Squeaky wheel.

[Roh]

Gday all,
We pulled in to a caravan park in Busselton yesterday and i heard the one thing that i have dreaded pulling into a new spot, being that van that sounds like its wheels are about to fall off when you are backing into a site.:doh: I had not heard it leaving Perth (200kms away) or at anytime before that. We had the van serviced in Perth including bearings. The squeak was not a constant squeel, but a squeak once every rotation. I found it noticable when going straight not so much when turning. I dont believe it was the brakes as i was just at idle and slowing creeping down the park and not under brakes. I was hoping somebody may be able to suggest what it could be.

On another note i have also noticed the leaf springs are quite noisy aswell. I made the fatal mistake of spraying RP7 in there which fixed it until the next gravel road we went down. All the dust from the road was then caked all over the leafs now making them worse. Is there any fix apart from pulling them apart and cleaning each leaf independantly?

Thanks in advance guys.
Rohan

 

[Burnsy]

Hi roh, can you still hear the squeak if your just resting your foot on brake? If the noise goes away then maybe it's one of the brake shoes just touching? As for your springs maybe you could wash them with degreaser, then let dry completely and coat them with lanolin. I used to do my boat trailer and springs with lanolin and had no issues but it takes a few days to dry properly or you will get dirt sticking to it. Keeps the gal looking like new and when it gets wet it's like water off a ducks back!

Cheers.

 

[ah197331]

Not sure if it's related, but the centre bush in the rocker arm on my tandem 17-56-2 is notorious for making a really harsh squark. It seems to need greasing in the right spot, to stop it completely, but then doesn't last too long before starting up again.

Regarding the noise once per rotation, perhaps if one of the wheels isnt completely round, it might be moving the rocker slightly, making the same squeak as I mentioned above. On mine it can be very loud, and even the slightest suspension movement will cause it to squeak.

Andrew

 

[straydingo]

I reckon thats the joys of drum brakes.
On my first car I'd adjust them, and then after a bit of use they'd be back scraping slightly. This was noticeable where the wheels were not perfectly round as Andrew suggests above. Shouldn't be noticable when the brakes are in actual use and applying any pressure to the sides.
Maybe also check the hand brake tension when off?

 

[Moto Moto]

I had the same issue, it was my brakes. Feel the rims after driving for a while, and i bet they are red hot:mad2:

My van went back and forth to the dealers a few times before the issue was sourced. I actually found this issue is common through this forum and once i pointed it out Alko agreed to replace the whole brake assembly on one side. They took their sweet time though:mad2:

I went through two dealers trying to sort this and have spoken to one since, they have had a few more vans come in with the same problem since mine.

i may be wrong, but from what you described it would seems its the same issue. Good luck.

 

[relgate]

Thanks to your posts Moto moto I checked my rims, brakes and bearings all the way home from Melbourne to Sydney. Happy to report that all was Ok. Glad you finally got yours sorted.

 

[Roh]

Thanks all for your insight.
Give me something to do this weekend.
Cheers
Rohan

 

[Burnsy]

Hope you find the culprit Roh, let us know!

Cheers.