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I have a small 13ft aluminum boat and I noticed that one of my wheel hubs is hotter that the other. I've been greasing them, but I've noticed a lot of grease inside the hub each time I go to give it a shot. I'm not sure if I need to re-pack the bearings or replace them, any help

Since bearings are not that expensive, I always change'em out.

Ratred wrote:I have a small 13ft aluminum boat and I noticed that one of my wheel hubs is hotter that the other. I've been greasing them, but I've noticed a lot of grease inside the hub each time I go to give it a shot. I'm not sure if I need to re-pack the bearings or replace them, any help

If you mean you have grease on the inside of the wheel (back side) you more than likly have a bad seal.

I would get a new bearing kit and change out the bearings, seals and the race.
If your not sure what bearings to buy. look on the old ones in your hub. They will have the numbers on them that you need.

What Tide said and I had one getting to hot and the bearing nut was one notch to tight. Better safe than stranded.

Before you go to a lot of messy trouble, check your tire pressure.

If one tire is low, the additional friction will cause that hub to run hotter than the other.

Of course, grease on the back side of the wheel indicates a blown seal.




So, this penguin is driving down the road.

His car breaks down, with steam rolling out from under the hood.

He calls AAA and walks over to a nearby icecream stand while he's waiting.

Just as he's finishing his icecream, the tow truck driver arrives and asks, "Blow a seal?"

The penguin wipes his mouth off real quick, replying, "Naw man, it's just icecream."

Dang Charles, I don't believe I'd said that

I just replaced the wheel bearings on my trailer this weekend. Then promptly lost a dust cover the next day.

Had an unexpected surprise though (as opposed to the expected surprises).... what I had asumed were standard bearing buddies, turned out to be grease fittings on the axle. The axle is drilled such that the grease enters the hub by the inside bearing and pushes grease thru the outside bearing. Much cooler than a bearing buddy.

Grim, the lubrication system you have works well. However, if you have the rubber inserts in the dust caps, keep a check on them. They tend to dry out and leak. I replace mine every year. They're about $2 each.

grim reeler wrote:I just replaced the wheel bearings on my trailer this weekend. Then promptly lost a dust cover the next day.

Had an unexpected surprise though (as opposed to the expected surprises).... what I had asumed were standard bearing buddies, turned out to be grease fittings on the axle. The axle is drilled such that the grease enters the hub by the inside bearing and pushes grease thru the outside bearing. Much cooler than a bearing buddy.

Not as good as bearing buddy though. No pressure is held inside the hub, and water can enter. What happens is that you back the hub into water, it is warm from running. It cools quickly, and the air inside contracts, pulling in water from the outside.

Bearing buddies keep a positive pressure on the inside of the hub.

Now, and this is important. If it is a "cheap" style bearing buddy, or you have bad seals, or fail to keep the spring pressurized., then the bearing buddy is no more helpful than your style of axle.

Hooked

HookedUp wrote:Not as good as bearing buddy though. No pressure is held inside the hub, and water can enter. What happens is that you back the hub into water, it is warm from running. It cools quickly, and the air inside contracts, pulling in water from the outside.

It does have the rubber seals that are air tight on mine. They swell like ballons when I hammered the dust cover back on and didnt think to remove them first. Then I also have a large rubber jacket that covers the entire piece up to the actual hub. My rubber gaskets dont get wet and the greas on them keeps them soft. I have used bearing buddies on a number of trailers thru the years, and so far this system has proven superior. It appears that with enough grease and grease rags, I can replace a large portion of the grease in the hubs. I also notice that when I do add grease, I have to add much less than I did with bearing buddies.

The biggest problem with bearing buddies is they only put grease on the outside of the bearings. They dont re-grease them, they just provide a water barrier. A faulty rear seal will go unnoticed and lead to failure. Once you get water in your bearings, it is there to stay.

Just my $0.02