Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

[marekli]

I figured it might be a good time to do some trailer maintenance. I usually wash it with salt away and then also spray bolts and leaves with Boeing T9 to protect against corrosion. The trailer bearings probably need to be serviced now since it has not been done in a while. The previous owner put bearing buddies on them.

Anyone care to post a good video tutorial or manuals how to do this?

 

[bajaunderground]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

Do a youtube search...how to repack trailer wheel bearings...there are tons of videos!

 

[Madman1650]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

Try this video and see if it helps. How to Pack / Grease Trailer Wheel Bearings - YouTube

 

[ricohman]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

It a good idea to service them. While bearing buddies may apply fresh grease they do nothing for preload ect.
Its a snap to do. There are many threads and info all over the net on how to do this. For a first timer setting the preload is the most crucial part.

 

[izoomie]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

It a good idea to service them.

For a boat trailer that gets submerged, I remove, clean, repack and install new seals every spring. I have bearing buddies but I'm only using them as dust caps.

We have a major highway that runs north to cottage country here in Southern Ontario. Every long weekend there is 3 or 4 boats sitting on the side of the road with busted bearings. I vow never to be that guy.

 

[Rapio]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

I would suggest a fall servicing of bearings as opposed to spring. If water has entered and mixed with grease, you might not like the results after sitting all winter.

 

[limitout]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

the thing I hate most about bearing buddies is they are a PITA to deal with because you cant get to the cotter key and nut with them on and often they don't fit well after being removed and reinstalled. its not uncommon for them to fall off on the road somewhere after they have been reinstalled more then twice.

do yourself a favor and just put regular dust caps on them after you repack the bearings, bearing buddies do nothing but get in your way or force grease out or the rear seal and make a mess of everything.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

the thing I hate most about bearing buddies is they are a PITA to deal with because you cant get to the cotter key and nut with them on

That's why you take them off to get at the cotter key and nut. Please don't tell me you take the guts of it out first! :facepalm:

Bearing Buddies work very well for their intended purpose which is to maintain a slight positive pressure inside the hub. The people that blow out their seals do it because they think they need to fill them all the time. I have used them for over 30 years and never blew out a seal.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

What bruce said, and if you're blowing out seals with Buddies, then they're not being used properly......

 

[Rapio]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

This could go on forever, but if "for real" Bearing Buddies are falling out of the wheel hub after 2 installations, I suggest you check for the correct tightness on the axel nut and trailer wheel balance.

 

[limitout]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

That's why you take them off to get at the cotter key and nut. Please don't tell me you take the guts of it out first! :facepalm:

Bearing Buddies work very well for their intended purpose which is to maintain a slight positive pressure inside the hub. The people that blow out their seals do it because they think they need to fill them all the time. I have used them for over 30 years and never blew out a seal.

well of course you have to take the cap off, you cant do it any other way unless you are hudino and use some kind of magic lol.

and since when is it safe to assume people don't do stupid things like pump grease in until they see it coming out of the cap? people do blow out their seals because they think they need to fill them all the time and that handy dandy grease zerk makes it all too easy for them to do it.

I argued with a guy for years about overpacking his buddy bearings, they were always having globs of grease coming out. he put grease in it after every trip no matter if needed, he just wanted to see fresh grease squirt out lol.

if people always did things correctly this forum wouldn't be so popular lol

 

[limitout]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

This could go on forever, but if "for real" Bearing Buddies are falling out of the wheel hub after 2 installations, I suggest you check for the correct tightness on the axel nut and trailer wheel balance.

the problem is they are built more solid and don't flex as much. so while if regular dust caps don't fit tight enough they can be cheaply replaced or they can even be reshaped by tapping it onto a cone shape such as a fence post cap to flare it out slightly and reset the size for a secure fit while most buddy bearings are thicker material and cant be reshaped if they get loose.

because of this they don't have the same grip when reinstalled and I have made a regular habit of adding gasket sealer around the buddy bearing (used like lock tight) to help hold it in place to not risk losing it. in my opinion by the third time you knock them off and reinstall them they just aren't as solidly held on.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

and since when is it safe to assume people don't do stupid things like pump grease in until they see it coming out of the cap? people do blow out their seals because they think they need to fill them all the time and that handy dandy grease zerk makes it all too easy for them to do it.

Thanks for proving my point.

I still want to know why you think you can't get to your cotter pin and nut to work on the bearings. Just take the bearing buddy off first. Same as taking a dust cap off right?

 

[bspeth]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

Ok so after reading this thread,I am not using my bearing buddies proper. I had grease come out the back. Do I need to pull them apart and reassemble, or replace the seals as well?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

You may need to replace the seals. You should inspect the surface that the seal rides on to make sure it is smooth and not pitted.

Only put enough grease into the bearing buddy so that the piston just starts to move. You don't need any more than that.

 

[bspeth]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

Ok thank you.So just pull the whole thing off without removing the c-clip and the spring,is that correct?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

Ok thank you.So just pull the whole thing off without removing the c-clip and the spring,is that correct?

Correct. You never need to disassemble.

 

[bassman284]

Re: Trailer bearing maintenance - greasing and repacking - with bearing buddies

Correct. You never need to disassemble.

And if you DO disassemble, good luck getting it back together. Don't ask me how I know.