Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Can I install Bearing Buddies with with the Sure Lube System. The old dust caps had a zerk fitting on them but no spring to keep pressure on the grease.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Reliable Sure Lube hubs do not require anything extra and have worked fine for 12 maintenance free years on my trailers. Just pump a few shots of grease in the grease fittings a couple of times a year. Any excessive grease will exit out the back side of the knuckle on the torsion axle.

Bearing Buddies require a closed area to build pressure and deflect the spring loaded plate in the Bearing Buddy. If Bearing Buddies were added to Sure Lube hubs, the spring loaded plate will just push the grease out and you will be left with no pressure on the grease.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

j.a.g said:

Can I install Bearing Buddies with with the Sure Lube System. The old dust caps had a zerk fitting on them but no spring to keep pressure on the grease.

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Dust caps on the Super Lube system do not have zerk fittings. They do have a removable rubber cover to access the grease fittings, which are located on the end of the axle spindles. Here is what you would see with a Super Lube system:



Show us what you have (if different) and we can go from there.

Happy boating!

P.S. Bearing Buddies with the Sure Lube axles would not do anything but make a mess.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

The system I have soes not have the zerk fitting on the spindle. The zerk fitting is on the dust cap. The dust cap looks like a bearing buddy with no spring.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

j.a.g said:

The system I have soes not have the zerk fitting on the spindle. The zerk fitting is on the dust cap. The dust cap looks like a bearing buddy with no spring.

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You must have a variation of the Buddy. Is it possible to take a picture, and show us?

P.S. Bearing Buddy tells you that their dust cap is not a replacement for the old school method of servicing your trailer bearings...it is intended to apply a slight positive pressure that (in theory) will not allow water to bypass the seals when in the water. Too many people are in the false impression that Bearing Buddies are all they need to service both of their trailer bearings.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Here are some pics ofwhat I am talking about.

View attachment 107773

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j.a.g said:

Here are some pics ofwhat I am talking about.

View attachment 107773

View attachment 107774
View attachment 107775

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For some reason I can't se the pictures.

Why not try Tinypic (free and no downloads) and use their "message board" size option. Just paste the link(s) and your pictures will be in your reply.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Reliable Sure Lube and Super Lube hubs are 2 different hubs from 2 different manufacturers.

Page 2 of this link shows how the Sure Lube hub works. http://www.reliablepmw.com/downloads/rubber_torsion.pdf

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Thanks for the link. I hope this works.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Get it j.a.g.!

If you are certain that there is no zerk fitting on the axle end (under the dust cap), then you just need to do a standard bearing service and go from there.

The last picture looks like a standard dust cap with a zerk fitting applied. I have never seen one like this before, and I agree with you that there is no spring pressure applied to keep the hub in a positive pressure status. The ability of simply pumping grease behind the dust cap doesn't really accomplish all that much.

My suggestion is: do a standard repacking of the hub bearings, and replace the seals that you have to remove to do this, and get the real deal Bearing Buddy for your dust cap. Be sure to test your bearings by spinning the hub after reassembly, to insure that you don't have any 'rough' spots. This is best done with the rims attached. The dust covers will be the last step, and just pump them with grease to the marks that you will see on the Bearing Buddy.

All that is left is to watch the Bearing Buddy as you do some trailering, and fill as needed.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Thanks for the info. does anyone know what the hole in the back of the spindle is for? It is in the first pic.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

burp said:

Reliable Sure Lube and Super Lube hubs are 2 different hubs from 2 different manufacturers.

Page 2 of this link shows how the Sure Lube hub works. http://www.reliablepmw.com/downloads/rubber_torsion.pdf

Click to expand...

Nice find, burp!

Page 2 does show their dust cap with a zerk fitting. They claim that you can repack the bearings by pumping grease, although there isn't any clear way to know when to stop since the excess (old?) grease ends up in the axle. On my setup the oldest grease exits around the closest bearing, and I know when to stop.



It may be best that he just 'pumps' away...until he feels that he has done enough.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

j.a.g said:

Thanks for the info. does anyone know what the hole in the back of the spindle is for? It is in the first pic.

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Thanks to burp, that hole sends the extra grease into the hollow of the axle. You can see the path in the second page of his link.

You seem to be alright just using the zerks in the dust cap(s), and pumping until you feel that you have done enough.

burp solved all of this...nice work!

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

A Bearing Buddy will be a waste of expense and not do anything for you when installed on a Reliable Sure Lube hub.

The grease that you put in the grease fitting on the dust cap goes through the outside bearing, over the spindle and through the inside bearing. The small hole that can be seen in the spindle picture is where the grease exits the hub, travels through the straight axle or torsion axle and exits out a grease discharge hole.

The great part of the Reliable Sure Lube hub is that you never have to repack the bearings or have to worry about blowing a seal out due to too much pressure. A Bearing Buddy uses the grease pressure to deflect the plate in the Bearing Buddyand the spring behind the plate keeps pressure on the plate to generate positive grease pressure. If the Bearing Buddy is put on a Reliable Sure Lube hub, you won't be able to generate grease pressure to deflect the plate in the Bearing Buddy. If you did, the spring is just going to push the plate and force the grease out the grease discharge hole on the back side of the torsion axle knuckle or straight axle.

Since you have your hub and inside grease seal removed, make sure the replacement seal is a seal with a double lip. Otherwise you can expect problems.

In 12 years towing trailers with the Reliable Sure Lube axles thousands of miles, I have yet to repack a bearing or have any problems. The only time I pulled a hub was with a disc brake caliper problem. When I started towing with the Sure Lube hubs, I was skeptical at first and bought a spare set of bearings, seal and dust cap.......they are hiding some place in the garage. A few pumps of grease a couple of times a year is all it takes. Another hint is if you don't give the hub a shot of grease for an extremely long period of time and allow the grease in the grease discharge hole to harden into a grease plug, then you can expect to blow the seal out when you do grease the hubs. Using a small nail or wire to clear the hardened grease plug out of the grease discharge hole before you grease the hub will eliminate the potential blown seal problem. Using the nail or wire is only required if it is several years between greasing the hubs.

If you are afraid of water entering the hub since it is not pressurized with grease, dope the edge of the dust cap with RTV sealant before you install it. The rear seal and the grease in the grease discharge hole will keep the rest of the hub water free inside.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

j.a.g said:

Thanks for the info. does anyone know what the hole in the back of the spindle is for? It is in the first pic.

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That is the hole where the grease exits the hub. On a staight axle as you have, I don't know where the discharge hole for the old/excessive grease to exit is located. On a torsion axle, there is a small hole on the back side of the torsion axle knuckle where the grease exits. For the torsion axle it's in a location that does not make a big mess on the trailer tire or wheel, thus it appears to be easier to clean up than on the Super Lube hubs.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

Thanks for the help guys! I figured out where the grease exits the axle. There is a hole in the middle of the axle for the grease to exit. In theory I should not be able to pump too much grease in the hub and blow out the seal unless the seal is bad is that how this works?

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

That's how it works and why a Bearing Buddy won't help.

Re: Reliable Sure Lube and Bearing Buddies

In theory

Trust me, you can blow a seal easily with a pneumatic grease gun, or if one gets too aggressive with a manual one ... :facepalm: