Trailer Bearings and Buddie ?

[mthunter]

A month ago I bought a new (2001 carryover) shorelander trailer. A week ago I noticed wheel grease coming out the front of the stainless steel bearing buddie on one side and that the hub on that side was warmer than the other side. I figured it was due to the lost grease. I replaced the bearing buddie this morning and refilled with grease. Took kids tubing and when we got home there was grease coming out the front of the new one too and the hub was warmer then the other side again. Do I have water in my hub? any other ideas?

When putting grease into a bearing buddie should you stop when the spring starts to move or when grease starts oozing out the front, or vent hole depending on brand.

Also, how warm is too warm for your trailer hubs?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[This message has been edited by mthunter (edited 06-21-2003).]

[This message has been edited by mthunter (edited 06-21-2003).]

[upnorth]

mthunter, warm is fine, if you can keep your hand on it you aren't gonna damage any metal such as bearings. My guess about the heat is the bearings were tightened tighter on the side that is getting warm.

I normally fill mine until the spring collapses and it starts to ooze a little. A little oozing is not a bad thing. The way these things work is the pressure from the sping slowly pushes grease through the hub and through the seal to slowly replace the grease in the hub, and push out water.

In other words you should be OK

[mthunter]

Thanks upnorth, but the way you describe it sounds like the grease should be pushing through the hub and oozing out the back, correct. The oozing I am experiencing is out the front of the buddie on both the old and new one, am I still fine?

[Norsky]

My wheels are usually full of grease also, bearings are in great shape though, the hubs are always just warm to the touch after trailering the boat. I'm sick of cleaning up the mess all the time, so I'm looking into the new liquid lubication bearing system that many of the pros are using.

[upnorth]

Those things only fit so tight and there is a little room for oozing. If you can, check to see if there is some coming out of the back seals.

To really qualify this, where exactly is it that you are seeing grease? Is it where the plate and the spring are in the bearing buddy? It should be OK to see some oozing there, but if it is where the Buddy presses into the hub you may have a problem with the hub. Even then, if you are getting some grease out the seals in the back you would be OK.

[Dave]

After lubing, I always have grease ozzes out between the plates/spring. Yup, the wheels begome messy too after a road trip. Some "bearing buddies" (other makes) have a plastic cap that prevents the grease from spinning out all over the wheel. I've heard using "caps" holds water inside thou. Something to think about in order to keep your wheels cleaner.

[mthunter]

Upnorth, the grease is oozing out from the edges of the buddy piston. This has always happened when first greasing a hub but I would wipe it off and that would be the end of it. I have never had a buddy leak out the edges of the piston after the initial filling. I also dont have grease coming out the back on either side.

Dave, I use the buddy bras so grease on the wheels isn't a problem. They will occasionally hold some water but I just take them off and remove any water after evey trip. Beats wiping grease off the wheels and boat.

I am probably alittle over paranoid about his from my "ESCORT TRAILER FROM HELL" incident back in May, But that is another story.

Mike

[Chris Haley]

When using the caps, clean the buddy with a rag real well. When putting the cap on, press the center of the cap in so that it creates a suction when the cap is on. I have yet to find water in my caps after five years of use. The important thing is clean the outside of the buddy well and create the suction when putting it on though.

[mthunter]

A quick clarification.

The oozing that that I am worried about takes place while trailering not while greasing the hubs.

Mike

[This message has been edited by mthunter (edited 06-23-2003).]

[Guest]

I have absolutely no oozing on mine. I have the caps and water does not get inside (trapped) the piston area. I love them because before these I had lots of oozing problems.

Is your bearing buddy the proper size or properly fit inside the hub? Those suckers are tight and really need to be finessed in for a proper seal.

If I recall correctly, I thought there is an overflow hole on the side of bearing buddy to prevent overfilling and blowing the back seal off. The caps on the ends of the buddy will cover the hole(?).

[upnorth]

This is only something to look at, but is there a chance the piston that the spring sits on is in a little crooked?

One thing to try is swapping the buddies from side to side.

You really don't need that much grease to keep the bearings working well, the buddy system just keeps fresh grease moving through the bearings, and moves the water out too.

I remember the day when twice a year you pulled the hubs off and removed the old grease and repacked the bearings. Never had a problem as long as you did it twice a year. So I still pull mine off every spring and clean and repack the bearings(old habits die hard) even tho I have buddies on my trailer.

[aspen]

I had what sounds like the same problems with a bearing buddy on my Shorelander. It turns out the bearing buddy wasn't sitting square due to the coter pin on the axle not being bent around tight enough and slightly touching the bearing buddy cap. May be worth a look.