Spring Fever,Bearing questions

[DAVA390]

Today, no rain,snow gone,temps high 40`s, I am going crazy, have to do SOMETHING on the boat. I don`t want to unwrap yet so I decided to hang trailer tires back on the trailer.Take the tires to gas station, correct air pressure, go to work. I quickly noticed that the insides of both wheels (brand new last summer ) are badly grease coated. This tells me the bearings are slinging grease on them, correct? Now, is this the result of bad seals, or am I overgreasing the bearing buddy`s?. I usually give each side 2-3 squrits (with small size grease gun) each time i go out , about 7-8 trips last summer.

Other than the initial ride home from Va. to Baltimore last summer, all trips have been 10-15 miles from home to local ramps. This year though,we are planiing a run to Deep Creek, Western Md. Since everything else on this boat and trailer suffered under the PO I`m thinking new bearings are in order regardless of the seal situation. If I do new bearings, do I reuse old Buddy`s or do they get replaced also? Thanks all David

 

[Ed Schenck]

Can't you tell by taking the hub apart? I thought the bearing buddy was designed to keep water out of the hub. For me, if the wheel spins freely and doesn't sound gritty, I am good to go. But if I hauled long distances I would pull the hub apart. You should be able to tell if the bearings are dirty and worn.

 

[Johnb]

Bearing buddies worked very well for me for all 15 years I trailed my Clipper Marine 23. At the end of the trip you go about doing all the other stuff while the bearings cool. That is to stop them sucking water in when they get dunked. Then just before launch pump up the bearing buddy which will slowly squeeze out grease for a while, so seeing some around is not too significant.

I would do what Ed said and try and figure out if the bearings are O.K. My hubs came off easily by removing the cotter pin, undoing the castellated nut and pulling. Take that opportunity to inspect, clean and repack. Use a new cotter pin for replacement. Tighten the right amount. As far as mechanical jobs go this is one of the easiest.

As far as replacing the bearings I would if there was much doubt. Do you want to start your vacation stuck on a freeway while traffic goes by at 70 M.P.H?

During that same time I had a 14 ft Capri on a trailer without bearing buddies and after replacing the bearings twice figured out how to launch it without putting the hubs in the water. Yay for bearing buddies.

 

[watercolors II]

Pull your hubs.

If the whole inside is packed with grease then you’re forcing the grease out under the seal, if the area is not full and some water then the seal is bad. Remove the bearings and wipe some of the grease off, is there any rust on any of the rollers, replace them, if not then you’re good for another season.

 

[DAVA390]

Thanke for reply`s guys. Next warm, dry day i`ll be getting hands and tools dirty. How do i get bearing buddy off to get to the cotter pin? Does it thread off, big pipe wrench?

 

[Joe]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]HOW BEARING BUDDY® WORKS [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]
The axle hub is filled with grease until the grease forces the Bearing Buddy® piston outward about 1/8 inch. Because the piston is spring loaded, the piston exerts a slight (3 psi) pressure against the grease, which maintains a slight pressure between the inside of the hub and the outside environment. When the hub is submerged, water cannot enter the hub because of this pressure.

An automatic pressure relief feature prevents over-filling and over pressurization.

Without this feature, the inner seal will be damaged. Grease can be added to the hub through an easily accessible grease fitting located in the center of the piston. Lubricant level (and pressure) can be checked quickly by pressing on the edge of the moveable piston. If you can rock or move the piston, the hub is properly filled. Bearing Buddy® will last the life of your trailer. The outer barrel is made of steel and is triple chrome plated. Internal Bearing Buddy® parts are made of stainless steel. Bearing Buddy® is also available with a stainless steel barrel for maximum corrosion protection.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial]3. With Bearing Buddy® installed, how often do I need to repack my bearings? We don't recommend inspecting your bearings more frequently than once every 5 years, provided you properly maintain the grease level in the hubs, and your bearings and seals are in new condition when you install genuine Bearing Buddy®. The Bearing Buddy® system maintains a constant pressure of 3 p.s.i. on the grease inside the hub. Since the hub is always full of grease (with proper maintenance) there is no need to repack your bearings. Some customers have reported that their Bearing Buddy® units were removed for the first time after 10 to 15 years of use, and the bearings still looked like new.
[/FONT][/FONT]

6. How do I remove Bearing Buddy®? Lay a block of wood against the side of the Bearing Buddy® and strike the wood with a hammer. Place the wood on the opposite side and hit again. Continue this procedure until you "walk" the Bearing Buddy® out of the hub. Don't disassemble the Bearing Buddy® to attempt to remove it.

7. How do I check the grease level in the hub? Grease can be added to the hub through an easily accessible grease fitting located in the center of the Bearing Buddy® piston. Lubricant level can be checked by pressing on the edge of the piston. If you can rock or move the piston, the hub is properly filled. If the piston won't rock or move, add grease until piston moves outward about 1/8 inch. When adding grease, always use a hand grease gun. An automatic grease gun will destroy the hub's inner seal.

 

[Hawk4661]

Thank you Joe for the quick look at these bearing buddies. I juts added new ones on my Hunter23.5 trailer after re-pacing bearing and replacing seals. Easy fix.
They look like they well work great.Knowing how to check spring is good knowledge I didn't know....fair winds ..mark<><

 

[Rick Webb]

Spare Hub is Cheap Insurance

If you ever have a bearing issue it is a quick change to get you back on the road.

 

[DAVA390]

Joe, thank you for diagram, this answers all of my questions. David

 

[kenn]

I quickly noticed that the insides of both wheels (brand new last summer ) are badly grease coated.

This is usually a sign that the rear (or inner) seal has failed. This can happen due to age, or if there's been too much pressure inside the hub. One of my rear seals went about 2 years ago.

Replacing the seal requires removing the Bearing Buddy and taking the wheel off. Before you start - if the bearing is fairly old, if it gets hot during highway runs (a little warm is OK), or if it's gritty, loose, or otherwise suspect, you might want to buy a whole bearing kit and replace the whole set. They're not that expensive.

In my case the bearing itself was OK, just the seal was gone. I took the wheel off, removed the rear seal, degreased and cleaned the old bearing and races, repacked with new clean marine grease, tapped in the new seal, put it all together, and it works like new.

 

[DAVA390]

I`m thinking that also now. Before I had read the above (How a BB works) the piston moving in and out had me worried. Since reading the brochure above, I understand now how the thing is supposed to work, the amount of grease on my wheels is a lot, both sides need new seals.Not knowing the age and history of this trailer (Except practically rebuilding everything else topside the day after i bought it last summer), I`m going to go ahead and install new, be done with it. Thanks for chiming in Kenn.
David

 

[WayneH]

Dava,

One other thing tothink about with your inner seal is that grit sometimes gets on it from the road. I've heard that you can place an o-ring on your axle before installing the hub and place a bit of grease on it's surface facing the inner seal. This supposedly keeps the dirt from getting to your inner seal. Could be old wives tale, tho.

 

[sailmaine]

This is not unusual, the grease is being spun out on the back side of the wheel past the grease seal, could be bad seal, or hub just not tight around seal, even replacing the seal it may continue. The O ring thing might help if you could get the right size to fit tight without pushing away.

 

[DAVA390]

Thanks again for all your input guys, I appreciate it very much.

 

[patrickfarley]

I had a bearing partially weld itself to the axle. It was on a boat in which I had just fixed the engine. I was anxious to try it out and had not checked the bearings. I ended up with a hacksaw and cold chisel along with very fine sandpaper. Hours of work at the side of the road until it was working again.

 

[Timo42]

If you ar putting a couple of squirts with a grease gun every time you use the trailer, most likely you are overpacking the bearings. The lipseal on the inner race will do just fine without any additional orings added, in fact the oring could press against the seal and damage it or deform it to the point that water could seep past during launch.

 

[DAVA390]

That is what i was doing , a few squirts every time I left the driveway. I get the impression now that it would be better to perhaps give it a squirt at the ramp before going overboard to help keep the water out by having a little pressure inthe hub.

 

[Timo42]

The instructions say that if you can rock the center piece, you don't need to add grease. I haven't had to add grease to mine in over a year.
Reread Joe's post with the instructions.