Bearing Maintenance?

[Bubba]

Got a few quick questions regarding the bearings on my trailer. I've got my trip to Canada coming up in August and i'm going to do a good once over on my bearings(with my dads help who does know about them) before I go(I'm pulling the boat too BTW). Remove them, repack, check everything etc. I've never had to deal with bearings myself before, so got a few questions

First question.....If underneath the "cap" on my wheel hubs there is a grease alemite, Does this mean I have "bearing buddies" or some sort of them?

Second question.....What type of grease do I need to use? Will just any kind of marine grease work, or what?

Last one......Other than the bearings themselves, is there anything else I need to check while i've got everything pulled out? If I do have them, do those "Bearing buddies" go bad?

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

the bearing buddy is just a cup with a spring in it to help push the grease in the bearings.

get a soft mallet and just tap the cup off. take the cotter pin and axle nut loose. remove the outer bearing and screw the axle nut back on. give the hub a good jerk out and your inner bearing/seal will come out nice and easy

clean the bearings off and check for pitting or "flakey" shiney marks. check the bearing races's too. after you repack the bearings and install everything back you want to spin the hub while you torque the axle nut. i just take a pair of vice grips on the nut, give the hub a good spin, and torque the nut down in 1 good jerk. the hub should stop spinning almost immediately. do this 3 times to seat your bearings. after the last loosen the axle nut and snug it up hand tight. sometimes you may need to turn it a 1/8-1/4 turn with a wrench to line the cotter pin holes up

just use the marine grease for your bearings. its not good to mix regular bearing and marine grease together

 

[CarlF]

How old is your trailer & when was the last time the bearings were re-packed?
If you do have grease fitting under cap, when is the last time you added grease?

I just took my grease caps off for the first time since 1999. The grease is fine, still packed tight, a little water but over all fine. I put on a pair of bearing buddies I bought 8 years ago and never got around to putting them on before yesterday. Pumped them full of grease & away we go. Didnt bother to repack the bearings, why mess with what aint broke?

That said, since you are going on a long trip, maybe taking thetime to repack the bearings is worth the effort.

 

[Bubba]

How old is your trailer & when was the last time the bearings were re-packed?
If you do have grease fitting under cap, when is the last time you added grease?

I just took my grease caps off for the first time since 1999. The grease is fine, still packed tight, a little water but over all fine. I put on a pair of bearing buddies I bought 8 years ago and never got around to putting them on before yesterday. Pumped them full of grease & away we go. Didnt bother to repack the bearings, why mess with what aint broke?

That said, since you are going on a long trip, maybe taking thetime to repack the bearings is worth the effort.

The trailer is a 2003 model...not really sure the last time the bearings were re-packed....i've owned it a little over a year and I know I haven't...but kept a good feel on the hubs occasionally to make sure they weren't hot after a tow.

I plan on repacking them before my trip as well as just to remove and inspect them. I will replace if needed.

Just trying to clarify a few questions before I tear into them. So lets try this again..... :|


First question.....If underneath the "cap" on my wheel hubs there is a grease alemite, Does this mean I have "bearing buddies" or some sort of them?

Second question.....What type of grease do I need to use? Will just any kind of marine grease work, or what?

Last one......Other than the bearings themselves, is there anything else I need to check while i've got everything pulled out? If I do have them, do those "Bearing buddies" go bad?

 

[Quackrstackr]

Bubba,

There are different types of receivers for grease on trailers now. It may or may not be a bearing buddy system. Those were described above. One of the newer styles is a grease zirk (I assume that is what you meant by alemite) that is directly in the end of the spindle and is covered by a small rubber cap about the size of a silver dollar. These do a better job of forcing grease into the inner bearing than the traditional bearing buddies. Those only get grease to the inner bearing after forcing it through the outer bearing. My Triton and many of the newer trailers for the big boat companies come with the spindle type now.

If you have a grease zirk, you have a grease system of some sort.

Any type of grease that is marked as marine grease should be fine (so long as that is what is in there originally). It is not advisable to mix a marine grease with a regular axle grease.

If you have them pulled out, I would go ahead and replace the inner seals. That is the first thing that is going to go bad normally and you may damage them when you remove the hub anyway. Better safe than sorry. Traditional bearing buddies can go bad when the spring gets weak but otherwise there just isn't a whole lot to them to fail. All they do is hold constant pressure on the grease.

 

[Bubba]

Bubba,

There are different types of receivers for grease on trailers now. It may or may not be a bearing buddy system. Those were described above. One of the newer styles is a grease zirk (I assume that is what you meant by alemite) that is directly in the end of the spindle and is covered by a small rubber cap about the size of a silver dollar. These do a better job of forcing grease into the inner bearing than the traditional bearing buddies. Those only get grease to the inner bearing after forcing it through the outer bearing. My Triton and many of the newer trailers for the big boat companies come with the spindle type now.

If you have a grease zirk, you have a grease system of some sort.

Any type of grease that is marked as marine grease should be fine (so long as that is what is in there originally). It is not advisable to mix a marine grease with a regular axle grease.

If you have them pulled out, I would go ahead and replace the inner seals. That is the first thing that is going to go bad normally and you may damage them when you remove the hub anyway. Better safe than sorry. Traditional bearing buddies can go bad when the spring gets weak but otherwise there just isn't a whole lot to them to fail. All they do is hold constant pressure on the grease.

I'm thinking the "spindle type" may be what mine has....as it doesn't look like any sort of aftermarket setup really(no colors or chrome or anything)...just looks factory, although I haven't really inspected them closely yet.

So if i'm not sure what kind of grease was in there originally, it would probably be best to clean everything out thoroughly once I get the hub off so to not mix greases, right?

I will probably just get two new bearing kits when I get ready to do this job. If the current seals and bearings still seem to be in good shape, i'll just hold on to the kits to have for spares.

Thanks for the info!

 

[ben2go]

Bubba,

There are different types of receivers for grease on trailers now. It may or may not be a bearing buddy system. Those were described above. One of the newer styles is a grease zirk (I assume that is what you meant by alemite) that is directly in the end of the spindle and is covered by a small rubber cap about the size of a silver dollar. These do a better job of forcing grease into the inner bearing than the traditional bearing buddies. Those only get grease to the inner bearing after forcing it through the outer bearing. My Triton and many of the newer trailers for the big boat companies come with the spindle type now.

If you have a grease zirk, you have a grease system of some sort.

Any type of grease that is marked as marine grease should be fine (so long as that is what is in there originally). It is not advisable to mix a marine grease with a regular axle grease.

If you have them pulled out, I would go ahead and replace the inner seals. That is the first thing that is going to go bad normally and you may damage them when you remove the hub anyway. Better safe than sorry. Traditional bearing buddies can go bad when the spring gets weak but otherwise there just isn't a whole lot to them to fail. All they do is hold constant pressure on the grease.

I agree with everyone here but Quackrstackr makes a valid point.There are a lot of different grease systems out there.Without seeing it first hand it's hard to say what system is there.Most factory trailers do not come with bearing buddy type systems.I prefer not to run them because they stick out past the outer edge of the wheel, on most trailers.This makes it easy to knock them off if you scrub a curb or dock post.If you have a little silver cap,you more than likey do not have a grease system.With these, you pack the rear bearing,place the rear bearing in it's race,install a new seal it's cheap insurance,flip hub over,pack hub with grease,install hub on spindle,pack front bearing with grease,install on spindle,install and adjust nut as stated above,install new carter pin it's really cheap insurance,pack grease into the end of the hub,and install hub dust cap,and enjoy your favorite beverage,sweet ice tea for me.Check you tube and google videos for a step by step on how to replace bearings and races if there bad.They usually include a how to on packing grease and installing the hubs back on the trailer.Remember this with bearing buddy type systems,you have to pack grease into the bearings and spindle before installing the system.The system is there to add grease as needed.This is another down fall of the system.Without removing the hub there is really no way to know if you need grease or how much maybe needed.If you pump to much grease in there it can push past the seal and open it up to leaks or completely blow the seal.I have seen the inner seal springs knocked loose and wrapped up in the bearings.I'm not saying don't use those type systems.I'm saying be careful that you don't damage anything if you use them.As long as you clean the hubs,bearings,and spindles really good,it doesn't matter what type grease you use to repack everything.

Here is another issue with some off the wall trailers.Some have a sealed hub and the bearings can't be replaced.The entire hub is replaced.Yours is not like that, but I thought I'd throw in a little bit of useless knowledge.

 

[Quackrstackr]

it doesn't matter what type grease you use to repack everything.

I would agree with that if it weren't being submerged constantly in water. Marine grease has additives that will not allow the grease to absorb water. Regular axle grease does not.

 

[ben2go]

it doesn't matter what type grease you use to repack everything.

I would agree with that if it weren't being submerged constantly in water. Marine grease has additives that will not allow the grease to absorb water. Regular axle grease does not.

Yes of course.I should have been more clear.I meant that as long as everything is clean, and there is no old grease, it doesn't matter if the previous grease was standard wheel bearing grease.It will be safe to use marine grease.I was typing in a hurry and didn't get specific enough.Sorry for any confusion.

 

[Bubba]

One more question...How do I know what specific bearing kit I need to get when I go to the parts store? I won't be able to take it apart, then take it and match it because i'm gonna have it at my dads, which isn't close to any parts store. Is there any way to find out before hand?

 

[Quackrstackr]

Not that I know of. You either need the number off of the bearing or some measurements on your spindle.

 

[ben2go]

Not that I know of. You either need the number off of the bearing or some measurements on your spindle.

You'll also need the outside diameter of the bearing races.The front bearing is smaller than the rear bearing on most trailers.You could pull the bearings and take them to the store or take the bearings out and look for numbers stamped into the sides.Some newer bearings are lazer etched.Always change races when you change bearings.They wear in easier and last longer.

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

you will need the bearing part # along w/ the race # and any parts store should have them.

if you bring the dummie at the parts store some measurements they probably arnt going to be able to find the correct ones

 

[ben2go]

Dummies need to learn to look up stuff and match part numbers and measurements.Napa does it for me all the time,but the guys have owned the franchise for nearly 35 years.

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

Dummies need to learn to look up stuff and match part numbers and measurements

you aint kiddin. we have some really dummies here, or kids out of school that dont know a thing. a good parts man is a god