Hmm, I think that was posted on one of the teardrop forums. Long story short, I contacted Timbren, the sent us some shims and I installed a couple to adjust the chamber. *Later I realized the negitive chamber was due to the worn bushings shown in this video. The shims are easy to install. Measuring chamber takes some setup. I used a laser level...
David, I'm about to do this job. I noticed that when you pulled the "locking washer" at the start of the video, the pin on the washer was pulled out of an existing hole in the suspension arm. Why did you have to drill a new hole later?? We bought one of the very first Black Beans. It's a heavy trailer, at 3200 dry. I think Bean just continued to use the 3500 suspension and should have stepped up to the 5000 suspension on this trailer. After talking to Lisa at Timbren, she agreed. SO.....the good part along with the bad. Timbren is sending me new bushings and also sending me stiffer rubber springs so that the suspension will better cope with the weight. The bad part....is that I have to do this job. LOL
I just decided to drill a new hole so I wouldn't have to align the old hole, which looked like it might be tricky. I think that option may (or not) make sense when you get there. Best of luck with the project. Sorry to hear about the problem, but it's nice to know this video could be helpful. Thanks for the comment, keep us posted!
@@dchurch911 Thanks for your quick reply. I thought that may have been the case with the washer pin alignment. Timbren has been great, I'll receive parts for the job today. I liked your use of the wood splitter for a press. I don't have ready access to a hydraulic splitter so will probably try the good old washer/bolt pull method. I've done that pressing method with motorcycle parts and car suspension bushes before and with good success. We'll see. :-) My Black Bean was one of the first Black Beans off the production line. I'm thinking that Bean underestimated the dry weight on the Black Bean (with options) and they should have used the 5200 rubber springs instead of the 3500. That's what Timbren thought too and they are sending me a 5200 spring set. They also recommended that I double check the 450 ft/lb torque on the main hinge bolt.....after 500 or so miles and again at 5000 miles. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again....
I have it shown as a 1-1/2". You could double check with Timbren Inc., there support is very responsive. A 38mm would be a hair larger. I wonder if your socket is worn. A good six point socket should be used for this job. You do want a nice fit because there's a lot of torque required. Best of luck with this.
David, thanks for posting this video - how many miles did the bush last before you replaced it? - what laden mass is your teardrop? - did you notice any camber change or alignment issue with the worn bush? Where I live, the highways are so rough as to distroy the rubber torsion axle in my teardrop asn I am looking at options that will better cope with the 3rd world conditions in OZ highways - the drag arms twisted and put the camber out reall really badly (some 10 to 15 degrees reverse camber on the most bent side) The suspension is utterly toast as a result
We had about 25,000 on the trailer at the time of this video. A good portion of the miles were on dirt and low maintenance roads. I noticed some uneven wear in our tires... That's covered in this video or one just prior. Think the Timbren system is good but lubing 6,000 miles is better for dirt and tougher conditions. Our trailer typically weighs about 3,500 lbs.
One headache saving tip that I'll add...Remove the round rubber shock from the end of the control arm when re-installing. I fought mine forever with that rubber shock installed, and was not able to jack the arm up into to place for the bolt hole to align. My camper is light enough that the main rubber absorber would not compress enough to line the hole up. With that round shock removed you can easily aline the control arm main pivot bolt hole. Once the main bolt is in place, you can compress the arm with a jack to reinstall the round shock.
Cameron Fenno 1/14/24 Recovered Comment (accidently deleted) Thanks so much for this video. Having to replace my Timbren bushings for the same reason. Did you have any staining or pitting on either of the pivot cylinders? One looks great, the other looks dirty, but this is after a lot of cleaning. Can see pitting and the texture is not as smooth as the other in those areas: th-cam.com/video/k8_psJl6CSs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gWkr-NbCvUDebNre My fear is if I put this back in anything close to this condition, it'll wear down the bushing and I'll be doing this again in a year. Cameron, Sorry I accidently deleted your comment while trying to resolve a TH-cam reply glitch. I'm glad you found this video, sorry you had to do this repair. I followed your link and understand your concern. My pistons had signs of discoloration but they had no pitting and were smooth. I would send some photos with closeups to Timbren and ask for a replacement. Step up the frequency of greasing these. Grease is cheap. Do yourself a favor and get a good grease gun and connector if you don't already have them. (See Description) Please help spread the word about frequent greasing and checking chamber/play. As you know the repair is no fun at all. You've probably seen our "Lube it Now" video. It's a shame it has so few views. th-cam.com/video/T89eJ8MCkyM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oIojcS5mYt42QJ7f Best of luck with finishing the repair, and happy trails. Dave
David, I remember that you had posted about shimming the Timbren suspension. I can't find that on TH-cam, is it on your blog site? Thanks.....
Hmm, I think that was posted on one of the teardrop forums.
Long story short, I contacted Timbren, the sent us some shims and I installed a couple to adjust the chamber. *Later I realized the negitive chamber was due to the worn bushings shown in this video. The shims are easy to install. Measuring chamber takes some setup. I used a laser level...
@dchurch911 thanks, that's what I remember seeing.
David, I'm about to do this job. I noticed that when you pulled the "locking washer" at the start of the video, the pin on the washer was pulled out of an existing hole in the suspension arm. Why did you have to drill a new hole later??
We bought one of the very first Black Beans. It's a heavy trailer, at 3200 dry. I think Bean just continued to use the 3500 suspension and should have stepped up to the 5000 suspension on this trailer. After talking to Lisa at Timbren, she agreed. SO.....the good part along with the bad. Timbren is sending me new bushings and also sending me stiffer rubber springs so that the suspension will better cope with the weight. The bad part....is that I have to do this job. LOL
I just decided to drill a new hole so I wouldn't have to align the old hole, which looked like it might be tricky. I think that option may (or not) make sense when you get there. Best of luck with the project. Sorry to hear about the problem, but it's nice to know this video could be helpful. Thanks for the comment, keep us posted!
@@dchurch911 Thanks for your quick reply. I thought that may have been the case with the washer pin alignment. Timbren has been great, I'll receive parts for the job today. I liked your use of the wood splitter for a press. I don't have ready access to a hydraulic splitter so will probably try the good old washer/bolt pull method. I've done that pressing method with motorcycle parts and car suspension bushes before and with good success. We'll see. :-)
My Black Bean was one of the first Black Beans off the production line. I'm thinking that Bean underestimated the dry weight on the Black Bean (with options) and they should have used the 5200 rubber springs instead of the 3500. That's what Timbren thought too and they are sending me a 5200 spring set. They also recommended that I double check the 450 ft/lb torque on the main hinge bolt.....after 500 or so miles and again at 5000 miles.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks again....
What is the size of the main pivot bolt? I've tried 1-1/2" and 38MM, both are sloppy.
I have it shown as a 1-1/2". You could double check with Timbren Inc., there support is very responsive. A 38mm would be a hair larger. I wonder if your socket is worn. A good six point socket should be used for this job. You do want a nice fit because there's a lot of torque required. Best of luck with this.
David, thanks for posting this video
- how many miles did the bush last before you replaced it?
- what laden mass is your teardrop?
- did you notice any camber change or alignment issue with the worn bush?
Where I live, the highways are so rough as to distroy the rubber torsion axle in my teardrop asn I am looking at options that will better cope with the 3rd world conditions in OZ highways
- the drag arms twisted and put the camber out reall really badly (some 10 to 15 degrees reverse camber on the most bent side) The suspension is utterly toast as a result
We had about 25,000 on the trailer at the time of this video. A good portion of the miles were on dirt and low maintenance roads. I noticed some uneven wear in our tires... That's covered in this video or one just prior.
Think the Timbren system is good but lubing 6,000 miles is better for dirt and tougher conditions.
Our trailer typically weighs about 3,500 lbs.
One headache saving tip that I'll add...Remove the round rubber shock from the end of the control arm when re-installing. I fought mine forever with that rubber shock installed, and was not able to jack the arm up into to place for the bolt hole to align. My camper is light enough that the main rubber absorber would not compress enough to line the hole up. With that round shock removed you can easily aline the control arm main pivot bolt hole. Once the main bolt is in place, you can compress the arm with a jack to reinstall the round shock.
Thanks so much for adding this tip! I hope you and I never have to use it, but it could be a great help for other poor unfortunate souls:(
Cameron Fenno 1/14/24 Recovered Comment (accidently deleted)
Thanks so much for this video. Having to replace my Timbren bushings for the same reason. Did you have any staining or pitting on either of the pivot cylinders? One looks great, the other looks dirty, but this is after a lot of cleaning. Can see pitting and the texture is not as smooth as the other in those areas: th-cam.com/video/k8_psJl6CSs/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gWkr-NbCvUDebNre My fear is if I put this back in anything close to this condition, it'll wear down the bushing and I'll be doing this again in a year.
Cameron, Sorry I accidently deleted your comment while trying to resolve a TH-cam reply glitch.
I'm glad you found this video, sorry you had to do this repair.
I followed your link and understand your concern. My pistons had signs of discoloration but they had no pitting and were smooth.
I would send some photos with closeups to Timbren and ask for a replacement.
Step up the frequency of greasing these. Grease is cheap. Do yourself a favor and get a good grease gun and connector if you don't already have them. (See Description)
Please help spread the word about frequent greasing and checking chamber/play. As you know the repair is no fun at all.
You've probably seen our "Lube it Now" video. It's a shame it has so few views.
th-cam.com/video/T89eJ8MCkyM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oIojcS5mYt42QJ7f
Best of luck with finishing the repair, and happy trails. Dave