AL-KO wheel bearings

Has anyone suffered from AL-KO wheel bearings?
This bearing had done around 1000 miles in 3 years, before it gave up the ghost yesterday afternoon. Luckily no one was hit by the wheel and drum as it shot across the road. The bearing "sealed for life" and can not be re-greased, or so it seems. This was the second axel in 6 years.

is the middle of the hub broken?

Mark - do a search on "AL-KO" here on RIBnet there's some other bad reports.

Des
Not broken - melted!
I think that the bearing seized and then as the hub detached it ground the thread off at the bottom. I could not find the cover or bearing races along the side of the road. The bearings were rumbling on the way over, 6 miles, bet when I felt them and they were not even very warm. The whole lot gave up half way home.

Richard
I shall have a search. I need an alternative.

The trailer is going to be given a good going over next Sat. New U bolts, loads of wire brushing and Galvafroid. But the weather was just too good yesterday not to go out.

Exactly the same thing happened to me in December. Bearing seizes, then melts then the hub comes off still attacked to the wheel.

I did manage to get a bearing supplier to get some bearing savers for me but will now be checked every 3rd trip......

New hubs are £100!

I always specify AL-KO for all of my trailers, and have done thousands of miles with them, but I have suffered an identical problem to you. This resulted in having to buy a complete new crossbeam with suspension units attached!

The only thing I can say in their defence is that they are designed for caravans.

I've tried Peek, Indespension and a few others, but still prefer the Al-Ko system.

Bearing savers may be inneffective on these hubs, as bearings are "sealed" thus you will not push much grease into them. They "may" help to keep some of the water out though.

Both our trailers have sealed hubs, and we have in the past had similar failures. I now replace all the bearings as a matter of course every winter. The trailer manufacturers will not just supply a bearing, as the bearing is a press fit into the hub. However the beaings are standard automotive wheel bearings (Mk1 Golf for our indespension axles, 1800 Cavalier for our Alkos) so are easy to obtain, and easy to fit given access to a press.

Bearings work out at somewhere between £15 and £25 a throw, relatively cheap insurance for a trouble free towing season ,IMHO!

David

1800 Cavalier for our Alkos
David


You learn new something everyday, cheers for that, have a credibility point.

Looking at the photo’s I can’t see the stub axle, is part of the hub still in place? Or is the stub really rusty? Finding alternative might be difficult because there is very little choice. There are really only two manufactures in the UK.

What annoys me is that trailer manufactures use drum breaks because they are cheap for them, once they are on the trailer the hub manufacturer have a captive market for the spares which are expensive, infact very over priced. What we really need is disc brakes which are very cheap both as original equipment and as spares. It would also be easier to get the salt of disc because they are more open.

What we really need is disc brakes which are very cheap both as original equipment and as spares. It would also be easier to get the salt of disc because they are more open.

You need to buy a German or American trailer then.

Rapid wer talking about doing a trailer with discs, don't know how far they got.

As Dirk seemed to find the previous info. interesting, here is full data for our wheel bearings:

Al-Ko
Bearing Number FLT 581169 OD 72, ID 39, Length 37
Single outer race, double inner race.
This is a 1990 1.8Vauxhall Cavalier Front Wheel Bearing

Avonride (sorry, said Indespension in previous post)
Bearing Number 309726DA OD 64, ID 34, Length 37
Single outer race, double inner race.
As fitted to Mk1 Golf front wheel bearing.

Don't throw money away going to VW or Vauxhall dealers, all independent motor factors should be able to supply these considerable cheaper.

Trailer / axle manufacturers advise that the nut used to hold the hubs onto the stub axles are a one-shot device and should not be re-used.

As a data point, and NOT a recommendation, I do re-use them and have never had one loosen. The tightening torques for these nuts is high approximately 300 Nm from memory.

David

I had the same problem with alko some years ago on my last boat/trailer combination. You need to spin the alko's every so often to see when they start to 'grumble'. Then they need changing. The best of mine only lasted 18 months! I also managed to find a metal shop that would press the old bearings out and re-do them with a car bearing. On mine I used a BRT680, the same as on a Bedford Van.

I now have old fashioned grease bearings on my new trailer but beware. They are not without problems! My trailer uses a Bradley axel, (as a lot do). The bearings on that went in HALF A SEASON! :eek:
The reason? They had used a non-waterproof grease and not much of it!

I rang Bradley who's comment was....."Well you shouldn't really put them in water!"

The moral..... if you do switch to a NEW trailer with grease bearings, take the hub off, clean off the useless grease and replace with a waterproof one.... (I'm using something called Renolit Aqua 2 now).... And have your bearings checked at least once a year.

Mike C

The trailer was made by West Mersea trailers, who, in the last couple of weeks have sold the boat trailer to Dixon Bate. I have been speaking to Gareth there and he is looking into a Bramber substitute for the beam. He has sugested that Bramber parts are cheaper and more service friendly than AL-KO, and the are what DB now use.
I shall report back as thing progress.

Des
Yes that rusty lump between the shoes is the stub axel with the inner of the inside race.

Dirk
It is a real shame that with these 1 peice axels, if one side goes you have to buy a complete beam.

There is a gert great nut on the back of the stub axel which fixes it to the trailing arm, I asume that you can buy a new stub axel/drum assy. If this is the case I will go for a spare for the new axel. This axel is toast, I would not use it again after it has poughed up a good bit of the A259.

I've got a faxed photocopy of an exploded view of the Alko "Euro Axle. The stub axle (and rear stub nut) are listed as "not available as spares".

Also the backplates are not available as spares.

David

I thought that the parts on my Bramber trailer WERE Al-Ko anyay.. or am I being stupid? :eh:

The trailer manufacturers will not just supply a bearing, as the bearing is a press fit into the hub. However the beaings are standard automotive wheel bearings (Mk1 Golf for our indespension axles, 1800 Cavalier for our Alkos) so are easy to obtain, and easy to fit given access to a press.


Are you sure we're all referring to the same type of bearing? The AL-KOs I have had on trailers for some years are not a press fit in the hub. They are tapped in gently and then retained in the hub by two circlips. RM trailers will supply these bearings without hubs.

A rumbling bearing very quickly turns in to a completely failed one, and then it's a real pain to remove the remains from the axle.

Change them regularly is the only answer.

Allen

Alko do use both sealed and non-sealed bearings. The sealed bearings, as fitted to their euro axles, are a one piece bearing containing two angular contact races arranged face to face in a one piece outer sleeve. This sleeve is a tight press fit into the hub.

They have rubber wiper seals at either end of the bearing, which are only realy intended to keep the internal lubricant in the bearing, not to keep salt water out.

The design of the bearings means relubrication of the bearings is practically impossible.

These axles are probably a good idea for caravans, but problematical in an application which suffers regular immersion.

The other style of hub has two separate taper roller bearings, and it is easier to replace these bearings, though they should be lubricated regularly (after every immersion) to try to minimise internal corrosion. Bearing savers are highly recommended with this type of bearing.

HTH

David

I thought that the parts on my Bramber trailer WERE Al-Ko anyay.. or am I being stupid? :eh:

Well out Bramber trailer also has Al-Ko stamped on the wheel hub. :sick:
I have had my suspicions about the quality of Bramber trailers after having two wobble roller spindles break, the winch disintegrate within the first 2 months of having it, & now the handle to clamp the jockey wheel has bent & looks as if it will snap. Now I read these horror stories about these Al-Ko bearings £1500 for this pile of rubbish! I’m getting worried just a lot. :@
The trailer for our inflatable is a snipe, that has normal taper bearings & every year we re-pack them with grease & its still on the same bearings & winch 7 years later.

I thought that the parts on my Bramber trailer WERE Al-Ko anyay.. or am I being stupid?
I think I would be right in saying that many trailer manufactuers use ALKO gear; my SBS trailer has ALKO axels, bearings etc and an ALKO hitch. The axle beam has always seemed a bit of a strange shape to me; sort of round but not quite there. Why not just use a square one?!

Just to note I did manage to get some of the sealed bearings from AL-KO via Dixon Bate - Gareth at DB being the guy to ask for. I wish I'd seen this type of thread first though - I had a devil of a job persuading him that these are not complete fit and forget items - "never had one fail". A wheel lost at high speed (from an older trailer) on the M6 makes you a very cautious person.

I ordered two lots of bearings last year - the first with a hub which I suspect is your only option for a roadside repair. The second set seemed to have a new AL-KO bearing part number - changed from 581169 to 1312674. And yes I confirm they both fitted! [I had a special drift turned up and have a mate with access to a hydraulic press].

Thanks v much to 'rads' for the Cavalier pointer - I shall be following that one up.

Be interesting to see how the instruction on 'no more than 2 bearing changes per hub' works out - stated as due to the degradation of the friction fit.

It's nice to see well serviced brakes, adjusters and hubs. Plenty of water resistant lubricant to keep it all working properly....It's a pity we're not seeing it here!

It's a block of rust. What do you expect?

It's nice to see well serviced brakes, adjusters and hubs. Plenty of water resistant lubricant to keep it all working properly....It's a pity we're not seeing it here!

It's a block of rust. What do you expect?

Hi JW
A block of rust is what it was, and that is how I bought it. The last owner did not wash off the trailer very well, if at all. That axel is now a land fill item.
The point is, you can not (easily) service these bearings. If you can not clean & repack the bearings, you are going to finish up like this.
The new axel is due this week, and I have specified real bearings that you can service and replace without resorting to presses and hydraulic pullers.

I do feel a bit of a prat for winding up in this situation. The weather was great and I could not resist a spin. The bearings were rumbling on the way to the slip (5 miles) so i felt the hubs as soon as I got there and they were warm but not hot. I, wrongly, asumed that they would get me home again. I had the following week end booked to service the whole trailer, and I thought it would wait. How wrong can you be? :@

:@

It was time to check the bearings in my axle on sunday after 3 months of use. Found 'slight' traces of wear but otherwise looked fine. Got Troy (girlfriend) to do the other axle side on the basis that I want her to know what I'm looking for & also how to do it - hows that for Equality! :D :D ,

I drive it - she fixes it...

Pete

find out how to replace a whole axel?

Dream on :D

A tip for those of you with small boats on trailers with mini wheels - check the price for new hubs and compare to the price for a bearing set, I get a new hub for just over £14 form a trailer manufacturer as opposed to a bearing set for £18.50 from a bearing factors. Worth looking at!

As another unfortunate Al-ko Euro Hub owner who realised I would not have a 3 Ton Press handy to swap bearings at the side of the road. I made the drastic decission of buying a new set of hubs and bearings that I use on the road and keep the old set for launch & recovery.

I am in the fortunate position that I only transport the boat on the road twice a year. Just another option to consider!

As Dirk seemed to find the previous info. interesting, here is full data for our wheel bearings:

Al-Ko
Bearing Number FLT 581169 OD 72, ID 39, Length 37
Single outer race, double inner race.
This is a 1990 1.8Vauxhall Cavalier Front Wheel Bearing

Avonride (sorry, said Indespension in previous post)
Bearing Number 309726DA OD 64, ID 34, Length 37
Single outer race, double inner race.
As fitted to Mk1 Golf front wheel bearing.

Don't throw money away going to VW or Vauxhall dealers, all independent motor factors should be able to supply these considerable cheaper.

Trailer / axle manufacturers advise that the nut used to hold the hubs onto the stub axles are a one-shot device and should not be re-used.

As a data point, and NOT a recommendation, I do re-use them and have never had one loosen. The tightening torques for these nuts is high approximately 300 Nm from memory.

David

David,

OK, so I thought I'd give the cheap way a try.

From the measurements above I need a Mk1 Golf bearing, but when I get one from the local motor factor this bearing has an OD of 67mm rather than 65mm. ID and length are OK.

Any ideas?

Allen

We had similar problems are still getting them, we believe the damper setting is critical as the theory is its binding brakes leading to grease loss and bearing failure. We used taper rollers off the shelf SKF units our tame trailer epert at Bingham trailers knew of AL-KO axles etc and the Knott seals behind them. Anyone needing their contact details PM me meanwhile checkout the remains of the hub. Arrived back in Leicester on the back of a flat bed costing £360 to get back (ouch) thats when I joined the Camping and Caravan club for their arrivals policy.

Arrived back in Leicester on the back of a flat bed costing £360 to get back (ouch) thats when I joined the Camping and Caravan club for their arrivals policy.
The AA should cover your trailer. They came out and replaced a trailer wheel (didn't have a spare on me!) recently with no fuss at all.

I tow all the time....

Everything from, j24's (From Italy to Ireland) to sand, gravel, plant and machinery....

3 simple rules

1. With twin axles, keep the load even on the wheels, ie ajust your tow hitch or load. One way to check, if you cant tell buy looking at the trailer, is drive a couple of miles and feel the tyre walls, the warmer one has the greatest load ... they should be even temp.

2. wheel bearings . drive a couple of miles, stop and check the hubs buy feeling them, if they are warm its OK, But not any warmer that luke warm. If they are hotter than luke warm keep an eye on them.... and if the wheel close to the hub is warm too, you will have a problem... Ie the wheel is acting as a radiator, and sheeding the heat from the hub, you think everything is fine, while the bearings are cooking. Also Watch you speed, if you tow at 40 and everything is fine , if you increase it to 50 , everything can rapidaly go down hill, so keep you speed constant and dont push it, after a couple of tows you will get to know you trailer and what is right and wrong .When on a long tow check for heat in tyre walls (uneven weight distrabution, or lower air pressure) and Hub heat and wheel heat... you will be fine.

3. GREASE. bearing only get hot for two reasions, overloaded or no grease in them.... fill them full of grease all the time and you wont have a problem, I have seen people drill and tap in a grease nipple in the nut cap of the hub so they can easly pump in the grease untill it comes out the back ,to save the bearings.... just keep them loaded with grease, it not a nice job but its got be done, and dont over tighten the hub nut!!!!!

Sorry for the long post :D

The other style of hub has two separate taper roller bearings, and it is easier to replace these bearings, though they should be lubricated regularly (after every immersion) to try to minimise internal corrosion. Bearing savers are highly recommended with this type of bearing.

Are 'Bearing Savers' the same as 'Bearing Buddies' I've heard mentioned (spring loaded bearing caps that gently force grease into the hub)?? Can anyone give me details of where I can get them??

Thanks

Andy Beach

Thought I would keep this thread on the boil after crawling along the M27 in the middle of the night with with a very hot Alko bearing from Weymouth to Pompey :@ The problem? well an alko sealed bearing and hub that can't be removed. Bent the socket set T bar, broke the ratchet and shattered a 36mm socket trying. Gave up, winched 2 tonnes of Pacific 22 off the trailer instead because it was easier. Used a pully block attached to the rear of the trailer and a rope from the boats painter through the block and back to the trailer winch. Boat moved surpsingly easily.

Spoke to RM, the trailer manufacturers who said sealed bearings were excellent for boat trailers never give any problems :eek: so following this useful piece of advice I took the wheel off (4 wheel trailer) and towed the trailer up to De Graaff in Chobham. Arthur De Graaff said they never fit sealed bearings to boat trailers, they are totally unsuitable as the seals are designed to keep dust out not salt water. At last someone who knows what they are talking about. Two new axles later at a very good price, I now have hubs and bearings that I can take apart and check myself without needing a hydraulic press or a 6 foot scafolding bar. Came fitted with "bearing savers" too.

http://www.degraafftrailers.co.uk/

Just had an interesting afternoon trying to get more information from the horse’s mouth so to speak.
I started by doing a search on AL-KO only to find on companies house web site that AL-KO Britain was dissolved on the 31/03/2003.
After another search I found AL-KO KOBER Ltd on the web at the same address & with the same phone number, I tried to ring them only to get a recorded message saying “their office was closed at the moment & to ring back during normal office hours between 08:15 & 16:30.
I then tried to send an e-mail to them; this bounced around for a while between servers before coming back as un-deliverable.
I finally managed to get through on the phone and had an even more interesting conversation, I asked if AL-KO sealed hubs were suitable for boat trailers. The first reply I had was “they are suitable for all types of trailer as long as they are NOT immersed in water” I then asked if a trailer is designed as a launching trailer, i.e. to be reversed into water to float a boat off of it, should it have AL-KO sealed hubs?
The reply was “you can back the trailer into water as long as water doesn’t come into the hubs”
I then asked if I could have this in writing, at which point I was passed on to someone else.
There was then a lot of back peddling, before they then said, “No trailer hubs are designed to be used for launching boats & they are all prone to problems”. I explained we have had boats & launching trailers for a number of years, & with minimal servicing each year (cleaning bearings & re-packing them with grease) we haven’t had any problems.
He finally agreed the AL-KO hubs were probably not ideal for this use because of the difficulties in DIY servicing, although they do provide a lot of boat trailer manufacturers with their hubs & axles.

Rapid wer talking about doing a trailer with discs, don't know how far they got.
Try this thread http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=9358&highlight=disc+brake discs also seem to have their problems :@

WARNING

PLEASE DO NOT USE CAVALIER WHEEL BEARINGS


learnt my lesson yesterday, used a second hand circlip as i bought the much cheaper cavalier bearings and the supplied one didnt fit. Well the wheel fell off and knackered the new bearing and nearly the stub axle etc..

Today Bought new bearing that came with 2 circlips so replaced the other 2nd hand one, trust me 2t of boat on 3 wheels is an eye opener, good job the rangey was there to take most of the weight!!

life saver was nice guy at www.trailertek.com (http://www.trailertek.com/) at winchester, opened up especially for me on good friday and £26 for a 251 kit and 2 circlips.:thumbs:

gt

see http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8771&page=2&pp=10 for details

the cavalier wheel bearing comes with the wrong size circlip so as a consequence you would have to do what i did and use the old stretched circlip.

Luckily i was manovering when the wheel fell off but it knackered my new bearing, the one shot bolt and i had to turn down the end of the stub axle as it was deformed in the process and the bearing wouldnt fit!! please remember this guys, i think i saved about £3 buying a cavalier one on the price the nice guy above charged... its not worth it.

ps 3 years... wow i hope i will oneday get 3 years outa alko bearings.. alko blow bigtime:sick:

ps 3 years... wow i hope i will oneday get 3 years outa alko bearings.. alko blow bigtime:sick:

One of our old boats is on a Snipe break-back trailer, this still has its original conventional trailer bearings, brake shoes & cables, it is now 7 years old. The cables now need replacing because we are unable to pump grease into then any more (yes these cables came with grease nipples) :thumbs:
Once a year we would take off the wheels, remove the bearings & clean them & check on their condition, all moving parts would be greased & then re-assembled.
And the best bit is it doesn’t break the bank, 1 tub of waterproof grease & 2 split pins. :)

I drilled and taped grease nipples into the bearing caps and reversed the seals. This is better at keeping the water out, the down side is grease goes all over the inside of the wheel, less rust! :D
Have been using the same set of bearings for years with no problems. Top up grease every couple of months.

You can get double lip seals. One lip facing inwards, one outwards. It might be better than greasing the brake shoes! :)

Important Information Just received from AL-KO.
1. DO NOT immerse the hub/brakes when hot.
2. Keep immersion to an absolute minimum.
3. After immersion, the hub should be thoroughly hosed down with fresh water.
4. DO NOT park trailer with hand brake on.
5. It is recommended that normal service intervals are at least halved i.e. every 250 miles/2 months, 720 miles / 3 months, 1500 miles / 6 months. :eek:
6. Whilst these bearings are NOT WATERPROOF, they will afford greater protection against the ingress of water than taper roller bearings, particularly if allowed to cool before immersion.
7. Following the above procedures will do much to reduce the devastating effects of salt water, BUT CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT PROBLEMS WILL NOT OCCUR.

So it looks as if the trailer will have to go in for a service every other week, HOW MUCH IS THAT GOING TO COST ? :mad:

Should have warned in my earlier post that reversing the seals works fine in unbraked hubs, greasy brake shoes may be a problem if you have brakes! Not sure about not giving the grease a way out its very easy to pop the seals.

What is the big problem with manufacturers changing the sealing arrangement to make the hubs water tight? They dont have any problems keeping the water out of power heads by using double seals.

Should have warned in my earlier post that reversing the seals works fine in unbraked hubs, greasy brake shoes may be a problem if you have brakes! Not sure about not giving the grease a way out its very easy to pop the seals.

What is the big problem with manufacturers changing the sealing arrangement to make the hubs water tight? They dont have any problems keeping the water out of power heads by using double seals.

thing is there making a killing in parts arent they.. so why bother as theyd be skint without all the rotten brake and bearings being replaced

thing is there making a killing in parts arent they.. so why bother as theyd be skint without all the rotten brake and bearings being replaced
There are only a couple manufactures (2 :eh: Peak and AlKO I think) so there is not competition to drive down prices :@ Des

Anybody know anything about the Peak bearings and parts - good or bad?

Anybody know anything about the Peak bearings and parts - good or bad?
You have got almost no choice so they are either the best or worst you can get. :D :D
Trailer stuff in the UK is really old technology and should be cheaper :@ go to the states or Australia and they have far better designed and constructed trailer parts, simple things like galvenised wheels :cool: why would you put steel wheels on a trailer that goes in the sea :eh: Still as said before they must sell loads of spares:mad: Des

You have got almost no choice so they are either the best or worst you can get. :D :D
Trailer stuff in the UK is really old technology and should be cheaper :@ go to the states or Australia and they have far better designed and constructed trailer parts, simple things like galvenised wheels :cool: why would you put steel wheels on a trailer that goes in the sea :eh: Still as said before they must sell loads of spares:mad: Des

It is NOT just in the UK - ALKO are German - vorsprung durch teknik and all that!!!

I think the real problem is that the boat trailer market is so small compared to the caravan market that they just don't bother!!!