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Old 11-19-2004, 02:02 AM   #41
lightningjack11
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Hamrad,

I would like to know where to get the parts you had put on your rig. Might try installing them myself. I am anxious to see your pictures.

Tom
 
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Old 11-19-2004, 02:15 AM   #42
Just148
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Me too, I have inspected the underside seems theres not problem, YET. Well go over unit this Dec....
Waiting to see HamRad's phot's...
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Old 11-19-2004, 02:17 AM   #43
NJ Hillbilly
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Manufacturer and part #'s would be great. Even if I can't find the exact ones, they can be cross referenced.

John
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Old 11-19-2004, 05:45 AM   #44
sreigle
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Dennis, I'm going to check ours but am wondering something. As you know, in October Al-Ko replaced our axles and two drums. We then had the Keystone Service Center check alignment. They said they needed aligning and sent us to Bud's Body Shop in Elkhart, who aligned both axles for us. None of these folks indicated any problem with the shackles. I would think one of these folks would have looked or at least noticed a problem. But I'll check them just in case.

You mentioned it's hard to see the wear. Did your brother remove bolts to check it or was he able to crawl under and tell just by looking?

Thanks, Dennis.
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Old 11-19-2004, 09:41 AM   #45
HamRad
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Pictures are available on my PictureTrail site. Just click on link below and go to album entitled "Shackles". I've added another shot showing the damage to the shackles.


NJHillbilly,
We simply removed the shackles and equalizer and took them to a little brake and wheel shop. They knew immediately what part to get. Said they get a lot of requests for such things. Apparently from all makes of trailers. Got a kit for replacement. List was around $200. Got complete replacement for $150. They had the old style stuff if I wanted but that seemed silly. So got the better stuff. By the way the replacement stuff made by Dexter! If you need exact parts number I think I still have the box. The part number on the instruction sheet is:

K71-448-00 for tandem axles w/4" high equalizer --- K71-449-00 for tandem axles w/35" axle spacing

As indicated these are Dexter. If you need phone numbers let me know. The sheet has several different locations listed.

Steve,
It is very difficult to see the damage. You cannot see the bushing damage until you remove the shackle and bolt. Of course once you get the bolt out you can see all damage. He could tell that they were wearing just by looking but he did have to get right up to them and look very closely. Of course once you see even one you know you must change them all!

Steve I talked with my brother again and he said you really have to be in just the right position to see the damage. He feels very strongly that everyone who has the same setup as I have to CHANGE them ASAP to the heavy duty stuff.

We also replaced all the brakes. One was actually cracked. It looked almost like it had shattered. All the rest looked fair. One looked as if it had gotten really hot.

The new heavy duty shackle sets should work well and last just about forever. It's nice to have the grease zerks on the new ones. That may even help reduce some of creaks and groans from that area.

HamRad
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Old 11-19-2004, 12:46 PM   #46
lightningjack11
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Good pictures Hamrad. The jacking process was one thing I was thinking about. It looks like a job I can do.

Thanks for sharing.
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Old 11-19-2004, 05:26 PM   #47
HamRad
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Tom you will need to have a couple more jacks to support the axles.

When you remove all the bolts the axles will fall down so you must support them. We used a floor jack and a smaller bottle jack. You must adjust the axles up and down after the bolts are out. You have to pound out the bushings and of course pound in the new ones! To do this you need to lower the axles out of the way. Then of course you must go back up and then put in the new bolts.

Good luck and let us know what you find on yours.

HamRad
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Old 11-20-2004, 02:42 AM   #48
applejack
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I have just noticed that the Montana sales literature for the 2004 units advertize that the Montana's are built on Dexter easylube axles but they all seem to have ALKO axles. Dexter has a 5 year warranty ALKO has a 2 year warranty. hmmmmm
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Old 11-20-2004, 10:19 AM   #49
lightningjack11
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Hamrad,

Thanks again for your additional comments.

When this post first started the first thing I did was go out and measure the distance between all the bolts on the bolt side of the links. All of mine were exactly 2 1/4 inch which corresponds to an Alko shackle link Pn of 7505. I am going to monitor this closely. In the mean time I will probably get with dexter after the first of the year and order the new parts.

Another observation is my links are nearly vertical or close to it while the pictures show close to 45 degrees on yours. I don't know if that matters.
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Old 11-20-2004, 10:24 AM   #50
lightningjack11
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Applejack

I think they changed to Dexters on some models.
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Old 11-21-2004, 04:45 AM   #51
Montana_1985
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wow, we have 6k lb Dexter axles on our '05 3650RK, and have never really even thought about issues with them yet...
U can bet i'll be examining this stuff more closely, as we have only about 1k miles on the rig to date. Also, anyone know where the lug wrench is located on these things?? I havent tried yet, but I am assuming(u know what that means) that I can use my F350 lug wrench on the wheels, if necessary...

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Old 11-21-2004, 06:18 AM   #52
8.1al
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In theory, the shackles should never wear out. The bolts are knurled up near the head and press into the shackle so that they don't turn. I ran across a Dexter rep. at a SKP rally who had a worn out shackle on display. I asked him how this was happening and he stated that what is happening is that when the manufacturers install the axles they don't use a wrench on the bolt and this strips the knurling. This allows the bolt to turn in the shackle. I have checked mine and they seem to be tight but I think maybe I will spot weld the bolt heads to the shackles. This should prevent the wear.
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Old 11-21-2004, 10:30 AM   #53
lightningjack11
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Thats an interesting theory.
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Old 11-21-2004, 11:23 AM   #54
sreigle
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Ours didn't come with a lug wrench as I recall. I just use a socket on a torque wrench. I'm not sure if the F350 lugnuts are the same size. Probably would be a good idea to find out before needing to know on the road! I can go out and look in the truck's toolbox if you need to know the size although yours might be different. Ours has the Alko-Kober axles. The Dexter's might have a different size.
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