[Sparty]

I've had a rear tire swingout carrie for a while now. It has a greasable hinge.

I'm finding I have to grease it about once every 1-2 weeks to keep it from becoming very stiff.

When it rain, I know water gets in it, because the next day if I open it, water come out of the bottom of the hinge (trickle).

In the attached pics, is there anything wrong with this setup that you can see?

If not, what do you guys do to keep your hinges working freely?

Thanks,

[Sparty]

Also thinking....

Could it be the kind of grease I'm using too? Would that wash away easily? I'm using the ordinary grease that comes with the grease guns.

Thanks,

[alecmcmahon]

install foam gasket?

maybe get a small sheet of 1/8 foam and put it between the washer and pin holder where that gap is, looks like water would be getting in between there.

other then that experiment with a different kind of grease

[03_X]

most of the swing outs have a cover over the bolt, probably for the reason you are stating... I could look for something to cover it with... or maybe find a water resistant grease/proof

[Sparty]

Originally Posted by alecmcmahon

install foam gasket?

maybe get a small sheet of 1/8 foam and put it between the washer and pin holder where that gap is, looks like water would be getting in between there.

other then that experiment with a different kind of grease

Yeah,
I was thinking of that. When the tailgate turns, the painted (black) washer on top stays in teh same place. The metal sleeve turns underneath it.

I was thinking of a gasket, but didn't know if it'd get chewed up or not.

[03_X]

check out BESERK's bumper, message him and see where he gets his lids... maybe you can attach it some how

[Sweeney]

You could install a larger washer/plate that overhangs the hinge and definitely use a marine grade grease. Most setups I've seen use tapered bearings and a grease cap like you find on small trailers. Yours looks like a very simple hinge.

[NEVER-ENOUGH]

It looks like all the grease is at the bottom of the hinge. (Top of hinge is dry) Have you pumped enough grease in so that it "shows" up at the top?

[BESRK]

I'd pull it apart and see what's going on. Some of those hinges just consist of a solid rod with a piece of tube as the pivot... metal on metal. Even with grease, they begin to wear "oblong". Instead of riding on the pin, the hinge tube begins to ride on the top and bottom edges and gets stiff real quick. Same thing can happen if it uses bushings that are worn.

I'd remove the bolt and lift the arm off to take a look. That upper washer doesn't appear to have any sort of seal/gasket to keep water out. Rain water gets in, causes rust, the rust grinds against itself over time and wears slop into the system.


My caps are basically just an aluminum version of an axle "dust cap". It wouldn't work with that setup.

Pull that bolt and washer and post up a pic or two of that if you can.

[sebastian22]

Seems like a poorly designed hinge for this type of application. I would go with something like this...

http://polyperformance.com/shop/Tire-Carrier-Hinge-1.25-Dia.-p-2305.html

I've had this hinge on mine for over a year and have had no issues at all.

[Sparty]

Originally Posted by BESRK

I'd pull it apart and see what's going on. Some of those hinges just consist of a solid rod with a piece of tube as the pivot... metal on metal. Even with grease, they begin to wear "oblong". Instead of riding on the pin, the hinge tube begins to ride on the top and bottom edges and gets stiff real quick. Same thing can happen if it uses bushings that are worn.

I'd remove the bolt and lift the arm off to take a look. That upper washer doesn't appear to have any sort of seal/gasket to keep water out. Rain water gets in, causes rust, the rust grinds against itself over time and wears slop into the system.


My caps are basically just an aluminum version of an axle "dust cap". It wouldn't work with that setup.

Pull that bolt and washer and post up a pic or two of that if you can.

THANKS FOR THE HELP!

[BESRK]

Can you lift that arm off the pivot? Might be able to clean it up, smear grease all over it and reassemble.

If that grease zerk just goes thru the tube and doesn't have any space for the grease to flow, the grease is probably just squeezing out the bottom of the tube and not "flowing" around the whole pin. In that case, you'd be better off just lifting the arm off periodically, cleaning off the pivot and smearing some clean grease all over the pivot. Maybe once every couple months or so.

Or... you might be able to "crossdrill" the spindle pivot with a 1/8" bit. Drill it high enough to run thru the bottom of that bolt hole. Then, use a "greasable" bolt like the ones that go thru shackles. That would help force grease out in 4 directions around the spindle and may prolong the use of the arm before it gets tight again.

[imbezol]

I have the exact same type of design for mine except the bolt on the top has a hole drilled down through it and a grease nipple threaded into the top of it. Then there are a couple holes drilled through the side of inner pin to get the grease to the outside of the pin. Principle is the same though. And it is also not that great for lubrication. I'm thinking it's just not a good design. Like someone above posted.. it's best to go with a setup that has bearings in it and a cap on top.

[Greg_Volkman]

clean that thing up and grease it with some marine grease. It looks like it's missing an o-ring or something. I used a trailer hubs for my hinges, with a cap, but every now and then it will get a bit stiff. WD-40 followed by marine grease keeps it rolling great.