylon bushings instead of bronze. This way, if I later have greasing issues, or get lazy, I won't be metal on metal.

Might be hard to find the right sizes.
As I recall the wet bolts are a smaller diameter to accommodate the bronze bushing which is thicker than the nylon..

[MrLeadfoot]

Might be hard to find the right sizes.
As I recall the wet bolts are a smaller diameter to accommodate the bronze bushing which is thicker than the nylon..

Looks like inside diameters of bushings are the same, and match outside diameter of wet bolts. Also:

https://www.etrailer.com/question-45791.html

[fishnfireman]

I didn't measure -- sure looked like the new bushings were thicker.

[MrLeadfoot]

Thought I would post an update as to what I ended up doing. Due to age of the trailer, I decided to take it to a trailer shop. Out of all the bushings, only two on my tandem axle setup needed replacing, AFTER 23 YEARS! So much much for the theory that nylon bushings don't hold up.

The shop discovered that one of my drums was cracked, yikes! They showed it to me, and I don't think I would have noticed it if I were to have been going after the bushings myself, so that in itself made the shop visit worth it. I can't imagine what migh have happened if that drum had failed on the freeway.

We also discussed the wet bolts, and while a silent trailer is indeed appealing, I decided not to take the trailer shop's advice NOT do it because of the mess that goes along with grease, as well as the inevitable attraction to dirt and grime that goes along with grease. Besides, if dry nylon bushings lasted 23 years, I'm not inclined to try something else. And, I don't have to grease them, or worry about stuck Zerks or broken wet bolts.

I did learn a lot on this thread, and now that I know everything is in good working order, I now also know how to replace a bushing should I need to in the future, and will likely do it myself.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.

[fishnfireman]

Good deal.
I figure the life of the bushings has a lot to do with miles pulled and road conditions along with the load carried.
My TWO year old bushings already had worn to the point of being paper thin on one side. But its not unusual for me to haul several thousand miles a month. Just two trips to my favorite lake will rack up about 1100 per trip. My 13 month old truck just turned 20K and the boat was in tow for a large part of them.

[MrLeadfoot]

Good deal.
I figure the life of the bushings has a lot to do with miles pulled and road conditions along with the load carried.
My TWO year old bushings already had worn to the point of being paper thin on one side. But its not unusual for me to haul several thousand miles a month. Just two trips to my favorite lake will rack up about 1100 per trip. My 13 month old truck just turned 20K and the boat was in tow for a large part of them.

Bought the boat new in 1998. Bought the truck in 2000 specifically to tow the boat, and the truck now has 230,000 miles on it. For the first two years I drove weekly to brackish water. I then moved up near Lake Folsom, and fished there twice weekly with jaunts back down to brackish water twice a month. I took longer trips to other lakes up in Northern Cal for 21 years. I'd say I've got to have somewhere between 50,000 - 80,000 miles on the trailer. Burned a bearing once on Sept. 11, 2001, and learned the grease-more-often-than-necessary lesson real quick.

I can't complain about having only gone through 2 nylon bushings in all this time, so I was hard-pressed to try something different, and take the chance on wet bolts not giving me the same performance. Even though they would have made more money on me had I gone with wet bolts, the trailer shop actually advised against it. Plus, the mess of grease concerned me - not only might I be slinging grease up onto the bottom of the boat, grease is just a magnet for dirt and I couldn't shake the possibility of dirt likely shortening the life of the wet bolt setup.

I also live in California and heard that some lakes are starting to not allow wet-bolted trailers in their waters. While I can't confirm this, and it doesn't make sense since my greased wheels still go in the water, it is California. I already can't go to some lakes with my 2-stroke outboard, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was true.

So, in the end, I left well enough alone and stuck with what was tried and true for me, nylon bushings.

That said, I'm always interested in learning. I take it the wet bolts are working for you? How have long have you had them? What's maintenance like, and any feedback on the issues I mentioned as possibilities? Can you speak to their longevity at this point?

[fishnfireman]

Only put them in this summer.
Time will tell. My last trailer was 8 years old when I replaced what was left of the nylon bushings and the equalizers the holes were egg shaped. I'm hoping the wet bushings will stop that.