Trailer Time !

greg_m · May 30, 2018

@pclarksurf What is an "internally lubricated spindle"?

LakeShark · May 30, 2018

See the zerc fitting on the end of the axel shaft? You grease there and it comes out the small hole on the spindal to lube the bearings without needing to remove them. It's a nice setup good job @pclarksurf

LakeShark · May 30, 2018

I replaced my axel for the wing keel last year. My philosophy is go big so at the end of the day you can go home. 6500lb axel with D load rated tires and lighter springs. After a summer of towing I can tell you it made a huge difference and it's nice to still be single axel at many of the tight ramps I launch at.

greg_m · May 30, 2018

LakeShark said:
See the zerc fitting on the end of the axel shaft? You grease there and it comes out the small hole on the spindal to lube the bearings without needing to remove them. It's a nice setup good job @pclarksurf

aaaahah! Actually never spotted the "grease nipples" till you made me look closer for a "zerc fitting"... makes perfect sense now. However too much grease can also be a problem. Many times, motor bearings overheated on our cargo ships various pump motors = failed due to over greasing by over zealous use of the grease gun by the grease monkey!!!

walt · May 30, 2018

I like what you are doing.. thinking I may do the same one day.

One possible suggestion also.. I think part of the reason we have more problems with bearings on a boat trailer is that the hub gets dunked underwater each time the boat is loaded or unloaded. In the past I have taken apart a boat trailer hub and a bunch of black runny fluid came out and it was a good thing I took the hub apart. Since then I have been using blue or green marine bearing grease. It is supposed to be water proof. I switched over about two years ago and think it does make a difference in the grease staying grease after getting dunked a bunch of times. I had a bearing failure this spring but I think it may have been from losing a bearing buddy cap.

Gene Neill · May 30, 2018

pclarksurf said:
Yep-- @LakeShark is on it: various versions out there on the market under different brand names: EZ Lube / Spindle Lube etc... included a quick schematic, but as mentioned zerk fills from the front-- feeds the rear bearing from behind the seal and pushes grease back toward the front of the spindle. New grease in-- old grease pushes out the front: voila!

View attachment 151072

Cool diagram!

That's what I have, love them. I add a few pumps of grease before every road trip.

Hardhead · May 30, 2018

They're great.

Watch out putting in too much grease too fast though, as it can/will blow out the seal. Happened to me... I was thinking - Man - this thing is taking a lot of grease. Turns out my driveway, behind the hub, was taking a lot of grease. Some grease initially came out of the front of the hub, but not as much as I usually saw, or was expecting. It would have been a real pain on the highway somewhere. It might have been an assembly issue, but I had actually just come back from a long highway trip, where everything was fine. I must have been a little too energetic with the grease gun without really realizing it.

Gene Neill · May 30, 2018

Good to know! I was under the impression that "couldn't" happen.

Gene Neill · May 30, 2018

Okay, there is some completely contradictory info out there. Etrailer says:

"Having EZ Lube spindles can be handy, but you'll want to avoid overfilling the hub with grease, as it can cause the grease seals in the back of the hub to blow out and allow grease to escape out the back of the hub, and get all over everything. This can also allow water to infiltrate the hub, which can make the remaining grease less effective over time. Using double-lip grease seals make blowing out the seal less likely, but it's still possible if the hub is aggressively overfilled."

But Dexter's video shows an entire grease exchange - a complete repack - being done all at one sitting. They do caution you not to use a pneumatic grease gun, and the wheel is supposed to be turning while you do the repack - which makes sense, but I was unaware of it.

Leeward Rail · May 30, 2018

Good thread !

Axle + Tires:
Yeah IMO it's always better to have an over strength axle and the highest load range tire I can get for a given rim.
I've seen way to trailers with failed bearings, tires, and spindles.

Bearing Greasing:
From what I've read, heard from repair techs, and seen in person, seal failure is a bigger issue with addon "bearing buddies" style units. (They go on the outboard end of the hub, where the bearing cap usually goes)
I personally fixed/replaced 3 bearing+seals last year for people.
I'm guessing that the inboard seals eventually can't handle the pressure that the pressure spring + grease gun exert.
Makes sense since they were not designed for an addon grease system.
Some seal brands ARE better than others though. Avoid the cheapos.

The in axle greasing system IS superior, but not fool proof.
But, personally I'd always inspect and pack them by hand, and use the axle grease system for mid season maintenance.
Unless you remove the bearings, clean them and the spindle, and inspect for heat and physical damage, there is no way to know their condition, before you repack
I use the Mac branded version of the Lisle 158100 bearing packer. It is super easy to use, keeps the grease clean for future use, refilled with a grease gun.
Always use marine grade grease. It's not perfect, but is much better when exposed to water.

greg_m · May 30, 2018

Hi guys... from all the above what you have got is a "hydraulic pressurised" system inside the grease/bearing cavity of the hub. So if you pumping grease in and nothing is coming out... seals are gonna blow!

Also dunking hot, freshly driven trailer bearings in hot braked hubs into cold water = recipe for disaster. Seen that way to many times on the fishing ski boats' trailers = the guys want to haul arse to the launch site and get on the water as quickly as possible to get the fish first. Frequently you see a boat abandoned on the side of the road listing over to one side <like a drunken sailor whose "honey" has taken all his money and skedaddled> because the wheel came off, hub and all sheared off or the bearings packed up and the owner is madly driving around in the tow car looking for a bearing supply shop - on a Sunday!!!

You also most definitely want to stay away from the "grey" greases with graphite in them... sea water mixed with graphite grease loves to dine out on steel!

Leeward Rail · May 31, 2018

greg_m said:
So if you pumping grease in and nothing is coming out... seals are gonna blow!

There is grease coming out, unless there is a problem, but you need to fill them slowly.
Fill them slowly, and in the case of ones not meant to be built in bearing packers, know when to stop.

It's like filling with the grease nipples on ball joints, tie rods,pitmans, etc. On some cheaper makes, the rubber boot is not designed to vent the excess grease well. Pump it in too fast and boot seal will fail.

Gene Neill · May 31, 2018

While we're on the subject, don't EVER put any grease into the GREASE NIPPLE on the neck of your Tohatsu Sailpro outboards. Not if the motor will still turn from side to side without a cheater bar on the tiler.

Just trust me on this.

Leeward Rail · May 31, 2018

Lord knows what the R&D people at tohatsu were thinking. Great motor... stupid fiction lock design.. then add lubrication.

Hardhead · May 31, 2018

Gene Neill said:
While we're on the subject, don't EVER put any grease into the GREASE NIPPLE on the neck of your Tohatsu Sailpro outboards. Not if the motor will still turn from side to side without a cheater bar on the tiler.

Just trust me on this.

Thanks for this info -- this is why this board is great. No doubt I would have learned that eventually the hard way-