When it comes to wheel hub assemblies, inspection and detection of wheel end issues is just one part of the service and repair process. While today many fleets will opt to rebuild an existing wheel end, there are aftermarket options available to replace the wheel hub assembly unit as well. ConMet’s Roger Maye talks about the current practices of rebuilding wheel hub assemblies, and the options available for replacing these units.
Transcription of interview:
Erica Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Hello and welcome to another episode of VSP News: Uptime Update. I am your host Erica Schueller, Editor-in-Chief of Fleet Maintenance magazine, covering all maintenance, all management, all vehicle classes, all the time.
When it comes to wheel hub assemblies, inspection and detection of wheel end issues is just one part of the service and repair process. While today many fleets will opt to rebuild an existing wheel end, there are aftermarket options available to replace the wheel hub assembly unit as well.
We talked with Roger Maye, national sales manager for Consolidated Metco, known as ConMet for short. Maye talked about the current practices of rebuilding hubs, and the challenges techs can face when handling this procedure.
Roger Maye, ConMet: Most hubs are rebuildable in the field. There are some considerations to be made before you do that though.
The components have got to be inspected. Sometimes that’s a little bit challenging knowing what to look for. Some of the damage is sometimes hidden and we don’t know the conditions that hub has been in – studs overtorqued, hidden damage to bearings.
Nevertheless, they are rebuildable with the proper training and considerations.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Instead of rebuilding the hub assembly unit, Maye says fleets can opt to replace the wheel hub assembly. He shares more details on these benefits.
Maye, ConMet: One of the immediate benefits of replacing hub assemblies versus rebuilding is the time-savings. There’s costs involved with vehicle downtime, cost involved with the components. There’s always the question (when rebuilding) of “are these components suitable to be reused?”
If you replace the hub, there’s an immediate time-savings, there’s sometimes a reduced cost and there’s an increased uptime because of the limited amount of time it actually takes to replace the hub versus rebuild.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Companies like ConMet provide a number of replacement options for fleets. Maye gives some background on the types of products available.
Maye, ConMet: We estimate there are 10 million hubs in service on the road today, with 2 million of those coming up for service in any given year.
ConMet introduced PreSet to the market in 1995. It became standard in most truck OEMs in 2005. An upgrade to that was our PreSet Plus, that came on the market in 2012 and has since become standard with most truck builders.
With the PreSet and PreSet Plus, we eliminate the technician having to be involved in bearing adjustment, which is sometimes a stumbling point. With the replacement program, we’ve made it very easy to replace these hubs rather than rebuild.
The replacement gives you a very quick option, limits your liability and it reduces your time out of service for your vehicle.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Just like many other aspects of the commercial vehicle, wheel end trends continue to advance. Maye shares his insights on what we can expect for this product category in the future.
Maye, ConMet: I think you’re going to see coming trends in wheel ends that reduce the number of variables a technician is involved in and has to make a decision on.
You’re going to see units that are more self-contained, and sometimes even, self-monitoring. That’s going to be an overall plus for the end user. It’s going to be quicker and easier to install, with less chances to make a mistake, and also reduce liability.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: For more information on wheel hub assemblies, including a recent article featured in Fleet Maintenance magazine on how to prevent wheel-off conditions, check out the link below:
Thank you for tuning in to VSP News Uptime Update, I’m your host Erica Schueller.
Until our next broadcast, keep up with this, and other industry topics, by visiting us online at VehicleServicePros.com.
Learn more about wheel hub assemblies.
