Essential to equipment trailers, braking components wear quickly and require frequent maintenance attention. Luckily, if electric brake replacement is topping your to-do list once again, you’ll be happy to know handling this necessary maintenance doesn’t have to be a colossal time suck. How can you get the job done with less effort and move on with your day?
Simpler Solutions for Brake Replacement
The simplicity of electric brake operation makes them far easier to deal with than hydraulic and surge brake options. Yet you can make electric brake maintenance even easier by replacing the entire electric brake backing plate assembly. Backing plate assemblies include the brake shoes and all related parts, pre-assembled and ready to install. This simplifies the repair and shortens downtime, making it a good choice for those individuals who lack experience rebuilding brake drums, which house springs, magnet assemblies, and other hardware that can be a headache to deal with during installation.
How to Replace Electric Brakes
If you purchase the complete backing plate assembly, you can complete brake maintenance in just a couple of hours, getting your trailer back on the road. The process is simple:
- Remove the wheels.
Loosen lug nuts, jack up the trailer, and remove the wheels/tires. - Access the brake drum assembly.
Remove the dust cap from the axle hub using a large screwdriver. Take it easy to avoid damaging the dust cap. (Begin lining things up in reverse order for easier reassembly.) - Remove the drum.
Remove the cotter pin/retainer to remove the castle nut from the spindle, then the brake drum. Slip-out and discard the outer wheel bearing. (Never reuse wheel bearings.) If the drum is stuck, tap the perimeter gently with a metal hammer until it frees. - Inspect brakes.
Check the brake drum for excess wear and uneven scoring, replacing drums in poor shape – otherwise reuse the drum. Unsure? Your local parts store should be able to inspect and turn the drums for reuse or suggest replacement. - Remove seals and wheel bearings.
These do not get reused. Simply pry them out with a flathead or pliers. - Clean.
Remove old grease from the drum and spindle. Check bearing races for wear, removing/replacing as necessary. Refill with fresh grease. - Replace the backing plate assembly.
Bolt in place, crimping the 2 wires of the new magnet where the old wires were cut. (Magnets are not polar sensitive.) - Reinstall bearings.
Clean old grease from drum assembly components with brake cleaner. Don’t forget to pack new wheel bearings with high-temperature grease, leaving no voids. - Reinstall the drum.
Turn the tension adjuster at the bottom of the brake assembly until drum slides into place. Then adjust the tensioner until the shoes just grab the drum, barely backing off until they do not. This eliminates play/drag. - Reassemble the hub.
Reassemble in reverse order: Drum, outer wheel bearing, outer bearing washer, then retaining/castle nut with proper tension/no end play. Once there is no play, tighten the nut ¼-turn, then install retainer/cotter pin, and dust cap, replacing the cap if it does not seal well. - Grease spindles.
Grease the spindles with 5-7 pumps of grease via the zerk fitting. - Replace wheel.
Torque lug nuts to factory specs, repeating on all axles. - Break-in.
Drive carefully until brakes are broken in, adjusting if the trailer pulls to one side.
Regular break maintenance is vital to hauling your load, while a skilled operator can do basic task, we don’t recommend replacing your breaks on your own, but Ainsworth Trailer Repair has you covered. For the fastest, easiest road to replacement, contact us and schedule your service today.
