Super User tcbass Posted June 15, 2014 Super User Posted June 15, 2014 I noticed that my one of my boat trailer's hubs had opened up and spewed grease all over. I closed it up and it hasn't leaked since. I looked inside there though before I did that and noticed that there is grease all over the inside of both hubs. I have bearing buddies on my little duck boat trailer and only added grease to the zerk every year. I'm not knowledgeable in hubs. I was thinking about adding bearing buddies to this trailer if necessary. So, is this normal? And should I add bearing buddies to this trailer? Quote
Super User Scott F Posted June 15, 2014 Super User Posted June 15, 2014 Very hard to tell just by looking. First thing I'd do would be to jack up the trailer to get a wheel off the ground. Turn the wheel by hand. Does it feel smooth or rough? Is the wheel loose? Can you move it back and forth? If it's smooth with no play, the bearings are still OK. Is there any grease on the back of the wheel? If not, the seal is probably OK too. To be safe, it might be time to replace the grease. Quote
Super User Sam Posted June 15, 2014 Super User Posted June 15, 2014 Have it checked out by an auto mechanic or your local boat service dealer. Sounds like the seal blew. But as Scott wrote, you can check it out your self. If anything does not seem proper get the seal and grease replaced. You don't need a problem when trailering your boat. Quote
200racing Posted June 15, 2014 Posted June 15, 2014 at very least i would repack. grease should be translucent. it gets that milky look with moisture. they make grease designed just for boat trailers and all i have seen is blue not red. Quote
tntitans21399 Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 Try to jack the wheel up and push on the top of the wheel in and pull on the bottom. See if ot wiggles, it shouldn't. If it does the bearing is going out. All spin the wheel while in the air and listen for noise, you shouldn't hear any. Very easy fix and doesn't cost a lot. You can take all the grease out and find a carter pin and bend thw carter pin straight and it will slide out of the wheel nut. Then the wheel will just spin off and you can now get to the bearings. Their is a inner and outter. The bearings slide right off. You can get new wheel bearings about $30-$60 depending on size. Quote
Super User tcbass Posted June 16, 2014 Author Super User Posted June 16, 2014 Try to jack the wheel up and push on the top of the wheel in and pull on the bottom. See if ot wiggles, it shouldn't. If it does the bearing is going out. All spin the wheel while in the air and listen for noise, you shouldn't hear any. Very easy fix and doesn't cost a lot. You can take all the grease out and find a carter pin and bend thw carter pin straight and it will slide out of the wheel nut. Then the wheel will just spin off and you can now get to the bearings. Their is a inner and outter. The bearings slide right off. You can get new wheel bearings about $30-$60 depending on size. Cool, thanks. I'll check it out. Quote
jhoffman Posted June 16, 2014 Posted June 16, 2014 When the wheel is off the ground, yes you should be able to pull on it and see if it moves however note that you dont torque an axle castle nut. Its hand tightened, then backed off a hair and pinned. If your gonna go through the trouble to jack it up, pull the wheel and then the hub. Its a two second job to see if you have a problem to prevent a headache. It requires no special tools. If the rear seal is blown youll see it coming out of there. Looking at that, I would do a rebuild on both sides just to be sure before you have a race/bearing go bad in the middle of no where. When a race burns up you can either spend hours knocking it out or buy a new hub assembly for $35. Let me tell you, looking for a bearing and pounding out a race under the headlights in the dark isnt fun. Letting your boat sit along the road... ugh. Quote
Super User slonezp Posted June 16, 2014 Super User Posted June 16, 2014 You should have a seal puller and need a rubber mallet to do the job. They also sell a bearing packer which is real nice. Those 3 tools should run about $30 total and are available at any auto parts store. I'd imagine there are youtube videos that will take you step by step thru the process Quote
Super User slonezp Posted June 16, 2014 Super User Posted June 16, 2014 Here are the facts....all boat trialers in the United States have defective equipment! No national safety standards for all of these boats...would you use a baby seat built on a "Voluntary Standard"? go to www.dangeroustrailers.org and I applaud you for wanting to fix this. The issue is the rims and ball bearings are total poop. While you strive to fix this...other careless people who want to tow a boat on "The Cheap" can destroy you. See what happened to this mom last month....when a person who was towing a boat trailer towed it exaxtly with the same defect and the entire rim came flying off. All of you knows someone who lost their trailer due to defective and crappy trailers. http://auburnpub.com/news/local/woman-killed-when-loose-tire-hits-car-on-interstate-in/article_de86fd1f-309e-5463-9780-fb1bed3090b2.html http://www.oneidadispatch.com/general-news/20140426/loose-tire-from-boat-trailer-kills-driver-injures-two-children http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/Towers_Know.html That's an interesting first post 2 Quote
jhoffman Posted June 17, 2014 Posted June 17, 2014 If I am correct thats an ez-lube hub system, no need for bearing buddies, the axle is designed to take grease and push it in from the back side. The problem is people just keep pumping and pumping till that rear seal blows. Also, do not use a single lip seal that come in a lot of kits, it must be a double. Quote
Super User tcbass Posted June 17, 2014 Author Super User Posted June 17, 2014 If I am correct thats an ez-lube hub system, no need for bearing buddies, the axle is designed to take grease and push it in from the back side. The problem is people just keep pumping and pumping till that rear seal blows. Also, do not use a single lip seal that come in a lot of kits, it must be a double. What? Do you mean a single lip seal puller? Quote
jhoffman Posted June 17, 2014 Posted June 17, 2014 What? Do you mean a single lip seal puller? Which part didnt you understand, ill try to be more clear. The ezlube system, has a grease fitting on the end which pushes grease through the axle and out holes inside the hub filling the voids with grease. You still must pack the bearings as neither system, including bearing buddies should be relied upon for that. Theres two different versions of rear seals on hubs. A single lip seal is made for land applications, think utility trailers while a double lip seal is made for a marine environment. Most kits sold assume that its for a land application and not marine, frankly, i dont know why they even bother to make a single lip seal considering a double works on both. Quote
Super User tcbass Posted June 17, 2014 Author Super User Posted June 17, 2014 Which part didnt you understand, ill try to be more clear. The ezlube system, has a grease fitting on the end which pushes grease through the axle and out holes inside the hub filling the voids with grease. You still must pack the bearings as neither system, including bearing buddies should be relied upon for that. Theres two different versions of rear seals on hubs. A single lip seal is made for land applications, think utility trailers while a double lip seal is made for a marine environment. Most kits sold assume that its for a land application and not marine, frankly, i dont know why they even bother to make a single lip seal considering a double works on both. Which part didnt you understand, ill try to be more clear. The ezlube system, has a grease fitting on the end which pushes grease through the axle and out holes inside the hub filling the voids with grease. You still must pack the bearings as neither system, including bearing buddies should be relied upon for that. Theres two different versions of rear seals on hubs. A single lip seal is made for land applications, think utility trailers while a double lip seal is made for a marine environment. Most kits sold assume that its for a land application and not marine, frankly, i dont know why they even bother to make a single lip seal considering a double works on both. O. Ok. Thanks for the clarification. I didn't realize ever made double seals on hubs. Quote
jhoffman Posted June 17, 2014 Posted June 17, 2014 Yeah, theres been lots of discussion on forums about guys having regular garages doing marine trailers only to have bearing failures cause they didnt use a double lip. Your thread reminded me to order a backup set for my trailer to have on hand as I lived that nightmare before of trying to find a bearing in the middle of no where. It was $9 for two bearings/races, a double lip seal, retaining washer and an extra $1.25 for a retaining nut. Cheap insurance. its highly unlikely that both will ever go at one time unless you just never do maintenance Quote
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