Axle Turning

[matherne]

Has anyone had their axle turn? My neighbor has a 19' hybrid. After fixing his brake wires he was testing his brakes. His wheels did not lock up but it appears one of the axles turned slightly.

[Lloyd]

I think the only way for that to happen is the u-bolts must be loose.

[Stan]

I thought there was a 'pin' on the spring pad that went into a hole under the bottom spring to help keep that from happening. That's scary if true.

[geondebi]

That was my understanding too about the pin.

[matherne]

Thats the same thing I told my neighbor. Some of the alignment pins I've seen are pretty small but still hard to believe it would roll out of them unless the bolts are really loose.

[socoguy]

Originally Posted by Stan

I thought there was a 'pin' on the spring pad that went into a hole under the bottom spring to help keep that from happening. That's scary if true.

There is a pin but if shackle bolts are loose and you hit a bump or pothole the pin can shere off. This can allow the axle to slide rearward. That could be a very bad situation.

[r2millers]

Many newer style leaf springs have a bolt and nut going though the spring assembly to hold it together, rather then straps and a pin.
If the axles are turned, the bolt and nut also need to be reversed to accommodate the end of the bolt as the pin.
If not done, the head of the bolt doesn't properly serve as a sufficient pin.

[Rick A]

I had u-bolts loosen and the alignment pin fall out or shear off and the rear axle slipped all the way to the end of the leaf spring on one side causing the 5th wheel to crab badly down the highway. This happened on I-5 practically in downtown Seattle (on the Lake Union Bridge) at 55 mph in heavy traffic. I managed to get it mostly off the road after crossing the bridge but it was un-drivable. I was VERY lucky that we didn't cause a very bad accident. Thanks to a very good and brave tow truck driver we got the axle shoved back about where it should be, tightened down the u-bolts as best we could and made it to a tire shop where they fixed it good enough to get home. I suggest that you don't go anywhere until you get this looked at! Now I check my u-bolts for tightness regularly!

Rick