Bearing grease zerks?

[kfa4303]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Thanks again y'all. I think it may be a surface/seal issue too. I was able to install one of the newly rebuilt assemblies on one side and pump it full of grease until it oozed out of the front, around the castle nut and washers without any grease coming out of the backside seal. That's what is supposed to happen, right? However, when I pumped up the other side, which was the one that originally failed, I kept pumping and pumping until I noticed grease coming out of one spot around the rear seal. I didn't really pump a whole tube of grease into each, I just went through 3 tubes, but a lot of that was used to make a mess I guess, I'm gonna try to tack down a "speedy sleeve", or something similar unless there is another/better way to try to install the hub that may fix the leak? Thanks again.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Ok. Still trying to figure out where a whole tube of grease went, however........ Unless it's possible to get it all in the hub. That's a lot of grease....

The hubs normally hold about a 1/4 of a standard tube of grease and it takes about another 1/4 tube to flush out the old grease in normal use.

I believe the OP is using one of the mini grease guns and if I remember right those are about a 1/4 of a standard tube. I get the standard size tubes because I have 3 auto parts place with in walking distance. One tube is enough to flush out both hubs. Next time I flush my hubs I should make a video of it.

In case some reading don't understand how this system works I will explain a bit in detail. The grease zerk is in the center of the spindle and when you pump in grease it goes through the spindle to the back of the hub and comes out in between the seal and the back bearings and as you keep pumping it forces the grease through the back bearing and into the cavity between the bearings and out through the front bearing, and because it is still assembled the grease is forced between the rollers so it is more or less the same as hand pacing each but with out the extra labor and mess of take it apart. I will agree that hand packing is the best method but with this system unless you have a seal leaking it simply isn't necessary.

My method is to flush them out twice a year, once in mid season and once at the end of the season and its mostly to look and see if their is any water contamination. I also jack up the wheel to see if their is any excessive slack in the bearings.

 

[Wind dog]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

I suspected it was on that side because it had been leaking water in and grease out before and may of caused the frailer in the first place.

A speedi sleeve is a repair kit for a damaged seal surface it has 2 parts, a sleeve that goes over the seal fit area to give a the new seal a smooth area to ride and seal on and the installing tool

A bad seal surface if what causes most frailer`s in the first place. It eats the seal rubber away with use.



http://www.vsm.skf.com/en-US/HeavyDuty/KitsAndTools/SpeediSleeve.aspx

2 Oakie engineering tricks that may help,(in a pinch) take fine sand paper & clean up the groove where the lip rides (If the groove is to deep this won't work & you'll need the speedie sleeve) Allso don't install the new seal all the way (leave a little sticking out beyond the hub) this will relocate the seal lip away from the groove. (If you try this make sure to check after you install the hub that the seal has clearence & isn't up against the spindle.)
Of corrse fixing it right is allways the better option, these are just quick fixes to get you out of a spot.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Thanks again. Yeah, I'm using "mini tubes" of grease, sorry I just went to the trailer store and got a "spindle sleeve kit" which the guy said would do the same thing as the "speedi sleeve" kit. Of course, when I got home I found this link:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=515460

I have the same product, and it seems like it should work (jinx), but apparently the poster had some problems :/ I guess I'll give it a go and report back. I sure hope this works. This is kind of a PITA, and messy too :/ Thanks again for the tips.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Thanks again. Yeah, I'm using "mini tubes" of grease, sorry

Ah, now that makes a lot more sense. When I hear tubes of grease, I think of the much larger ones which are more common. Forgot about those little guys. Hope your new found fix works. Good luck!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

As long as it works that's all that matters, their is all ways more than one way to do things. Yea messing with hubs is a mess but once you get this sorted out it wont be bad.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Eureka! Got it. So I went out, jacked up the trailer, tapped off the Bearing Buddy and pumped in a bit of grease and sure enough it came out of the rear seal. I then removed the castle nut, washers and slid off the wheel to inspect it at which point I noticed that the rear seal wasn't quite seated fully. It couldn't be that simple, could it? I decided to give it a shot before I started ripping into everything. I then tapped the seal flush with the back of the hub, carefully this time, and remounted the hub, reinstalled the outer bearing, along with the washers and castle nut. I then pumped some fresh grease into the hub. I went slowly, and kept spinning the wheel and inspecting the backside as I went. This time, no leak! I kept pumping until it finally oozed out the front around the grease zerk, rather than the back, just like the other side I then spun the wheel a few more times and let it sit while I cleaned everything. I went back and checked everything over and it was still leak free. All seems well at this point. Best of all, I can go return the spindle sleeve gizmo, which probably would've worked, but was the wrong size any way. The trailer has never been better. It now has a new bow strap rather than the fraying old rope, new lights atop new guide-ons, new SS tilt/pivot bolt, new longer bunks (hardware & carpet) that extend a few inches beyond the transoms rather than a foot short like it used to, along with new inner/outer bearings, races, bearing buddies and new rubber buddy caps on both sides. I still need tires, but that's no biggie and I'll leave that one to the pros. Paint would be nice too I suppose, but I'm gonna keep it rat rod a bit longer. I think I'm done fiddling with trailers for a while Many thanks to one and all.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

My pleasure to be of help. It sounds like your trailer is in good shape now. I did the same thing with mine last year went over ever thing including new rubber and I had planned on painting it this summer but a torn muscle in my shoulder put it on hold till net year.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Paint is the one thing I just do not have the patients for. Maybe over the winter when there's not much else to do, I'll give it the old rattle can special, or something. The one good thing to come from all of this, is that I picked up a sweet like-new folding, white vinyl seat for FREE! while I was helping a buddy move some stuff the other day (Karmic duty when you have a pick up truck and all). I used it to replace my old, $10, grey plastic K-mart special. I saw one today at West Marine brand new for $50. Once I got it home, I bolted on the swivel base slid it into place and Voila! Now I not only have a nice comfy cooler/seat for myself, but my passenger now has a nice squishy seat and cooler of their own. They all match and everything. The ol' tin boat is gettin' down right luxurious! Movin' up in the world with the help of iboats Thanks again.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

Great job Karl. You were sure due some good luck. I'd say your knowledge has increased exponentially as a result of this project.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

... I noticed that the rear seal wasn't quite seated fully...

It's those little details that get you every time!

Great job Karl. You were sure due some good luck. I'd say your knowledge has increased exponentially as a result of this project.

+1 Good Job.
Persistence pays off!
And by learning from your mistakes you now know 2 way how NOT to install the seals!

You now qualify as an expert in trailer bearings!
Don't be afraid to assist the next guy who comes here looking for advice.

 

[Willyclay]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

It couldn't be that simple, could it?

Attaboy, I love these kind of end results!

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Bearing grease zerks?

It was a bit of a PITA, but mostly because I had to drive around and gather all the bits, but I'm glad I did it. I found a great shop too, so now I know where to go to get anything for my trailer. I learned a lot, and now that I sorta know what I'm doing it should be a lot quicker, cheaper, easier next time. It's amazing how tricky it is to get wheel to spin smoothly. No wonder it took 5,000 years to get it right! Bearings are amazing little bits of engineering. I can't wait to drag the boat to the beach this weekend and give it a dunk. Thanks again!