Wheel bearings full of water

[mcastles]

Hi. Every year I have the same problem with the wheel bearings on my jet ski trailer. Full of water and shot wheel bearings. I have tried everything I know but the caps just don't seal. I have tried new hubs, electrical tape on the caps, etc, but no luck.

Does anyone have a suggestion that has worked for them? I often boat in salt water which makes things even worse.

thanks

Mark

 

[JimS123]

Of course they don't seal unless you completely fill the hub with grease. Even then you will get a few drops inside by Fall. Of course, the rear seals are replaced every time.

30 years of repacking every season end, and I NEVER had to replace bearings. Just wipe them off and repack. You must be in salt water.

Regardless, years ago I replaced the hub caps with Bearing Buddies. Now I only repack every 5 years, and when I open them up there is no water or no corrosion. Makes me mad that I went thru all the trouble when it wasn't needed.

 

[racerone]

Well----The lower units on outboard motors use seals to keep water out.----Perhaps look into a better seal set-up.----I think I would find a better product to use.

 

[mike_i]

Have you replaced the inner seals? Does the cap have a zert fitting?

 

[GA_Boater]

If you have water in the hubs every year burning up the bearings, you must be replacing the seals.

What does the surface the seals ride on look like? Smooth and shiny or grooved and rough?

 

[roscoe]

Maybe try oil bath hubs?
Or sure-lube style hubs?

 

[mcastles]

Thanks for the replies. Yes I do replace the rear seal each time, the seal surface is smooth and there is no zerk fitting.

Basically, expecting those flimsy metal caps to seal against the warm metal hub while being dunked in cold water is unrealistic. Even a little bit of salt water intrusion over the course of the season destroys the bearings.

As someone mentioned, I will look into a different hub type. Maybe the Vortex hubs. At least they have a threaded cap with an o ring.

 

[dingbat]

Unless your caps are shot, bent or distorted the water is coming in through the seals.

Water in the bearing is generally one of three issues.....
1. cheap, “trailer” seals.
Double lip seals at a minimum.

2. worn out or damaged sealing surfaces. Speedie sleeves will repair damage

3. wrong size seal in use.
Don’t assume anything. I fought water issues for years. Wasn’t until I measured the sealing surface to order speedie sleeves that I found the seals where the wrong size...off by 0.002”.

 

[poconojoe]

Get rid of those caps and replace them with one of the bearing buddy type greasable covers.

I would do what dingbat said. Measure the sealing surface and make sure you buy the proper seals. There are seals behind the hub too, in the back, if you didn't know that.

 

[dingbat]

Basically, expecting those flimsy metal caps to seal against the warm metal hub while being dunked in cold water is unrealistic.

Both are made of steel. Both have the same rate of thermal expansion........0.0000072“ per degree F. It’s a non-issue.

Installed properly, they work quite well actually. I’ve never had one leak on me in the 20+ years I’ve had EZ lube hubs.

The bigger issue is the increased ( ~ 2 psi) pressure inside the hub blowing past degraded seals or sealing surfaces.

Most your common face seals are rated at 3-4 psi. Better seals push this number to 4-6 psi

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Theres a Subaru front diff axle seal that fits some trailer hubs perfectly. Sorry I dont know the number but its 10 times the quality of any seal ive seen for a boat trailer hub. Double lip thick quality seal. I have used them a couple times now. They were both smaller trailers. Make sure your spindle is in good condition where the seal rides and your dust seal fits tight you can apply a thin bead of silicone it might help. And lightly pack your cap if you do not have bearing buddies which are also a source for water intrusion they do not keep water out just the area full of grease.

 

[bruceb58]

Hard to imagine a seal from a Suckaroo would fit a trailer.

There are plenty of high quality double lip seals that work great for trailers. But one from Timken or National.

 

[Rabbit929]

I 3rd the bearing buddy thing. They are spring loaded and maintain a positive pressure of grease on the bearing. They are pretty popular where im at for boat trailers as we have a pretty short boating season, and the water inside will crack bearing races in the winter of you dont at least purge it of water.

 

[flyingscott]

Personally I do not think bearing buddies are worth the money. They really only lube the closest bearing and do nothing for the other one. So not worth the time or money. Make sure you are getting the right seals. Are you packing the bearings? Are you filling the cavity between them? Best way to keep bearings is pull them every 2 yrs and pack them manually.

 

[JimS123]

When I repack bearings I fill the inside of the hub with as much grease as I can get in. Then I pump the BB until the spring just starts to compress.

Eons ago, every Fall I would find a few drops of water inside the hub when I repacked. Since using Buddies I have yet to find ANY water intrusion at all.

Now, and I admit to my laziness, I only repack every 5 years or so. And when I do, I'm disappointed after having done it, since the hubs are always dry.

I dunno about BBs, but they work for me...

 

[dingbat]

Packing hubs full of grease has always had me perplexed as to what is trying to be accomplished......

"The use of automatic wheel end lubricators/protectors is not recommended. While convenient, these products can add too much grease over time, resulting in higher temperatures and excess grease expansion. Grease can squeeze out through the seal enabling contaminants to enter."

A. Apply a thin film of grease on the spindle, races, seal and inside the hub and hub cap. This helps avoid dry startups and provides a protective barrier on metal components against moisture, that can lead to corrosion and premature bearing damage.

B. Pack the tapered roller bearings with grease – either by hand or with a mechanical grease packer (both methods are described)

https://www.timken.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TechTip-LV12-Trailer-Wheel-Bearing-Inspection-Maintenance-and-Replacement.pdf

 

[JimS123]

Packing hubs full of grease has always had me perplexed as to what is trying to be accomplished......

I don't understand the comment. Isn't a full hub the very basic premise of a Bearing Buddy? If the hub is full, isn't that a deterrent to water intrusion?

Lots of different opinions. If you have water in the bearings, you are doing something wrong. If you don't, maybe best to continue your age old procedures.

 

[Rabbit929]

I do industrial maintenance for a living so i understand the idea of "too much is worse than not enough."
But the purpose of bearing buddies is to maintain continual positive pressure to prevent water intrusion. The the inside bearing gets the overflow from the outer bearing. The same idea can be achieved by giving it a shot of grease once every time you use it, but would be a pita to do every time and would actually be too much by the 3rd time you did it.

You know if your overgreasing if your hubs get so hot you cant touch them after pulling full speed for a length of time. Some of these guys say they dont touch their hubs but once every 5 years, thats good enough for me. But if i go through the trouble of opening the hub up, id just as soon replace the bearings and races if im that far in anyways.

I dont have bearing buddies on mine but i know many who do, and the fact they have a spring loaded "pressure Take-up" if you will, theoretically should prevent greasing to the point of seal damage so long as you dont grease till the spring is at max compression.

Its a horse-a-piece really, as long as the internal surfaces are completely coated in petroleum grease, which is naturally hydrophobic, you shouldnt have an issue. keep in mind the only reason they need grease at all is they are occasionally submerged. so a shot here or there should do it fine, but once that seal is out, water gets in and eventually scrubs the grease away. a person should be fully aware the bearings are out when you see the wheel wobble.

 

[JimS123]

I do industrial maintenance for a living so i understand the idea of "too much is worse than not enough."
But the purpose of bearing buddies is to maintain continual positive pressure to prevent water intrusion. The the inside bearing gets the overflow from the outer bearing. The same idea can be achieved by giving it a shot of grease once every time you use it, but would be a pita to do every time and would actually be too much by the 3rd time you did it.

You know if your overgreasing if your hubs get so hot you cant touch them after pulling full speed for a length of time. Some of these guys say they dont touch their hubs but once every 5 years, thats good enough for me. But if i go through the trouble of opening the hub up, id just as soon replace the bearings and races if im that far in anyways.

I dont have bearing buddies on mine but i know many who do, and the fact they have a spring loaded "pressure Take-up" if you will, theoretically should prevent greasing to the point of seal damage so long as you dont grease till the spring is at max compression.

Its a horse-a-piece really, as long as the internal surfaces are completely coated in petroleum grease, which is naturally hydrophobic, you shouldnt have an issue. keep in mind the only reason they need grease at all is they are occasionally submerged. so a shot here or there should do it fine, but once that seal is out, water gets in and eventually scrubs the grease away. a person should be fully aware the bearings are out when you see the wheel wobble.

Interesting observations...

When I was a plant engineer we had an enclosed production line with over 600 bearings. Most were subjected to continuous water or chemical spray. Greasing was a PM requirement, but it could only be done when the line was down. Then, with other mechanical priorities, some often got missed. We usually had 3 or 4 failures a week.

I installed an automatic greasing system on all 600. It gave a short squirt every minute and a half. It DID make a sloppy greasy mess, but bearing failure was greatly reduced, savings thousands of $ in downtime.

Other than after buying an old junker trailer, I have never replaced bearings. When I repack I clean and inspect, and if there is no sign of corrosion or wear, the old bearings go back in. Never had a bearing failure on a trailer.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Yeah, I never assumed Bearing Buddies had anything to do with getting grease to the bearings; that is done when you service the hub and pack the bearing with grease.

BBs are just supposed to maintain that postive pressure in the hub. If you have to keep adding grease to maintain that pressure, you've probably blown a seal. And that is one of the advangates of BBs: if you find the indicator continually shows the need for more grease, it's time to take the hub apart and get new seals.