why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

[findinghomer]

doesn have a bra cap, so my wheel gets slung with grease. is bc i dont have this cover? or should it not be slinging anyway? im clueless as to how these things work, but im positive they are bearing buddy. please advise, thanx.

 

[nlain]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

Taking it as you have bearing buddies, if you put too much grease in them they will sling some out, you can also push the seal out the back of the hub with too much grease. You should only push the spring about half way then it has room to expand when the grease gets warm from running on the road. They covers will help with minor leakage, I have one that leaks a little and on some of the long trips I have taken there is a little grease that slings out. It really should not sling grease, there is a seal on the sliding part where you put the grease in, it may be bad and leaking some.

 

[Fisherball]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

Might be a blown rear seal. Where is the grease? On the back? the front? all over? People tend to put too much grease with the buddies & the pressure blows out rear seal that can spread the grease in all directions sometimes. Look closely at the back of the wheel & see if that's where it's coming from. Rear seals wear out with or without the buddies.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

i have grease on front and back. I have never put grease in them, dont even know how. Bought trailer used.

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

Sounds like you need some seals and a pair of bra caps for the bearin buddies.

 

[nlain]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

If you have grease front and back then it sounds like too much grease has been pumped in and the seals blown. You need to pull the wheels and hubs, clean and check the bearings carefully, they may be damaged, the PO may have known this and pumped full of grease to get it away from his place. I would get new seals or bearing and seal kits, they are not that expensive, some marine wheel bearing grease, pack the new bearings and the hub between the bearings, get new bearing buddies, with covers, install them and pump in some grease, enough to put some tension on the spring, not over half the travel.

Can you take some pics and post so we can see exactly what you have, we are giving advice here but not 100% sure it is totally correct, I would really hate to take you in the wrong direction, I don't think I have so far just would like to be sure

 

[findinghomer]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

Can you take some pics and post so we can see exactly what you have, we are giving advice here but not 100% sure it is totally correct, I would really hate to take you in the wrong direction, I don't think I have so far just would like to be sure

yes i will take pics this afternoon. ive never serviced an axle so i dont know how to take a hub off, to get to the bearings. but i can do it with the right direction. i really appreciate it, and will have pics tonight. im goin on a 4 hour trip end of july and though i haven had any issues, i know something is not right with my axles so want to get it serviced.

 

[nlain]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

Here is a link to some videos that will help you understand how things are put together on trailer axles. On the left side of the screen there are some menu boxes, if you scroll down to the "Contact and Help" box, click on the "Help Videos and Articles" link, you will find a lot more helpful information.

http://www.etrailer.com/tvc-45-Bearings-Races-and-Seals.html

 

[findinghomer]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

ok thanx alot. goin to check that out now. also how do i know exactly what rebuild parts i need ?

 

[nlain]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

There are several different bearing and seal combinations, some have the same size bearings on both inner and outer, usually smaller axles, the rest have a smaller bearing on the outer and a larger bearing for the inner next to the seal. The best way to get the right parts is to pull one down and check the sizes, take them to a parts store, auto or trailer parts store should be able to get what you need. If you new exactly what axle you had you could probably buy in advance but since you don't this is the best way. This will also let you check the hubs as well.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

 

[nlain]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

The seal is definitely still in the back of the hub, does look like it has leaked some, the bearing buddy looks like the worst of it, I can see the spring and it is not compressed, looks like plenty of room for expansion, I say get new bearing buddies and covers, pull the hubs, clean and check the bearings, replace the seals in the hubs and any bearings that may need changing.

 

[findinghomer]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

the bearing buddy looks like the worst of it, I can see the spring and it is not compressed, looks like plenty of room for expansion

so what exactly does that mean, is the spring supposed to be compressed?

 

[jusfloatin]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

yes i will take pics this afternoon. ive never serviced an axle so i dont know how to take a hub off, to get to the bearings. but i can do it with the right direction. i really appreciate it, and will have pics tonight. im goin on a 4 hour trip end of july and though i haven had any issues, i know something is not right with my axles so want to get it serviced.

It is a simple job to clean and even to repack them, the only worry you should have is when it comes to how much to tighten the axel nut which is a very important point. Very Very important.

Being this is a used trailer and you do not know when they were serviced or if the bearing buddies were just put on and then pumped full of grease.
You also do not know what to look for in what a good bearing is and what is not. There are good quality built bearings and yes even poor quality built bearings and again you do not know which is which.

Do not waist your time playing with what you have at the present time.
Complete quality built kits are about $25.00 a side which comes with all you need some kits even include gloves to keep your hand clean.
Just take one of your hubs off and get the bearing number on it and that's all you need.


Personally take the bearing buddies off and throw them away, put OEM caps on them and check them before any trip. Just as you check the tire pressure before you leave town, remember you are submerging the axel and leaving it sit underwater while you off loading or loading the boat.

If you are not comfortable with checking bearings for contamination switch over to a oil system where all you have to do is look into the site glass to tell if water got in.

There is a great deal of satisfaction of doing a job youself but being this would be your first try and intending on going on a 4 hour trip. That is a long time to be driving and wondering if you did everything correct which you probably did but that does not mean you wouldn't be thinking did I.

For that reason take it too a reputable shop and have them do it. It should be no more than a hour shop time (75.00 hour) and 25 bucks a side. Best $125.00 you will spend.

 

[Fisherball]

Re: why does grease leake out of my bearing buddy?

Use the search function for this forum or 1 of the repair forums. There is at least 1 step by step with pix on how to do this. There might even be 1 with a video of it. Good luck.