Trailer Bearing rebuild

I have a 17'9'' Bass boat on a Tetra trailer with bearing buddy's and want to rebuild them. Anyone have a write up on how I can do this or explain to me how to get the hub opened up so i can check the bearings? Thank you.

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

You walk them off with a 2x4 and a hammer alternating positions. Look online for repacking bearings and find the BB site and you can get a set of instructions with very useful info.

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

I use a a big pair of water pump pliers (slip joint) and just rock them side to side while pulling on them.

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

Maybe just remove the big nut, slide hub off, clean and inspect bearings and races, no real need to remove the inner race if it's in good condition, repack bearings, reassemble hub,finger tighten big nut, cotter key. No need to replace bearings/races that are good. Good Luck!

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

robert graham said:

Maybe just remove the big nut, slide hub off, clean and inspect bearings and races, no real need to remove the inner race if it's in good condition, repack bearings, reassemble hub,finger tighten big nut, cotter key. No need to replace bearings/races that are good. Good Luck!

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So, how are you checking the inner race without taking the inner seal and bearing out first? While I agree that there isn't much point in fixing something that isn't broken, I also keep in mind that bearings are cheap.
Get a bearing packer to save time and frustration. They're cheap and make packing the grease into the bearing super fast, easy, and much more mess-free. If you replace the bearings, REPLACE THE SEALS ALSO. Remove the old ones using a brass punch to avoid scarring the hub. Use the old race to push the new one in with your hammer. That way you're not beating on your new race. Make sure the races are seated ALL the way. If you can get a fingernail behind it, it's not in. Keep pounding. Install a new seal AFTER the inner bearing is placed. Otherwise, you'll feel dumb when you see the bearing sitting on the ground next to you while you're getting ready to put the hub back on. Tighten the nut down real tight and then back it off till there is very little drag when you spin the hub. This is a "feel" thing for most of us. I like to put the tire on and have the bearing tight enough so that when I spin the tire hard, it rotates no more than 2 turns. What you don't want is to be able to grab the tire at the 6 and 12 o'clock positions and have any wiggle when you try to rock it.
The easiest way to learn how to do bearings, because it can be a little intimidating for the first timer, is to have an experienced beer drinking buddy give you a hand the first time. Do it once, and you'll be a pro.

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

I pulled one of the hubs off and the outer bearings looked and felt good. When I put the nut back on and finger tightened it, it would work itself loose and the hub would become loose. I tightened the nuts down a little tighter then finger strength. The cotter pin does not sit snug against the nut. Is this somewhat normal or should I replace?

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

The cotter pin needs to go through the slots in the castle nut. If it's above the nut, you're either missing the thrust washer under the nut, or you have a wrong bearing/race combination in it.

Tighten it down tight to seat the bearings, then back it off till loose and tighten it till it's right, either a slight play or a slight pre-load depending on who you are talking to.

hope it helps
john

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

fortyfreak9 said:

I pulled one of the hubs off and the outer bearings looked and felt good. When I put the nut back on and finger tightened it, it would work itself loose and the hub would become loose. I tightened the nuts down a little tighter then finger strength. The cotter pin does not sit snug against the nut. Is this somewhat normal or should I replace?

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When you put in a new bearing, or even a repacked old one, the grease sometimes takes up a little space. So you have to rotate the hub forward and back while tightening the nut by hand to work it into position.

Secondly, sometimes the rear/inner seal can put up a lot of hydraulic resistance if there is an air bubble while sliding the hub back together. Once that "burps" and everything goes together well you check it by adjusting it to working endplay, and by rotation of the hub by hand you can assure it is properly installed. Usually I bolt on the wheel so I can get it spinning easily to get the bearing seated fully and notice if I need to readjust again. After a while you get a feel for it.

Last, do not "preload" your bearings. Most manuals that cover bearing packing will list a specification for end play of so many thousandths. If you tighten a bearing down to "preload" it you are reducing or eliminating the grease cushion which bearings are supposed to ride on- bearings wear out from metal-to-metal contact and/or contaminants in the grease. Forcing bearings into their races only cuts into their lifespan; rollers are not supposed to ride on the races- they are supposed to be suspended just off the race by the thickness of a molecule or two of grease. Too much pressure, grease is forced aside, and early failure is imminent.

As far as working the nut back on, as a general rule when the nut has been turned in to contact point (tight) by hand, rotate the wheel once. Then if it has stayed tight, back it off the least amount needed to slip the cotter pin in to the axle hole. Usually there are two holes in the axle roughly 90 degrees separated so that cotter pin can be installed without loosening the nut too much. One hole will line up while the other might still be partially inaccessible behind the nut.

The cotter pin will not usually be tight to the nut- it is merely there to keep the nut from backing off. The slotted washer only provides a rotational buffer.

It sounds like what you are describing is the bearings, seal, and hub settling together when the nut "loosens up" and as previous poster described there needs to be a keyed washer in there as well.

This seems to be a nice tutorial

And page 23 of this manual has a nice schematic of the parts

Too loose is just as bad as too tight. Do it right!

Hope this helps

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

Well I forgot to put the slotted washer back on so thats why I was having the issues but I got it figured out. On the other hub the grease was kind of hard so I replaced all the grease in both hubs. Is that common?

Re: Trailer Bearing rebuild

fortyfreak9 said:

Well I forgot to put the slotted washer back on so thats why I was having the issues but I got it figured out. On the other hub the grease was kind of hard so I replaced all the grease in both hubs. Is that common?

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Yes, it can be, but it shouldn't be.

If maintained regularly and properly it won't be an issue. I always service both sides even if only one was asking for it. Typically, I am repacking as preventative maintenance, so I don't have bearings asking for repair usually. I did replace both sides last summer before towing 500 miles to New York for a fishing trip. The last time I had changed them out was about 2000. I did one side; the other was OK. So I put it off and never got back to it until 2009. But I had regreased both sides in the interim.

My 2cents