Ranger Trail - bushing replacement.

[civicrr]

My trailer has been 'popping' when making turns. Reading this forum, I've realized that I need to replace the spring bushing.

Here is an intermediate update on the process of replacing spring bushings on a tandem axle trailer for a 2003 520VX. Keep in mind that I've never done this particular repair before.

Ordered parts from Ranger Parts using my trailer serial number. As we've already read, they recommended replacing all the hardware - bolts, nuts & equalizer hanger straps.

Parts neeeded for tandem trailer:
14 qty of part #9633090, spring bushings, 11/16OD X 9/16ID X 1 3/4" long ($1.56ea)
14 qty of part #9600581, nylock nut, 9/16", zinc ($0.43ea)
14 qty of part #9600580, shackle bolt, 9/16" X 3.12", zinc ($1.62ea)
8 qty of part #9615044, Equalizer hanger strap 4", galvanized ($2.09ea)

The bolts have a 1" section that is threaded. The rest is a smooth shoulder except for the last 1/4" by the bolt head which is knurled. Playing with all the parts, I found that the equalizer hangers did not slide up to the knurl section. Past experience doing auto repair leads me to believe the hangers should slide freely up until the knurled section. Called up Ranger Parts & spoke to Ted in Parts. He confirmed that I have the correct parts. Ted referred me to Chris in trailer repair. Chris confirmed that the hangers actually should slide onto the bolt freely up to the knurled section. A little work with a rat tail file to remove some (excess??) galvanizing took care of the issue. Per Chris, they install the bolts with an impact gun until the knurled section is pulled into the hanger and the bolt head bottoms out. Nuts should then be backed off "one full turn".

I'm hoping to do the job Friday or early next week. I'll have the boat/trailer completely supported on jackstands & will support/adjust the axles with floor jacks as needed. I don't anticipate any issues with the install. I'll update the thread if there are any issues or tricks that might not be obvious.

Hope this is helpful for anybody considering doing the job.

[TOXIC]

Make sure you take a lot of pics in the process and post up here. Will help the next guy!!

[krindgen]

I've done my bushings, once. I wish I had done it with the boat off the trailer, from the top. Makes for much more access.

[RangerJim]

looking forward to hearing about the results and some pics would be great. Need to do the same to my trailer sometime.

[local16]

I did my tandem trailer last month. Trailer super store had everything I needed. Much easier if the boat is off the trailer but was still a fairly easy job. Trailersuperstore.com also has a few instructional videos on their site that helped a lot. http://www.easternmarine.com/?gclid=...FeIWMgod8gwAhw
https://images.etrailer.com/Merchant...-bolts_web.mp4

[Carlos H]

good info, please get some pics if you can and add to post

[local16]

I changed the equalizers, spring bushings, shackle bolts & lock nuts and shackle straps. The holes in the shackle bolts were so elongated they had a ton of play.

[civicrr]

Sorry to take so long to update this. I actually just did the job today. As a reminder, this is for the tandem axle trailer for my 2003 520VX.

First, I decided to get equalizers too. Figured if I'm in there replacing stuff, might as well do it all. I ordered the equalizers from a trailer supply place. When they came, they were from two different mfg. Both didn't seem to be made that well. Both had basically crap castings. Sent them back.

I ended up ordering equalizers from etrailer.com. Curved Equalizer for 1-3/4" Wide Double-Eye Springs - 7-3/4" Long - 9/16" Center Hole TruRyde Trailer Suspension TREQE1 I also ordered new spring shackles. If you read the first post, you know that I had already ordered and received shackles from Ranger Parts. I decided that I wanted to get shackles like those that originally came on the trailer. Shackle Strap - 2-9/16" Long TruRyde Accessories and Parts TRSL256 From the description & pictures, I knew these would be raw metal. Picked up some decent spray paint from OSH & gave them a couple of coats. If you click on the links, the parts have the dimensions.

No easy option for me to do this job with the boat off. I dragged the boat home to do the work today. Placed two jackstands near the front of the trailer. One on each side near where the crossbrace supports the winch stand. Two more jackstands on the rear of the trailer. One on each rail behind rear wheel.
On jackstands.jpgrear jackstand.jpg

Here is a shot of the parts.
Parts.jpg

Equalizer & shackle with tape measure.
equalizer.jpg

As you can see in the pics, I took the wheels off & got ready to work. I hit the bolts with a shot of Corossion-X right after I took the wheels off. If you haven't used this stuff, you should check it out. It is an incredible lubricant, corrosion preventer & penetrant. I used a 1/2 impact gun for the 9/16" X 3.12" bolts that I got from Ranger Parts. 7/8" for the nuts. Bolt head is a 13/16". If all you have is metric, you can sub 22mm for 7/8" and 21mm for 13/16. Note that the SAE size sockets/wrenches fit better for me.

On the right side, I worked on the spring to equalizer connections first. Supported the rear axle with a jack & placed a couple of blocks under the front axle. Nuts came off relatively easy thanks to the airgun. As I said, I did the spring to equalizers bolts first & then dropped the equalizer from the trailer. The bolt holding the equalizer to the trailer required a 24oz hammer to knock out....Remember that the bolts have knurling near the heads. No hammering required for the bolts that seat in the spring shackle. Just remove both nuts & remove the shackle/two bolts as a unit. Bushings were hammered. Shackles had oblong holes. Equalizer showed some slight wear. When I installed the new hardware, I used the 13/16" wrench to hold the bolt initially. Once the knurling started getting pulled into the shackle/spring mount, the wrench wasn't needed anymore. After seating the bolt heads completely, I backed off the nuts just enough so that it didn't seem to bind. Finished off the most forward & rearward spring mounts. The bolts here also had to be hammered out. Luckily, the 'welded to the trailer frame' mounts (front/rear spring and equalizer) looked great.

On the left side, I did the forward & rear spring mounts first. Those seemed to go really easily. Started working on the equalizer.....two nuts were totally stuck. Ended up having to use a torch to heat the nut for about 30 seconds or so to bust them loose.

Did a quick trip around the block after finishing. No more 'popping'!

Hope that helps somebody else.

[TOXIC]

Good write up!! Thanks!!

[Wormdunker]

Thanks so much for these instructions. Really made the job go faster.

I changed my Shackles, bolts, spacers and Equalizers today. My trailer is a 2002 Tandem. She has been a bit loud and embarrassing for a few years. See photos for reference.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/140680.../shares/49A4Lp

I have 2 tips:
#1 When wrenching, wrench the nut not the bolt. I learned the hard way, after I had the first side complete.
#2 When you leaf springs are properly supported, you only need to remove the top bolts on the shackles and the top bolt on the Equalizer.......Again I learnt the hard way after one side was complete. I wrenched on all 7 bolts on the first side because I was concerned about the leafs falling or my axle falling. Not sure why I had them fully supported.

Anyway hope this helps someone cut some time out of this easy repair.

[billproxs]

Wish someone had parts numbers for a tandum marine master trailer.

[krindgen]

This isn't a particularly difficult thing to do, but getting to those bolts can be a PITA. AFTER doing mine I said to myself, "that would have been a lot easier if the boat wasn't on the trailer!" Lots of PB blaster and the right set of wrenches helps. Not sure if I'd recommend an impact on these. Maybe. I didn't.

[Amistad Tackle]

Reviving this old thread as there is some great information here. I just replaced everything on my 1999 Rangertrail for my 492VS. The hangers, equalizers and bushings were trashed. It is a straight forward job. Hardest part was getting the right parts and getting the frame of the trailer safely jacked up. I do recommend having an air powered impact wrench. It helps tremendously with dis-assembly and pulling the knurled part of the bolts in. Without it you will be doing a lot of swearing. I also used PB Blaster on all the nuts prior to dis-assembly. Had to use a propane torch on a few bolts to get them completely loose. A little heat and they twisted right off.

[ROOD]

Great write up on this. I will be doing this in a couple of weeks and will let you know how things go.

[ROOD]

Instead of going to Ranger for parts I ended up buying a Rockwell American Tandem Axle Leaf Spring Hanger kit and Rockwell American bushing kit for about $80.00. Two jack stands, trolley jack, 13/16" wrench and a Milwaukee M18 1/2" impact gun with 7/8" socket was all that was needed to get the job done. Took about 45 minutes per side. I can't believe how worn the bushings and shackles were. Trailer now feels solid when going down the road and rides like new. FYI - the impact gun is a must for this job.

[TopgunZ521C]

I went through this on my old Triton tr-21 ez-loader trailer went through Dexter and got a wet bolt kit with bronze bushings every place had a grease zerk so I would grease the bolts and bushings never had a problem again those plastic bushings aka Teflon only last a few trips and then theyre worn through maybe try Dexter for the next go around hope this helps somebody out.

[xcoach]

My trailer has been 'popping' when making turns. Reading this forum, I've realized that I need to replace the spring bushing.

Here is an intermediate update on the process of replacing spring bushings on a tandem axle trailer for a 2003 520VX. Keep in mind that I've never done this particular repair before.

Ordered parts from Ranger Parts using my trailer serial number. As we've already read, they recommended replacing all the hardware - bolts, nuts & equalizer hanger straps.

Parts neeeded for tandem trailer:
14 qty of part #9633090, spring bushings, 11/16OD X 9/16ID X 1 3/4" long ($1.56ea)
14 qty of part #9600581, nylock nut, 9/16", zinc ($0.43ea)
14 qty of part #9600580, shackle bolt, 9/16" X 3.12", zinc ($1.62ea)
8 qty of part #9615044, Equalizer hanger strap 4", galvanized ($2.09ea)

The bolts have a 1" section that is threaded. The rest is a smooth shoulder except for the last 1/4" by the bolt head which is knurled. Playing with all the parts, I found that the equalizer hangers did not slide up to the knurl section. Past experience doing auto repair leads me to believe the hangers should slide freely up until the knurled section. Called up Ranger Parts & spoke to Ted in Parts. He confirmed that I have the correct parts. Ted referred me to Chris in trailer repair. Chris confirmed that the hangers actually should slide onto the bolt freely up to the knurled section. A little work with a rat tail file to remove some (excess??) galvanizing took care of the issue. Per Chris, they install the bolts with an impact gun until the knurled section is pulled into the hanger and the bolt head bottoms out. Nuts should then be backed off "one full turn".

I'm hoping to do the job Friday or early next week. I'll have the boat/trailer completely supported on jackstands & will support/adjust the axles with floor jacks as needed. I don't anticipate any issues with the install. I'll update the thread if there are any issues or tricks that might not be obvious.

Hope this is helpful for anybody considering doing the job.

Great info for those of us who have older rangers, keep us posted, someone will appreciate you on here.