Proper Care and Maintenance of your Tire Carrier System

  1. Re-tighten your coupling unit after a period of time or after a good off-road trip. Looseness in your hub assembly or seizing of your carrier may be a sign you need to replace your bearings or that the 1” nyloc nut in under the cap in your hub assembly has come loose and needs to be tightened.

 

  1. Always be sure to use the anti-seize when installing and re-installing your hub cover, otherwise removal will be very difficult! Remove your hub cover and check inside your hub assembly regularly. If you live in a dry climate and off-road a “standard” amount, we would recommend you check your hub assembly at least once per year. If you live in a wet climate, humid climate, or a climate with extremes, we would recommend you check your hub assembly quarterly or with season changes. Climates with heavy salt content are some the harshest conditions on your components and may need to be checked more frequently.

 

When installing and/or re-installing bearings be sure to use a white lithium marine-style grease for best results.

Once you have removed the cap, check the grease. Bad grease will be black or have lost most of its original color, will show signs of moisture, and/or will have become “chunky”. If this is the case, remove your bearings and re-grease them.

 

Check your bearings. The bearing cage can become corroded over time and break. Looseness or seizing in your hub and carrier assembly may be a sign that you need to replace your bearings.

 

Races generally do not need to be replaced unless you can see they have broken or are heavily corroded. Races can be knocked out and replaced if/when needed.

 

  1. Replacement parts. You can purchase a rebuild kit directly from us at Expedition One, however you can also find most of your hub assembly components at your local automotive/hardware store. Replacement part #’s can be found below for your convenience:

 

Single Arm Carriers
Grease Seal: 37502250
Grease: Any marine-grade lithium grease
Large Bearing: LM 102949
Lower Race: LM 102910
Small Bearing: 15123
Upper Race: 15245

 

Dual Swing Arm Carriers
Grease Seals: PN 5121
Bearings: LM48548