Bearing maintance

[Jim C.]

Just cleaned and repacked bearings on the trailer. Glad i did the old greese was gray and real thin. How often should this be done. I have bearing buddies and keep about 2/3 full. I didn't know there was a inside greese zert on the hub. Will keep these greesed also.

[Moose1am]

It's been many years since I repacked my trailer's wheel bearings. Once I added the bearing buddies and the bras I have not had to repack them. I just squirt some grease into the the center of the hub before I go anywhere. I put in enough grease to make the old grease come back out around the outer seal. Then I clean that up with some paper towels and put the bra back on the hub and I am ready to go again. Maybe I am doing this wrong and just lucky but so far so good. I think that is the purpose of using bearing buddies.

Just cleaned and repacked bearings on the trailer. Glad i did the old greese was gray and real thin. How often should this be done. I have bearing buddies and keep about 2/3 full. I didn't know there was a inside greese zert on the hub. Will keep these greesed also.

[CrappiePappy]

copy & paste the "hub" maintenance portion of this article .... but, the other info it contains is also important enough to check out - so I will just put the whole article (link) up for scrutiny ...............cp

http://www.geocities.com/palmbeachbo...tructions.html

[Jerry Blake]

Probably the most important component in the wheel bearing assembly is the inner shaft seal. If grease comes out between the seal and the shaft when you add grease through a bearing buddy it is time to replace the seal and clean, inspect and repack the bearings. If grease can get out then water can get in and moisture in the bearings causes rust and pitting, which leads to bearing failure. If you find any rust or pitting on the bearings or bearing races you should replace them. You can get a kit with all the bearings and seals for less than $20 for each wheel.

Normal use will wear the seal after many thousands of miles but if you drive on dusty gravel or dirt roads the seal can fail prematurely. Another good way to monitor the condition of your trailer wheel bearings is to see if they have heated up after you have trailered to the lake and before you launch your boat. They may be slightly warm to the touch but if they are more than slightly warm it is an indication that it’s time for re-packing.

The shaft seal should be replaced every time you repack the bearings and the area that the seal contacts on the shaft should be inspected for rough areas. The shaft should be smooth and shiny with no rust or pitting, which will wear the new seal and cause premature failure.

[Shellback]

Another point on bearing buddies is you are not supposed to pump them full. You should be able to just rock the plate that the grease fitting is in. If it is bottomed out and won't rock, pump grease in until you are just able to rock it. If you pump it full, you will likely blow out the rear seal. If you ever notice grease on the inside of your wheel, it's time to service those bearings, as the seals are shot, through normal wear or you forced too much grease through them. This year I would like to move up to the hubs that run 90w gear oil, Liquid Lube, is the brand name I believe. Heavy duty trucks moved up to that type lubrication quite a few years ago.

[Barnacle Bill]

I do mine like Moose does and it works out good. Bearin buddies are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I've never heard of the newer hubs that use 90 w oil. Out of curosity, any links to them?
Oh, and thanks for the reminder Moose. I lost one of my bras a while back and keep forgetting it and when I do remember, I can't remember what size. LOL Thats a good project to take care of this morning.

[KARL]

..I have "Red-eye" bearing buddies, endorsed by Bill Dance, I think...anyways they have a orange/red seal that pops out when you have proper amount of grease in bearing.. all you got to do is look at buddy to check....as with anything the more you use it..trailer...the more often you have to check it....also temp extremes make difference...as a mechanic..I pull my wheels once a year to check, clean and add fresh marine grease...seals are cheap..$1-2 each...ounce prevention/pound of cure. ..have worked on several trailers where lack of maintenance cost owner...new hubs,axle stubs etc.....on 1-2 yr old trailer... ..best one was when guy came in with whole family on way to lake for weekend...said he saw flames coming from hub...sure enough hub, axle, wheel all black...wheel wobbling side to side..couldn't go faster than 10 mph...felt sorry for his 3 little kids...ruined their weekend...dad called off trip...couldn't get parts till monday no boat, no camping trip..bummer

[labill]

Got to agree with Karl on maintenance frequency. Once a year has worked with me. I just replaced my old axle last year, and the bearings were the original ones from 21 years past. I had put the bearing buddies on the day I bought it, but I replaced the seals every year, and used marine grease to repack. It will now become a trailer for my 18' canoe. Now that's long bearing life. The old axle was actually too light, so I replaced it with a heavier one with new bearing buddies.

[Shellback]

I do mine like Moose does and it works out good. Bearin buddies are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I've never heard of the newer hubs that use 90 w oil. Out of curosity, any links to them?
Oh, and thanks for the reminder Moose. I lost one of my bras a while back and keep forgetting it and when I do remember, I can't remember what size. LOL Thats a good project to take care of this morning.

go to www.championtrailers.com and then to hubs, you will see a model called Turbo Lube I think

[dave]

I Like That .i May Order A Set And Replace The Ones On My Trailer,thanks