Strange wheel hubs

[John Parker]

I have an old 'Salop' trailer with what I believe are old style army wheel hubs. I'm trying to sort out the rear drum brakes but I can't get the damn things off to get to them. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks for any help. The picture shows one of the front hubs with the wheel taken off, the rear ones are the same type.

 

[Exfarmer]

Make sure they are not left hand thread

 

[Zebbedee]

That indeed is a strange hub, but I would question if there is actually brakes fitted? Maybe a picture from the rear of the hub may make it clearer

 

[John Parker]

Make sure they are not left hand thread

Good point to bear in mind, however I cannot see any nuts to undo in either direction! There is a large screw in the centre that appears to be a grease point, but that's it. I'm wondering if a specialised tool is needed to remove them....

 

[John Parker]

That indeed is a strange hub, but I would question if there is actually brakes fitted? Maybe a picture from the rear of the hub may make it clearer

It's a bit dark at the moment, I'll get some better shots tomorrow, but here is the rear hub with the wheel still attached.

 

[Exfarmer]

Quite agree , no brakes. The hubs undo from the outer rim not the inner screw. Need to block the rim and a great big stilson on the rim. , as said may be LH thread
Of course I may be wrong!

 

[John Parker]

The original photo showed one of the front hubs. The drum brakes are fitted to the rear hubs.

 

[Zebbedee]

Ahh yes there is brakes there, are the front ones the same then? To be honest if you want brakes that will actually work I would look at replacing the axle that type of actuation with expanders were useless when new back in the dark ages and certainly no better now

 

[John Parker]

Ahh yes there is brakes there, are the front ones the same then? To be honest if you want brakes that will actually work I would look at replacing the axle that type of actuation with expanders were useless when new back in the dark ages and certainly no better now

There are no brakes on the front, I posted that photo to show the hub more clearly. It's a bit of a restoration project so I'd rather keep the original parts in there (as crap as they probably are)

 

[John Parker]

Maybe it's better I don't get into the drums... probably full of asbestos...

 

[Mrs Brown]

Try the centre stud out of front hub might be parallel bearing like a hay bob wheel ,give it a bang from behind the flange and see if it moves ,rear one might be more stuck having brakes and drums fitted. Try turning the hub before you remove the centre stud see if the stud revolves with the hub ,if it does pleas ignore advice

 

[Tim Howard]

My money is on taper bearings but anything is possible. Is there a locking ring near the end of the hub that you can tap round with a punch. Wedge breaks are fine if kept greased but have been superseded by cam brakes. Linings will be riveted on so no problem replacing them.

 

[John Parker]

Here are some more photos. There are 3 old school locking nuts, but they don't look man enough to hold the wheel on.

 

[John Parker]

 

[Tim Howard]

The 3 nuts just look to hold the drum on.
You need to get into the hub for the bearings and to get the hub off.
Are you sure the hob end doesn't unscrew by tapping it round with a punch?

 

[John Parker]

The 3 nuts just look to hold the drum on.
You need to get into the hub for the bearings and to get the hub off.
Are you sure the hob end doesn't unscrew by tapping it round with a punch?

The whole thing up to the 3 lock nuts is one solid piece of metal. I'll give it a little tappy tap and see if anything happens. There's nothing stopping it from spinning round at the moment though.

 

[Exfarmer]

I am sure the outer flange screws off. It may appear to be one, but don’t think so

 

[John Parker]

I think you're right, I've given it a good clean and the disc at the very end does seem to be separate. It's clobbering time.

 

[Exfarmer]

you will need to jam the axle absolutely solid. Ideally let down on the ground , if safe. Then the bigger jolt you can give it , the better the chance of breaking the seal. if you have access, an air hammer is good for as it is far less likely to lead to collateral damage. Generally though these things do normally go reasonably easy. It is probably a fine thread and just beware of the chance of LH threads

 

[John Parker]

done it! There were a couple of grub screws hidden under some crusty grease, once they were out the cap unscrewed with some slight persuasion. Thanks for your help Exfarmer and Tim, much appreciated.