How long should it take to replace wheel seals and bearings on a trailer?

being a mechanic myself, it depends on how the tech is paid and if he really cares how long it takes. if he is paid just a flat hourly rate, he will probably take his sweet time, if he is paid with some type of commission or incentive, then he should be about done. if he has all the seals/bearings/races laid out, it should take roughly 1-2hours max per hub, including taking the wheels off/on, cleaning all surfaces well, and driving the old races out/new in. i have done this job in 4hours, but i was highly motivated, i believe book time should be about 2 hrs per hub. this also depends on the type trailer, hub setup, etc.

 

Last time I had it done it was just on one side and it took about 2 hours.

 

I could do that trailer In four hours if everything went ok. Unless o took my lunch

 

as other have said for time, I agree, unless you have some kind of spindle damage from a bad bearing, but they should have called you for something major like that.

 

We charge 1 hour per hub seal and .3 tenths of one hour for each bearing race=1.6 hours per wheel position, steam cleaning on a seal failure is additional at .3 tenths of one hour maximum per wheel position, so it's 1.6 hours per wheel with the addition of .3 tenths on a wheel position that is gooey from a seal failure.

 

Mechanics and cab drivers benefiit from being inept and incompetent. I would ask why it took so long. If you are paying someone to OJT on your trailer, you should not have to pay full shop labor rates. Gettiing a repair estimate in writing is a good way to save yourself a lot of greif in the repair shop.

 

Some races are hard to pound out. Some older trailers they are too loose and some extra steps are needed. Sometime the hub cap bolts are seized in the hub, lots of things can and do go wrong. Some guys are really picky about how stuff comes apart and goes back together. I personally take my time and make sure it is done right. I always double check and measure the end play with dial indicator. Wheel end jobs are one of those jobs you DO NOT rush through. Miss something and a wheel comes off and kills someone, you life is over. I don't care what you think the right book time is, I care about doing the job right! Now, that being said, I don't screw the customer either! About 2 hours max is fair per wheel. If you take longer there had better be a good reason. The more wheels you do per job kinda lowers the average time per wheel too.

 

Yes! Unless I'm missing something, like that they replaced the brakes and drums while they were doing it.

Edit-I missed the replacing the bearings part, feel kind of silly.