bearing buddy keeps popping off

[bruceb58]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

No way its the grease pressure. Grease would come squirting out the pressure relief on the BB itself or out the rear seals before it popped off the BB.

As far as greasing the bearings once a month, you usually never have to add grease to these unless you are losing it somewhere.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

Glastron trailer, good shape, had rubber plugs until i put on buddies last year.

exactly what sort of rubber plugs are you talking about, like one in the center of the existing cap with a grease Zerk behind it in the center of the axle

like this one



if you have the Dexter safety lube hubs and have removed it to go to bearing Buddy's thats a huge step back wards

 

[j.a.g]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

I had this same problem after installing new bearings. My problem was that I didn't have the hub on tight enough and it was enough to wobble the tire and the BB would fall off. I now know to take the trailer on a test drive up the street and then jack it up and check to make sure the but it tight enough but not too tight that the tire is restricted from spinning.

 

[lncoop]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

exactly what sort of rubber plugs are you talking about, like one in the center of the existing cap with a grease Zerk behind it in the center of the axle

like this one

View attachment 135087


if you have the Dexter safety lube hubs and have removed it to go to bearing Buddy's thats a huge step back wards

Hawker, I missed that before. Scooper, are there zerks on the ends of the spindles?

 

[scooper77515]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

No zerks under the rubber caps. None on end of spindle. Just the nut and washer. The only zerk is in the bearing buddy.

It appeared that you just pulled the rubbler cap off, packed grease into it, and put the cap back on. It was a large rubber cap, about the diameter of your typical metal domed cap. It sorta needed to be put in like a C-clamp, started on one side and pressed on opposite sides sliding around the top until the entire cap was snapped into place.

Never seen one like that, so I popped them off and drove in bearing buddies, which I have much more experience and trust in.

 

[bigdee]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

I am willing to bet it is right after you get done greasing them. The pressure of the grease is pushing the bearing buddy back. Try to add a little less grease. I only grease my bearings once a month (depending on the distance travelled) but try to let the BB sit overnight before taking her down the road and check to make sure they are seated. I am willing to bet your BB will have slid out a little because of the pressure of the grease inside.

BINGO... based from my own experiences with building trailers,you are correct. If overfilled with grease the hub will quickly heat up before the heat can be equally distributed to the BB....the combination of pressure (grease expands as it heats up) and the differential in temperature between the hub and BB will cause the hub to expand quicker than the BB. Sometimes you can get a hub with a ill fitting clearance and in that case lok-tite will usually work.

 

[lncoop]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

No zerks under the rubber caps. None on end of spindle. Just the nut and washer. The only zerk is in the bearing buddy.

It appeared that you just pulled the rubbler cap off, packed grease into it, and put the cap back on. It was a large rubber cap, about the diameter of your typical metal domed cap. It sorta needed to be put in like a C-clamp, started on one side and pressed on opposite sides sliding around the top until the entire cap was snapped into place.

Never seen one like that, so I popped them off and drove in bearing buddies, which I have much more experience and trust in.

Hmmmmmm. That sure sounds like the dust caps they put on the EZ Lube spindles. Are you absotively 100 percent positive there's not a little zerk in there that's obscured by grease? Not doubting you Scooper. It just seems odd someone would use those on anything else. Then again, it certainly wouldn't be the first time someone did something odd to a trailer.:facepalm:

 

[Chas0218]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

BINGO... based from my own experiences with building trailers,you are correct. If overfilled with grease the hub will quickly heat up before the heat can be equally distributed to the BB....the combination of pressure (grease expands as it heats up) and the differential in temperature between the hub and BB will cause the hub to expand quicker than the BB. Sometimes you can get a hub with a ill fitting clearance and in that case lok-tite will usually work.

I have in the past used loc-tite on the bearing buddy...Make sure and clean it up with some break clean on a rag in order to get a clean surface.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

I just hadnt heard of any thing with a rubber cap except a Dexter or EZ Lube cap so I thought I would ask. The only other thing I have heard of is a set of after market hubs that grease from the back of the hub itself that has a rubber plug on the cap like these. Do you have a zerk fitting on the back of the hub by chance.

Dont know if you have seen these incoop, thier a real slick mod to improve repacking hubs with out changing axles



http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200466888_200466888

 

[bruceb58]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

BINGO... based from my own experiences with building trailers,you are correct. If overfilled with grease the hub will quickly heat up before the heat can be equally distributed to the BB....the combination of pressure (grease expands as it heats up) and the differential in temperature between the hub and BB will cause the hub to expand quicker than the BB. Sometimes you can get a hub with a ill fitting clearance and in that case lok-tite will usually work.

Maybe its the way you wrote this but sounds like you are saying the hub will heat up faster if overfilled with grease? Please explain how too much grease causes the hub to heat up faster?

I do agree its a hub/BB tolerance issue and not just a grease pressure issue. In my case, I fill by BBs up exactly as I always did and the change of hubs solved my issue.

 

[bigdee]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

Maybe its the way you wrote this but sounds like you are saying the hub will heat up faster if overfilled with grease? Please explain how too much grease causes the hub to heat up faster?

I do agree its a hub/BB tolerance issue and not just a grease pressure issue. In my case, I fill by BBs up exactly as I always did and the change of hubs solved my issue.

If hub cavity is full of grease it will not have room to expand which will cause preload on bearings which will create excess heat. The hub will heat more rapidly then the BB thus creating a dimensional difference between the two.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

MH Hawker, that is pretty much what it looked like. I never looked behind the hub to see if there was a zerk there.

I will have to check that in a couple minutes...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

If hub cavity is full of grease it will not have room to expand which will cause preload on bearings which will create excess heat. The hub will heat more rapidly then the BB thus creating a dimensional difference between the two.

According to the Bearing Buddy website, it is instructed to have the hub cavity filled with grease.
http://www.bearingbuddy.com/installation.html

"IMPORTANT: As you reassemble the components, fill the hubs completely with a high quality, multipurpose, no.2 grade lubricant (e.g., the type used for automotive suspensions). Don't use heavy, fibrous greases; don't mix grease types."

The grease does have room to expand. That is what the spring and the piston in the BB compensates for.

Again, according to the website:

The Bearing Buddy? system maintains a constant pressure of 3 p.s.i. on the grease inside the hub.

This link states what BB says can cause a BB to fall off:
http://www.bearingbuddy.com/faqs.htm#2
Says nothing about overfilling with grease!

 

[bigdee]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

according to the bearing buddy website, it is instructed to have the hub cavity filled with grease.
http://www.bearingbuddy.com/installation.html


the grease does have room to expand. That is what the spring and the piston in the bb compensates for.


Says nothing about overfilling with grease!

not if you overfill them to the point that the spring bottoms out!!!

 

[scooper77515]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

I don't have a zerk behind the hub, either. Just checked.

There is no zerk inside...I took the bearings out, cleaned them, inspected them, and reassembled them. Re-lubed, added bearing buddies, been boating ever since.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

not if you overfill them to the point that the spring bottoms out!!!

Actually, pretty close to impossible for that to happen. One of two things will happen, the relief port will open up on the front of the bearing buddy or the rear seals will blow out.

I still want to know why you think having the hub full of grease is going to increase temperatures considerably. One stop of the trailer brakes will add 100 times more energy to the hub than any rolling resistance of the bearings will.

 

[bigdee]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

Actually, pretty close to impossible for that to happen. One of two things will happen, the relief port will open up on the front of the bearing buddy or the rear seals will blow out.

I still want to know why you think having the hub full of grease is going to increase temperatures considerably. One stop of the trailer brakes will add 100 times more energy to the hub than any rolling resistance of the bearings will.

From past BB experience and industrial engineering believe me, it will. I have seen over greased tapered bearings completely sieze before. Yes BB has a relief vent but what would cause grease to purge out of this or blow the seal....yes pressure. What does pressure create....yes heat. What does heat do to metal...yes expand. The hub will heat up faster then the BB can soak up the heat and there will be pressure until it overcomes the vent. True the pressure should not be great enough to push off the BB but when combined with the dimensional change it is possible.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

The most pressure that the BB will ever have inside is going to be around 3 PSI. Not much pressure and definitely not enough to cause an increase in temperature. On the other hand, the temperature rise from brakes can be hundreds of degrees if braking is severe enough. You really think overgreasing is at all significant?

I willing to bet there hasn't been one trailer EVER that has had a bearing failure from overgreased bearings! The speed that a trailer bearing rotates is incredibly slow compared to most bearing applications.

I am going to ask my ME friend who does product liability investigations if he has ever heard of such a thing.

 

[bigdee]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

The most pressure that the BB will ever have inside is going to be around 3 PSI. Not much pressure and definitely not enough to cause an increase in temperature. On the other hand, the temperature rise from brakes can be hundreds of degrees if braking is severe enough. You really think overgreasing is at all significant?

I willing to bet there hasn't been one trailer EVER that has had a bearing failure from overgreased bearings! The speed that a trailer bearing rotates is incredibly slow compared to most bearing applications.

I am going to ask my ME friend who does product liability investigations if he has ever heard of such a thing.

Bless your heart Bruce, you have an inquisitive mind with a lot of questions. You remind me of an old classmate that was relentlessly throwing questions back at the professor.....I will never forget the professor's final answer, AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
No offense Bruce, just funning

 

[bruceb58]

Re: bearing buddy keeps popping off

Funny, I was thinking the same exact thing about you on another thread as well as this one...no offense though!

OK guys.....I apologize for getting too obsessive.....I'll shut up