Sealed wheel bearings... or maybe not ?

[A&EPerico]

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding the sealed bearings on my extreme trailer. We went out yesterday; when I got home I noticed that the two front wheels on each side of the trailer were leaking oil/grease from the hub. The oil/ grease was all over the rim and tire. I guess this means that the sealed bearing have gone bad and are no longer sealed? I have never done any kind of service to them. How hard are they to replace? Do they need to be replaced? Is there a screw that may have come loose allowing the oil to drain out? I have no idea where to start, any advice would be great. I was just so glad that we made it home! Thanks very much.

[dogbert]

It may be time for some new bearing buddies. The seals do go after a while.

[A&EPerico]

Thanks, are they hard to chanage?

[dogbert]

Thanks, are they hard to chanage?

Nope, just get some new ones. To remove the old ones, just use a rubber mallet or hammer w/ 2x4. Hit it on one side and then the other. It will eventually work its way out if you keep doing it. Then tap the new ones in place using the same tools, except be sure to tap them from the top. I found the 2x4 method to work the best.

[chpthril]

Does this axle have brakes?

[A&EPerico]

Yes, Sir this is the axel with the brakes? Is that going to complicate things? I sure hope not because that 2X4 deal was sounding some what simple?????

[chpthril]

Yes, Sir this is the axel with the brakes? Is that going to complicate things? I sure hope not because that 2X4 deal was sounding some what simple?????

Sounds like the brakes are stuck/dragging. This caused the hubs to heat up and puke the grease. Could be a result of a little rust causing the coupler to stick and not release the brake cylinder piston. If you have a swing-away tongue, inspect the hose to make sure it is not pinched or collapsed at the pivot point. The hubs will most likely need serviced and the seals replaced once you determine the root cause of he over heating.

[A&EPerico]

I looked at the brake line it looked good. I took a close look at the bearings and found out they are oil filled not bearing buddies. Does this change anything?

[zad0030]

You can't have both bearing buddies and disc brakes, I know that for a fact.

But As to what is causing your oil leakage beats me.

[chpthril]

I looked at the brake line it looked good. I took a close look at the bearings and found out they are oil filled not bearing buddies. Does this change anything?

Not really, over heated hubs can cause either to puke oil.

[chpthril]

You can't have both bearing buddies and disc brakes, I know that for a fact.

.

Why not ?

[zad0030]

Why not ?

Because the disc brakes put pressure on the bearing buddies and cause them to wear out prematurely.

I know someone who installed both disc brakes and bearing buddies on his trailer and had them fail several times. When he talked to BoatMate they told him NOT recommended to use disc brakes with bearing buddies because of this. He was so unhappy with boatmate for not telling him this when he purchased the projucts that he took every boatmate product off his trailer.

[chpthril]

Because the disc brakes put pressure on the bearing buddies and cause them to wear out prematurely.

I know someone who installed both disc brakes and bearing buddies on his trailer and had them fail several times. When he talked to BoatMate they told him NOT recommended to use disc brakes with bearing buddies because of this. He was so unhappy with boatmate for not telling him this when he purchased the projucts that he took every boatmate product off his trailer.

Hmmm, Bearing Buddy as in the spring-loaded dust cap with the zerk fitting in the center for greasing, right?

If so, There should not be any load placed on the Buddy at all: The wheel is bolted to the hub, the hub is bolted to the spindle, rotor is bolted to the hub, not too different from how the drum is part of the hub on a drum setup, and the BB is just a press-fit driven into the end of the hub.

In most cases, when BB's are added on as an accessorie and they fail, it's due to the spindle being too long and it pushes the BB out of the hub or it just grinds it away on the inside. The spindle is stationary but the hub is rotating.

Sounds like Boatmate placed the blame on BB, i'm sure BB would have blamed it on the Boatmate axles

[samw]

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding the sealed bearings on my extreme trailer. We went out yesterday; when I got home I noticed that the two front wheels on each side of the trailer were leaking oil/grease from the hub. The oil/ grease was all over the rim and tire. I guess this means that the sealed bearing have gone bad and are no longer sealed? I have never done any kind of service to them. How hard are they to replace? Do they need to be replaced? Is there a screw that may have come loose allowing the oil to drain out? I have no idea where to start, any advice would be great. I was just so glad that we made it home! Thanks very much.

What type of trailer do you have? Or maybe I should ask what type of axles? I have torsion axles for reliable axles. Those axles have a hole in the back of them, so when you pump grease through the rear bearing it will come out the back of the torsion part of the axle. If you have them make sure you keep them full of grease or you will let water in the rear part of the bearing.
Just my 2 cents.

[dingleberry]

My Extreme trailer has this system: http://www.ufpnet.com/Portals/0/PDFs...20Brochure.pdf
Is that what yours has?

Not that I can provide any help. I am a mechanical moron. But maybe others could chime in if that is your bearing system.