Re: Grease the bearings?
Bearing Buddies are OK but not perfect. As I read about them in many of the forums I find that people tend to over fill them. This is not good, it is normal for the grease to heat up making the hub would feel warm to the touch. Over filling the buddies will make the hubs feel hot until the grease expands and forces itself out the rear seal sometimes popping the seal out. Just pump good quality grease of the same type that is in the hub until the spring starts to move. This method still does not remove all the old grease out of the bearing as the newer grease will find the path of least resistance and leave through the rear seal making a mess on the rim and trailer brakes. Another thing I note is that a lot of folks don?t check the condition of the bearing. They keep pumping more grease into it and there is no concern about the condition of the bearing. Bearing like to be used, they don?t like to be static. When stored for long periods of time the rollers rest on the load area on the race and cause a very slight indentation and old over time, grease with impurities in it will cause this to corrode the race and rollers. You can relate this condition to a bumpy road, when one hole forms it will start another and keep getting worst (?wash board?). You must remove all grease to check the condition of the bearing. When you can see pits or imperfections change the bearing and by doing this before storing for the winter you will be able to monitor the progress of any corrosion. By the way the outer ring of the bearing (the part that contains the ?outer race? is part of the bearing package, replace all parts as a package. Don?t reuse the outer ring when replacing the rollers. Repack the bearing making sure there is grease between all of the rollers and make sure you don?t over tighten the bearings and don?t use cheap grease.
I see many travelers parked) on the side of the highway with there beautiful boats and the trailer missing one bearing hub. It is a great feeling while traveling to know with certainty that the boat will travel safely while hauling with no problems. So yes, the most important task before any trip is to know the condition of the bearings and using good quality wheel bearing grease. Check the temperature of the hub with your hand every time you stop for gas just to make sure the temperature is staying about the same.
I am an Industrial Mechanic and specialize in rotating equipment and bearings. There is lots more information on this subject, but I think this should be enough for you to have a safe journey.
