NH 57 Rake Wheel Assembly

bgsmith · Oct 20, 2018

I have a NH 57 rake, purchased new in 2004. One of the tires would not stay inflated so I took the wheel off the frame to have the tire replaced. The wheel assembly includes a 5/8ths bolt inside a sleeve and the sleeve is inside bushings on the wheel. A dust cap at either end.

When I took the wheel off I found one dust cap gone, the other almost all gone and the sleeve worn through at both ends. Since I lube the wheel on the recommended schedule I was surprised. I took the other wheel off and found a similar condition except that one dust cap was still in good shape.

I speculate that the factory or dealer tighten the lock nut on the 5/8s bolt too much causing the wheel to grind the dust caps and sleeve. But I am not sure.

I am looking for recommendations on how much to tighten the wheel lock nut when I reassemble. Should the sleeve and wheel both spin freely? Or should it be tight enough to hold the sleeve and dust caps tight but still allow the wheel to spin freely?

thanks

Brad :?:

Shetland Sheepdog · Oct 21, 2018

I had a 57 rake for a number of years, and never had the problem you describe!
The "spacer" should be long enough that it can be tightened to the frame without binding the wheel.
It seems to me that the bushings that are inserted into the wheel hub, on your rake, self destructed for some reason, allowing the wheel to be floppy, thus causing the wear issues! Short answer, yes, the bolt should be tight, and the spacer & dust caps should not turn! The hub bushings should turn on the spacer. IIRC my wheels would slide back and forth 1/8" to 1/4" on the spacer, with the bolt tightened right down!
HTH, Dave

Shetland Sheepdog · Oct 21, 2018

One other thing comes to mind.
You said that you greased at the recommended intervals.
There is quite a large cavity inside the wheel hub that needs to be filled with grease before any grease will reach the bushings!
I always greased mine until I saw grease at the dust caps!
Once that cavity is filled, it will only take a few pumps for grease to show up at the caps.
HTH, Dave

bgsmith · Oct 21, 2018

Dave - thank you very much. As I reassembled the wheels and mounted them onto the forks, it became clear that what you described would be the correct way to mount.

The wear in the sleeves was very odd. Both ends of each sleeve was worn into a crescent shape.

I did fill the void with grease having surmised that have a bit squeeze out under the dust caps was the right way to go.

thank you for your excellent advice.

Bra

NH 57 Rake Wheel Assembly

bgsmith

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Shetland Sheepdog

Well-known Member

Shetland Sheepdog

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bgsmith

New User

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