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Malibu axle bent


Taylormadetroy

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I have a 95’ response with same age trailer. My trailer came out of storage with what appears to be a bent axle-the tires form a “v” (top of tires point out and bottom point in). I am under the assumption it has to be the axle-potentially the wheel bearings. Anything that I’m potentially missing here? Best guess on a cost to replace the axle-I was told roughly $700-$1000. Obviously there’s an entire issue of how it happened-but I will worry about that with the marina. Just curious if I’m missing any other potential causes. 

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On a trailer that old the drain holes probably clogged and the axle is nearly rusted in half.  Should be easy enough to crawl under and look.  Also look at your cross members

Doubtful that it is wheel bearings or stubs since the tops of the tires would tend to point in not out if there was a failure at the hub.

 

I guess option #3 is that someone put a floor jack under the middle of the axle

Edited by oldjeep
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1 hour ago, Taylormadetroy said:

I have a 95’ response with same age trailer. My trailer came out of storage with what appears to be a bent axle-the tires form a “v” (top of tires point out and bottom point in). I am under the assumption it has to be the axle-potentially the wheel bearings. Anything that I’m potentially missing here? Best guess on a cost to replace the axle-I was told roughly $700-$1000. Obviously there’s an entire issue of how it happened-but I will worry about that with the marina. Just curious if I’m missing any other potential causes. 

What @oldjeep said.  It is possible that the wheel bearings are completely gutted and the hubs are wallowing on the spindles, but that is not nearly as likely as the possibility that your whole trailer is just rotted out. 

Pictures would help us help you, but mostly because we like looking at pictures.  I'm betting that you are looking at a new trailer.

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He said the top of the tire is sticking out (positive camber).  Any time I've seen a bent axle (usually from overloading), you end up with a negative camber situation.  The spring mounts act as a lever and causes the top of the tire to point in.  Even with a warn/blown hub/bearings, the leverage would still cause the exact opposite result he is seeing.  The only thing what would cause a positive camber situation is if the axle was bent UP from the center (inside the spring perch location).

OP, sounds silly, but did you drive around with the trailer to let everything settle into place?  Was the trailer stored with jack stands under the axles (to keep the tires off the ground)? 

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1 hour ago, Texan32 said:

He said the top of the tire is sticking out (positive camber).  Any time I've seen a bent axle (usually from overloading), you end up with a negative camber situation.  The spring mounts act as a lever and causes the top of the tire to point in.  Even with a warn/blown hub/bearings, the leverage would still cause the exact opposite result he is seeing.  The only thing what would cause a positive camber situation is if the axle was bent UP from the center (inside the spring perch location).

OP, sounds silly, but did you drive around with the trailer to let everything settle into place?  Was the trailer stored with jack stands under the axles (to keep the tires off the ground)? 

It has been a confusing thing for me-I will admit that. It’s stored at a marina down the road-well established, not their first rodeo. They claim they didn’t lift it or slide it in any way. That’s what doesn’t make a ton of sense to me. I have driven with the boat both on and off with no luck. I’ve been waiting on the marina to call me back since yesterday so figured I’d see if anybody here had any other explanations or theories! 

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