4. Maintenance needs may hinge on application
Like all aspects of a truck, maintenance of the wheel end and wheel is of the utmost importance to keep your equipment rolling productively. It’s a significant contributor to the overall efficiency, lifetime operating costs and appearance of commercial vehicle wheels.
“Properly maintained and spec’d wheels will last the lifetime of the vehicle for over the road applications and have a proven history of dependable service for fleet operations when the proper wheel is specified,” Maxion’s Weisend said.
A couple of specific maintenance issues for wheels to keep an eye on are rim flange wear or irregular wear on the surface of the rim flange of any commercial vehicle wheel, which is caused by abrasion from the tire chafer and sidewall. Alcoa’s Thomas explained that rim flange wear happens most often in applications with heavy or shifting loads, such as in the refuse market.
Corrosion is another big factor in decreased wheel life, according to Weisend. “Powder topcoat paint has been the preferred wheel finish in North America since 2009 and can add years of service prior to wheel refurbishing,” he said. “Fleets should work closely with wheel refurbishing providers to ensure they receive wheels that have been properly cleaned and repainted prior to putting wheels back into service.”
5. Wheel end life will depend on it
Application complications also come into play for wheel ends.
“In an extreme or heavy-duty application, your first priority following safety is component durability,” Webb Wheel’s Wiechmann said. “We have typically seen higher loads and frequencies of stops in this duty-cycle, which in turn leads to higher mechanical and thermal loading. Therefore, a heavier duty wheel end package selection that can handle these energy requirements is optimal to increase uptime and decrease the total cost of ownership.”
“For long haul or regions with few mountains, choose the brake drum or hub/rotor to meet your specific needs,” ConMet’s Wagner related. “Load rating and weight are some of the more common considerations for determining what drums or hub/rotors to go with. For regional hauls in areas that can be hard on brakes such as mountainous regions, heavier and wider brake drums with more thermal capacity should be used. Disc brakes should also be considered in those regions since they are much less susceptible to brake fade [loss of torque as the brake gets hot].”
Excessive heat, contamination, improper installation and bearing adjustments are the biggest factors that contribute to decreased wheel end life.
Insufficient lubrication is another big threat to wheel end life, Wagner said. This means not only do you need enough lube in your wheel end for the bearings and seals, but also it needs to be clean and free of contaminants or water. Lube degradation due to contaminants or water will quickly affect the performance of the seal and bearings.
Additionally, improper maintenance such as incorrect installation or failure to identify issues while in the shop can create havoc for end users. Other common issues can include corrosion, debris, spec’ing poor quality mating components and poorly trained drivers.
“TMC procedures specific to wheel ends are a great place to start,” Webb Wheel’s Wiechmann said. “They provide an overview of how and where to concentrate, how to interpret what you find, and what to do if you find it. In general, regular inspections by well-trained technicians will result in the highest probability for keeping the units on the road and avoiding unscheduled costly shop visits. We also suggest keeping in contact with product manufacturers and their fleet support services. Webb Wheel has specific groups within all of our units to provide support and training to both OE’s and end users.”
When it comes to wheel end inspections, look at and feel your wheel ends on a regular basis. Check for loose fasteners on wheels, hubcaps, axle flanges, etc.
“You don’t need to pull anything apart, but look for oil leakage from hubcaps and seals,” Wagner said. “Use the sight windows in hubcaps and remove fill plugs in drive hubs to check lube levels. Regularly place a magnet into the oil to check for metal contaminants that would indicate the start of a bearing failure. Any time the wheels are off the ground, check for improper bearing adjustment by ensuring that the wheel end spins freely and smoothly and that there is no excess movement or ‘chucking.’”