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Trailer Bearing/Hub question
Posted on 1/13/17 at 12:24 pm
Posted on 1/13/17 at 12:24 pm
Boat//trailer was bought in 2012.
After 3 years, changed the hub(bought from etrailer) and bought Timken bearings (Voorhies in New Iberia), and installed. Seemed fine, the following year took boat in for service and asked them to check bearings, he called and said they were full of saltwater, and the inside seals were wrong size.
He replaced and installed bearing buddies.
Ever since then they are constantly pumping grease on inside of rims, and I am adding grease constantly.
I have only made short trips this season, Henderson fishing or the Vermilion for a cruise because I don't want them to overheat and explode.
It is almost time for Service again, and aside from complaining a bit, should I look into getting new hubs?
The hubs I bought were the same specs as my old one 5 1/2 inch flange, same weight rating, bearing sizes etc. but were for 10-12" tires and I have 13".
I just want to get this thing right so I can stop being paranoid. Maybe I should try a trailer guy instead of the boat shop?
Thoughts?
After 3 years, changed the hub(bought from etrailer) and bought Timken bearings (Voorhies in New Iberia), and installed. Seemed fine, the following year took boat in for service and asked them to check bearings, he called and said they were full of saltwater, and the inside seals were wrong size.
He replaced and installed bearing buddies.
Ever since then they are constantly pumping grease on inside of rims, and I am adding grease constantly.
I have only made short trips this season, Henderson fishing or the Vermilion for a cruise because I don't want them to overheat and explode.
It is almost time for Service again, and aside from complaining a bit, should I look into getting new hubs?
The hubs I bought were the same specs as my old one 5 1/2 inch flange, same weight rating, bearing sizes etc. but were for 10-12" tires and I have 13".
I just want to get this thing right so I can stop being paranoid. Maybe I should try a trailer guy instead of the boat shop?
Thoughts?
Posted on 1/13/17 at 12:32 pm to highpockets
If leaking they are the wrong size, or the inner seal is bad.
Or not fully seated.
Or not fully seated.
This post was edited on 1/13/17 at 12:33 pm
Posted on 1/13/17 at 12:43 pm to highpockets
I have never experienced something so needlessly complicated as buying parts for a trailer. It's like some of those companies came up with their own units of measurement.
Yes, I would take it to a trailer shop and have them suggest a more permanent solution, though the inner seals throwing grease isn't the end of the world. It actually allows grease to pass all the way through the hub, and its very common because bearing buddies put extra pressure on the inside seal. If it's not double lipped, cleaned perfectly, and exactly the right size it will leak, but leaking out is better than leaking in.
Yes, I would take it to a trailer shop and have them suggest a more permanent solution, though the inner seals throwing grease isn't the end of the world. It actually allows grease to pass all the way through the hub, and its very common because bearing buddies put extra pressure on the inside seal. If it's not double lipped, cleaned perfectly, and exactly the right size it will leak, but leaking out is better than leaking in.
Posted on 1/13/17 at 1:46 pm to highpockets
quote:
Ever since then they are constantly pumping grease on inside of rims, and I am adding grease constantly.
Sounds like either the inside seal is bad, was installed incorrectly, or it was overfilled with grease. Overfilling with grease sounds kind of like the problem. You really shouldn't need to put grease into the bearings very often at all. Certainly not after a couple of trips.
You ought to be able to tow your boat to Canada and back without putting grease into the bearings if everything is correct.
I would recommend pulling the hubs and putting in new inside seals, inspect & re-pack your bearings, and then reassemble. You should be fine. Too much grease can cause all kinds of trouble besides making a mess. If grease is getting out, then seawater can get in.
Posted on 1/13/17 at 3:26 pm to highpockets
Have you looked into oil bath hubs? I know some people hate them but I have had very good luck with mine. Before I sold my last skiff the trailer had 10k miles on the hubs with zero service.
Might be something worth looking into if you're looking for a change.
Might be something worth looking into if you're looking for a change.
Posted on 1/13/17 at 7:49 pm to highpockets
Just get new bearings and seals from Mike Geralds. Take the old ones to them. Get a bearing race/seal removal tool set on loan from Autozone or Oreilly autoparts and do it yourself. Watch this video. You are welcome
Changing trailer bearings
I just don't trust anyone to touch my shite any more.
Changing trailer bearings
I just don't trust anyone to touch my shite any more.
This post was edited on 1/13/17 at 7:51 pm
Posted on 1/13/17 at 9:29 pm to highpockets
Buying new hubs and bearings ready to go already and replacing it all, is what I'm doing now. I hate a fricking boat trailer.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 4:54 am to highpockets
Vault hubs
Buy these and never look back. I have them on my boat trailer since 2011. No problems what so ever.
Buy these and never look back. I have them on my boat trailer since 2011. No problems what so ever.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 7:29 am to Tridentds
quote:
re: Trailer Bearing/Hub questionPosted on 1/13/17 at 1:46 pm to highpockets
?
quote:
Ever since then they are constantly pumping grease on inside of rims, and I am adding grease constantly.
Sounds like either the inside seal is bad, was installed incorrectly, or it was overfilled with grease. Overfilling with grease sounds kind of like the problem. You really shouldn't need to put grease into the bearings very often at all. Certainly not after a couple of trips.
You ought to be able to tow your boat to Canada and back without putting grease into the bearings if everything is correct.
I would recommend pulling the hubs and putting in new inside seals, inspect & re-pack your bearings, and then reassemble. You should be fine. Too much grease can cause all kinds of trouble besides making a mess. If grease is getting out, then seawater can get in
I agree except the plunger in the BB is constantly being sucked all of the way in. And according to their videos, this is when you add grease
Posted on 1/14/17 at 9:39 am to highpockets
quote:
I agree except the plunger in the BB is constantly being sucked all of the way in. And according to their videos, this is when you add grease
You're doing what you're supposed to, it just shouldn't be happening in the first place.
The bearing buddy has caused the inside seal to fail because the inside seal likely wasn't designed for use with bearing buddies and the pressure they create. Either that or it was filled with too much grease, it wasn't cleaned well, or it's just the wrong size.
The entire point of BBs is they create pressure, via the plunger, inside the hub so that water can't enter. A hub that's hot from riding will be quenched when you back it into the water, inducing a vacuum and sucking the water into the hub to ruin the grease and eventually your bearings. The pressure exerted by the BB prevents this. If the inside seal is leaking badly, and the plunger is all the way down, it's doing no good and water is gonna come in. That said, if the leak isn't that bad and the plunger remains compressed even after driving, the BB is still doing it's job even with a little grease seeping from the inside seal. In fact this acts as a half arse purge for the spent grease, assuming your zerk is on the outside and you keep it topped off.
Like I said earlier, a leaking inside seal isn't the end of the world, but you need to have a trailer shop look at it and come up with a permanent solution you won't have to baby.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 1:46 pm to highpockets
Yeah, damn hubs are a pain... Bearing Buddy makes a special inner seal that might help. I bought new hubs from etrailer but the truth is that all of them are now made in China and I'm a little skeptical of their quality. It's been a couple of years since my new hubs but I remember somewhere seeing where the hubs were not suppose to be used with Bearing Buddies. Went a while with just dust covers but after one wheel making a racket, I put Bearing Buddies on after replacing races and bearings. Then I started slinging Bearing Buddies. Now I put gasket seal around the Bearing Buddies to help with that. Noticed on my last trip fishing I was missing a freaking Bearing Buddy on one side.
Let this be a reminder to everyone to jack up each side of your boat trailer and give the wheel a spin. If there is slack or noise you need to take the appropriate action. You don't want to be "THAT GUY" on the side of the road with boat trailer problems.
And yes, check the tire pressure.
Let this be a reminder to everyone to jack up each side of your boat trailer and give the wheel a spin. If there is slack or noise you need to take the appropriate action. You don't want to be "THAT GUY" on the side of the road with boat trailer problems.
And yes, check the tire pressure.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 2:10 pm to highpockets
When we got our cargo trailer, the guy told us to only grease them once or twice a year. He also said to just use a little bit of grease, because if you over-grease them, it will spew out as you are rolling. Hope this helps.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 2:33 pm to highpockets
I bought a new trailer in 2013 that has the Vault bearing system and I haven't had to touch them in 4 years.
Something a lot of people miss with BB is that it says in the manual to pump the grease in until the pressure plate STARTS to move. Not until it stops moving. If you pump them until the plate stops moving you will put excessive pressure on the grease cavity. When the wheel heats up it will force grease out of the inner seal, if not sooner. As others have said, if you don't mind slinging some grease around, it's not a big deal and you will surely keep water out of the bearing.
Something a lot of people miss with BB is that it says in the manual to pump the grease in until the pressure plate STARTS to move. Not until it stops moving. If you pump them until the plate stops moving you will put excessive pressure on the grease cavity. When the wheel heats up it will force grease out of the inner seal, if not sooner. As others have said, if you don't mind slinging some grease around, it's not a big deal and you will surely keep water out of the bearing.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 3:34 pm to ChenierauTigre
Hubs that will never be put under water are much easier to maintain and have a different set of rules. The whole issue with boat trailer hubs is what I explained above, them getting warm and then being quenched quickly by submerging in water, combined with just the pressure of the water, creates a pressure difference that forces water into the hub. Utility trailers are fine just being packed once every few years.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 5:31 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
Yeah, I thought about that after I posted. Putting something in salt water brings a whole new dimension into play.
Posted on 1/14/17 at 8:55 pm to ChenierauTigre
Well timmken bearings have fallen off imo.
Find a local industrial supply and get some American made.
If you want a good second the NSK from Japan are jam up bearings.
I quit buying timmken for my mechanically intensive packaging qleuipment in one of our units in our plant. Our supplier reps NSK . I can attest that hold up well in caustic. MRC are also good and hold up well in our caustic service.
Find a local industrial supply and get some American made.
If you want a good second the NSK from Japan are jam up bearings.
I quit buying timmken for my mechanically intensive packaging qleuipment in one of our units in our plant. Our supplier reps NSK . I can attest that hold up well in caustic. MRC are also good and hold up well in our caustic service.
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