Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

[Admin5]

I am glad I knew of a place to turn to now that I am in trouble! Sorry the images are so large but I am not at a computer to compress the sizes any smaller...I'm down in lake Meade with the family for the holiday weekend. My trailer is 1 year old and was just serviced by the dealer 3 months ago. This is the first time I have used it this year. The temp down here in Vegas is 100. None of my hubs are looking too healthy right now. Here are some pics. How bad does it look? Note that I am now missing one of my rubber oil caps on the hub. Must have melted off? Were they just packed with too much grease or now that the oil is nice and blue have they all overheated and I'm in troube? I head home next Tuesday so I have a few days to get these fixed if I'm in trouble. Thanks for any help!<br />

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[Bondo]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Well #5,...... You've got a Problem,...... But I Doubt it's Serious.......<br /><br />Looks like things were Severely Over Greased......<br /><br />Find yourself a Block of Wood,...a 4X4 would be about Right....<br />Pull 1 of the tires Up Onto the block of Wood,..... This Should cause the other tire on that side of the Empty trailer to Rise up off the ground,.......<br />Now,... Grab each side of a tire,+ Shake,.....Loose,.???... Probably Not.....<br />Do the Same for Each Tire...........<br /><br />When you've decided that All is Well,..... Just Over Filled,........<br /><br />Bring it on Home,...... Then Back to the Repair Shop that did the original Work..........<br /><br />I Think you've just got Tooo much of a Good Thing...........

 

[bootle]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

I'm no expert, but it could be that they were overfilled.<br />here is something similar from a previous thread.<br /> http://forums.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=002230

 

[all thumbs]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Ditto what Bondo said, I use a blue color marine grease so thats prolly why the color. Chances are your boats in the water so before retrieving it check it all out good and replace that cap.

 

[technostingray]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Don't know if this will help but QC is supposed to be at the lake this weekend. He seems very knowledgeable. Have you solicited the help of any boaters on scene?

 

[JB]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

I agree with these guys, Admin5. I see no evidence of bearing failure, just grease leaks. That could be seal failure from over filling or simply overfilling.<br /><br />A failure of all bearings at once is VERY unlikely.<br /><br />Drive it around a bit and listen for any grinding and check each hub for excess heat when you stop.<br /><br />Get each wheel off the ground and check it for wobble and for grinding when rotated. If you find neither you are probably good for your return trip.<br /><br />Good luck, and enjoy your trip.

 

[sloopy]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

HEHE, that same thing happened to me once on both wheels of a trailer. Too much grease and it was really hot outside, I also used marine grease which was not designed for bearings on a trailer (what I was told**). Hope all is well. Get some grease from an auto-parts store and make sure it does not say marine on it! Do not overfill and replace those caps. <br /><br />**I don't think marine grease is designed for higher temperatures. But I will wait for an oil expert (lube dude) to figure out that myth)

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Just went through the same thing on my twin axle trailer.<br />I packed the bearings and gave it an extra shot just to be safe and when I got where I was going, seen the same thing on all 4 wheels.<br />I think you will fine that the repair shop just went overboard with the grease.

 

[tommays]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

I agree give them the shake and then have fun <br /><br />Grease is kinda of more is not really better <br /><br /><br />tommays

 

[Admin5]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! iboats is amazing when you are out there by the water and need some quick help. Thanks! I will give the tires a shake tomorrow and hope the winds die down here at the lake so we can get out and have some fun. Because it is all 4 tires and they just came back from the shop I agree that it is probably just over greasing. Thanks again!!!

 

[Parrott_head]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

When I've been around bearings that were failing they were HOT!!! You could smell them a ways off. Did you notice any smell? <br /><br />The shaking the wheel thing is the best bet. Then when you tow stop and check hub temp with your hand. Should be warm but not so hot you can not leave your hand on it for a long time.<br /><br />I've seen bearing blister the hub paint. Your paint looks good.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

We need to add to Bondo's sig... "And too much grease is a mess!"

 

[RetNav]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Admin5, Those look like the super lube/EZ lube type of hubs. You know the ones that you remove the cap and pump grease through the zirc fitting in the center of the Spindle right behind the rubber cap. If so I don't see how you can over grease it. On mine you can repack the bearings simply by pumping grease through the fitting until the new grease starts coming out the front of the hole, where the rubber goes. Wipe the excess grease off, replace the cover and its good to go. <br /> Bearings to tight will cause heat with the result being the grease seeping out. Solution is to pull the pin and back off one hole, then reinsert pin. <br /> Good luck.<br /><br /> All right, everyone attack.

 

[PW2]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Bearing failure is usually easy to determine. The bearing housing should be warm, but not hot.<br /><br />A very good thermometer is located at the end of your arm. You can't hold your hand on temps greater than 150 deg F. In that heat, my guess is that normal bearing operating temps will be about 125 deg F, which will feel warm to the touch, but not feel hot. If it's greater than 150 deg, you won't be able to keep your hand on it, and is indicative of a bigger problem.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

The mixing of dis-similar grease types will also cause them to get real runny like that.<br /><br />Been there, done that.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Originally posted by RetNav:<br /> Admin5, Those look like the super lube/EZ lube type of hubs. You know the ones that you remove the cap and pump grease through the zirc fitting in the center of the Spindle right behind the rubber cap. If so I don't see how you can over grease it. On mine you can repack the bearings simply by pumping grease through the fitting until the new grease starts coming out the front of the hole, where the rubber goes. Wipe the excess grease off, replace the cover and its good to go. <br /> Bearings to tight will cause heat with the result being the grease seeping out. Solution is to pull the pin and back off one hole, then reinsert pin. <br /> Good luck.<br /><br /> All right, everyone attack.

I agree with this post 100%. Those looks like they might be Dexter EZ lube hubs to me as well. They are designed to be packed solid to capacity. Therefore it's not really possible to overfill them, though I admit usually when I grease mine I'll finish by scooping a fingerfull of grease out of there to allow a little expansion room. The rubber cap has the nipple on it specifically to allow a little bit of balooning effect to leave room for grease expansion at higher temps. Yours seem to have expanded a bit beyond their capacity. One blew off. I've never seen this happen on my trailers with EZ lubes, so I'd expect some overheating and the resulting grease expansion caused this. Wrong grease that doesn't like high temps? I always use synthetic high-temp grease myself, and shy away from the "marine" greases that have much lower temp ratings and likely will expand or liquify on a 100 degree day high-speed run on black pavement thru the desert. It's definitely a good idea to check the hub temperature after a good highway speed run (under weight of the boat...not just an empty trailer) and make sure the hub nuts are not too tight causing excessive friction. Backing off a notch may not be a bad idea...a LITTLE bit of wiggle with the "shake" test everyone is talking about, is in my opinion better than no wiggle at all. I wouldn't be surprised if these hubs do not have cotter pins, but bending locking tabs instead. Still the same thing though....straighten the tab, back it off a notch, and bend the tab back. But ONLY if you feel they are installed a bit too tight.

 

[DJ]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Admin,<br /><br />Not unusual in the 100 plus desert heat. They were probably/somewhat over-lubed. Better that (messy) than a lack of.<br /><br />Before making the trek home, lift each wheel, one at a time and give it a spin. You should NOT hear any growling.<br /><br />By the way, your tires look a little low. That is a MAJOR source of heat.

 

[KM2]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

I have similar hubs and if you don't leave a little room for expansion when it's warm out they look like that. I have never lost one, but I live in MN and it just doen't get to 100 degrees. Like someone mentioned use a finger to swipe out some grease. Sorry about the mess but I doubt you have any problems.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Originally posted by DJ:<br /> Admin,<br /><br />Not unusual in the 100 plus desert heat. They were probably/somewhat over-lubed. Better that (messy) than a lack of.<br /><br />Before making the trek home, lift each wheel, one at a time and give it a spin. You should NOT hear any growling.<br /><br />By the way, your tires look a little low. That is a MAJOR source of heat.

Looks like they have been curbed a time or two also. Pretty rough on them ain't you Admin? <br />Hope all is well.

 

[BF]

Re: Bearing troubles on all 4 wheels 400 miles from home

Bearing failure is usually easy to determine. The bearing housing should be warm, but not hot.<br /><br />A very good thermometer is located at the end of your arm.

Ditto. Anytime I have a trailer attached, I do a quick walk around inspection at every gas/food/drink/bathroom stop. No big deal, just walk around the trailer as I head into the shop. Touch the wheels and hubs to make sure nothing is hot to the touch (mine are usually just warm). Take a peek at the tie downs and that nothing is loose/blowing around. Usually I'm done before the kids pile out of the van. <br /><br />It's not good enough to hope you'll notice something going wrong with any piece of equipment, you have to actually look at it and think "is this right?"<br /><br />Like the time I was beat, so wifey was driving... we were chatting and I was getting comfortable. I looked over at the gauges and the temp gauge was pegged high. "PULL OVER!" Scanning the gauges doesn't help if you're not thinking about what you're looking at. Sometimes idiot lights are better.