Water in wheel hubs.....?

[handle]

3 year old 1250# hubs on 1" spindle. Water is evident when cap is removed. Grease turns milky The surface where the seal sits is worn, tried to clean it up, but metal is pitted. I repack every couple of years but looking to seal it up a little better. Any suggestions?

 

[gm280]

Yes sir there are ways to solve your problems without buying a new axle assembly. They make a sleeve to go over pitted/worn bearing surfaces just like you alluded too. So find the one that fits your application and slide it on. Then buy all new rear seals and clean and repack all the bearings and you may even want to install some bearing buddy type caps. Pump in grease until the piston just starts to move outward and stop. You are now ready to trailer again... :thumb:

 

[handle]

I have used Bearing Buddies in the past but found they tended to push grease out the back seal. Granted the spindles were worn and the seals could not hold in the grease. Can you use the regular caps or do you advise against them. I also realize if you keep adding grease to BB's you will force grease out the back. Thanks for the input..

 

[MTboatguy]

Bearing buddies will push grease out the back if you put to much grease in the front! I pop my buddies out every once in a while to double check things, but have never pushed grease out of the back through the seal.

 

[Fed]

If you don't get any grease out of the rear seals then the hubs aren't full or you're not using the boat.

Google speedi sleeves.

 

[handle]

Not sure what your saying, grease is not suppose to come out the rear seal correct and what's the boat got to with it.

 

[Fed]

handle... they are moving seals under pressure and will never be 100% sealed, when everything is perfect expect a tiny bead of grease at the rear seals, not like yours by the sound of it.
I also should have said trailer use instead of boat use.

 

[handle]

Do you use Bearing Buddies?

 

[bruceb58]

You should never get grease past the seals if the seals are working properly.

 

[Fed]

Do you use Bearing Buddies?

An aftermarket knock off handle, they also leak a little past the piston seal & one day I'll replace them with the real deal.

I disagree Bruce.

 

[bruceb58]

I disagree Bruce.

So I went and took a picture of my axle with a fully pressurized Buddy Bearing system. Just got back yesterday from a 1000 mile round trip. Do you see any grease? I don't either. Dry as a bone. This is on a wheel with a disk brake and I was coming out of 7500 feet down to sea level on a hot day with a 6000# plus boat/trailer.

 

[Fed]

Is the spring still compressed Bruce?

 

[Scott Danforth]

bruce, you should hit that rust with a wire brush, then some heavy zinc primer.

Handle, your first post states your sealing surfaces are crap. until you fix that, nothing will keep water out or grease in.

to prevent water intrusion, you need to have perfect sealing at the rear.

bearing buddies or axle buddies work by pressurizing the grease side of the seal. this prevents the hub from sucking in water when dunked (the whole volumetric contraction issue due to thermal declination due to imersion in a media of lower temp)

 

[bruceb58]

Is the spring still compressed Bruce?

Yes it is!

 

[bruceb58]

bruce, you should hit that rust with a wire brush, then some heavy zinc primer.

I agree. Was actually surprised it looked like that when i took the picture.

 

[MTboatguy]

You guys WAY over think things..

 

[bruceb58]

You guys WAY over think things..

LOL..that's pretty funny!

 

[MTboatguy]

LOL..that's pretty funny!

Bruce, for most of my life, I only wish I had time to think that much!

:lol:

 

[Fed]

This is serious stuff MT, Bruce has shattered my reality.:cold:

Bruce, would it be fair to say that you now never have to add any grease?

It's only my opinion but I suggest that your hubs are not yet full, I have never achieved a perfect seal.

 

[MTboatguy]

If you have never achieved a perfect seal, then something is wrong in your system, those rear seals are designed to keep grease in and water out.

As far as serious, when it comes to working on my trailers, I am very serious to make sure it is done right, then I double check them every once is a while to make sure things are working right.