Re: Hub seal question
This is my sad story
Ill try to make it short.
We have a 2002 pontoon trailer it has dual torsion axles made by reliable especially for this trailer the boat is 6" wider than standard. We also had them add brakes because we used to tow with our mini van which was rated for 3500lbs towing the boat +trailer +engine comes to about 2800lbs. so dont worry about that part.
We didnt take the boat out for about 2yrs, I had to work weekends. The trailer was lubed by the marina the last time so I have no idea what grease they put in it, it came out worm brown so Im guessing it was red.
This year we were able to take the boat out so when I was getting supplies for the outboard they recommended the OMC trailer bearing grease, it does say this on their website> Your outboard isn't the only thing that requires adequate lubrication. Extreme Pressure WHEEL-BEARING GREASE is designed specifically for boat trailer wheel bearings, heavily loaded bearings and areas where water exists. It provides excellent protection in severe conditions - it won't thin down and run out of bearings, and won't wash out in fresh or salt water.
So I pumped a complete exchange through each hub about 3/4 of a large tube or over 100 pumps. Checked the brakes acording to the manual for the surge brakes. The manual also said that you only had to exchange the grease not remove and repack.
It also has loadstar 90psi tires on it, I had written in the book that the trailer manufacturer said 85 they actually had 88psi, I am also not sure where the psi should be but the trailer place where I got the bearings said 90psi.
We went out the first time the hubs were varying in temp but not too hot to touch, also we had changed tow rigs and the truck was actually towing lower than the van at hitch height so we had to make an adjustment to that before the next time out. This trailer is heavy at the tongue the van handled it better than my big Silverado.
We went out again same variations in hub temps but not too hot.
The third time on the way back from the marina one of the front hubs (a warmer one) was blistering hot and boiling out grease out the weep hole in the back of the axle, the tire was smoking (good thing they werent carlisle)
It was dark and come to find out no jack for the trailer made it onto the truck. So we waited about 2hrs and started the 8miles home going about 20mph. We stopped at about 2 miles and the hubs were still cold so we kept going at 20mph till we were about 2 miles from home thy were still cold, I was curious to see if they would heat up again if we went 40 they got a little warm again.
When we started tearing into thing we found the wheel to drag but not crunchy or noisy we didnt mess with the brakes then because the hub seal was probably blown from the boiling grease.
Pulled the hubs off found the bearings fully in tact rolling but teribly pitted from rust, the cups had marks in them like the bearings slid then stopped but not scored like they were drug through the cups. The seal had blown.
The brakes looked ok Im not a brake person so its going to be hit and miss on that, one compared to the other it looks similar. Wont know until we get the hubs back together. They are hydraulic drum brakes.
After all this I still dont know if it was the brakes or the bearings. The bearings were pitted though and would have needed replacement anyway.
A far as the sure lube system, can we trust it for overwintering if we do a complete grease exchange at the end of the season? If so when do you decide to go in to check bearings?
Also the trailer dealer said we can use a 50psi tire as a spare, it is the same manufacturer just not as many plies as the 90psi we have now. Im trying to track down the correct tire locally and having no luck, ill order it but have to wait 3wks or so for it.
Well if youve gotten this far thanks for reading my novel, any words of wisdom are appreciated.
Marcie
