Grease bearings

[snerdwack]

Here's another tip I learned the hard way. Those grease caps can fly off. You can guess the result. A nice repairman in Joplin, MO said to use a screw driver to make a notch in the edge of the cap.
Also, carry along extra caps and rubber boots for the cap and examine them at every fill up.

[Isaacs]

If you can do the EZ lube thing when the grease is warm from a trip on the interstate that will help it work it's way through during greasing and spinning. It also wouldn't hurt to do this on a sunny day and let the grease tubes sit in the sun.

[videoarizona]

Guys, hand packing bearings when replacing is mandatory. There isn't any way to get the grease throughout all the bearings otherwise.

I hand packed new bearings on my tandem axle 2.5 ton sailboat trailer in 2004. I've replaced one bearing since in 2014. They are still running on same bearings and same grease. I occasionally add a touch of grease to each. But nothing more.

My travel trailer is on year 3 with same bearings. I'll re-grease this coming winter. That's it.

Done properly, there is no need to continuously add grease. It doesn't go anywhere! If it does, then you need to replace the rear seal and brakes!

Now if your travels involve lots of dust and dirt... Then yes...take out bearings, inspect, replace if needed, hand pack and get back on road. Cleaned, greased bearings should last for years....

FWIW...

[RickandBecky]

Pull the rubber cap off that you see in your picture—the grease zerk is behind that. No need to remove the wheel.

[Poppyof5]

That was going to be my question. What gresse do people use. Thank you

[JFlightRisk]

We're fond of Lucas Red N Tacky grease, as is many more folks here.

[16WhiteColly]

Originally Posted by RickandBecky

Pull the rubber cap off that you see in your picture—the grease zerk is behind that. No need to remove the wheel.

My Starcraft TT came with regular steel dust caps, and no zerk fittings. Has the Dexter EZ Lube axle, but no factory installed zerks. Makes me wonder if they discourage the use of the EZ Lube option. I installed them and greased them, and then put EZ Lube caps on it.

[steve.jurnigan]

I have read all the forums and decided to throw a wrench in. I worked at a paper mill in Virginia for 37 years in maintenance. We had a precision maintenance class to help reduce the cost of rebuilding equipment. We were show how too much grease ( filling the cavity full) can raise the temperature and cause a bearing to fail. With this I would say to inspect and repack maybe 3-4 years and that depends on miles. A bearing will dry out quicker not being rotated. Cars on the road go 100,000+ miles on factory sealed bearings. EZ lube and other quick fixes are good selling points.

[RC3]

Originally Posted by Wyobartt

Thanks for the link!!

[SmokerBill]

Originally Posted by videoarizona

Guys, hand packing bearings when replacing is mandatory. There isn't any way to get the grease throughout all the bearings otherwise.

I hand packed new bearings on my tandem axle 2.5 ton sailboat trailer in 2004. I've replaced one bearing since in 2014. They are still running on same bearings and same grease. I occasionally add a touch of grease to each. But nothing more.

My travel trailer is on year 3 with same bearings. I'll re-grease this coming winter. That's it.

Done properly, there is no need to continuously add grease. It doesn't go anywhere! If it does, then you need to replace the rear seal and brakes!

Now if your travels involve lots of dust and dirt... Then yes...take out bearings, inspect, replace if needed, hand pack and get back on road. Cleaned, greased bearings should last for years....

FWIW...

Originally Posted by steve.jurnigan

I have read all the forums and decided to throw a wrench in. I worked at a paper mill in Virginia for 37 years in maintenance. We had a precision maintenance class to help reduce the cost of rebuilding equipment. We were show how too much grease ( filling the cavity full) can raise the temperature and cause a bearing to fail. With this I would say to inspect and repack maybe 3-4 years and that depends on miles. A bearing will dry out quicker not being rotated. Cars on the road go 100,000+ miles on factory sealed bearings. EZ lube and other quick fixes are good selling points.

stevejurnigan and videoarizona, I'm of the same mind as you. I go 2 to 3 years and 10 to 20 thousand miles between bearing/brake inspections and service intervals.

One tube of Mobil 1 synthetic grease is all I need to service all 4 hubs, and I never pump more grease into the EZ Lube zerk fitting.
I hand pack the bearings and smear a good glob of grease around each bearing when installing, and that's all that's needed.

Using the EZ lube, you can push contaminants (dust, grit etc) into the bearings unless you thoroughly clean the zerk each time it's used. When the hub is serviced, if done right, the grease should be clean and pristine in its sealed environment.

And combined with the possibility of contaminating the brakes with grease, whether from using improper procedure or because of a faulty/poor sealing inner seal, I think the risk causing a failure from pumping grease into the EZ lube is higher than when servicing the bearings in a clean environment and then leaving well enough alone.

After waiting 3 years to service my bearings the last time, only one bearing/race pair out of 8 showed indications of bearing failure. The red grease around the pair was slightly darkened, and upon inspection the bearing rollers displayed a small amount of pitting. Seeing that, and knowing the age of the bearings, I went ahead and purchased new bearings and races for all 4 hubs.

And at all the bearing/race pairs, the original grease was still right where I had originally put it when I serviced them three years prior. It didn't migrate away from the bearings at all.

But to each their own. Whatever helps you sleep better at night is the way to go. I just believe that when it comes to lubing trailer bearings, less is more.

[ARoamer]

Originally Posted by steve.jurnigan

Cars on the road go 100,000+ miles on factory sealed bearings. EZ lube and other quick fixes are good selling points.

I have always wondered why trailer bearings seem to be a weak point while, as steve.jurnigan stated, motor vehicles go many miles with no maintenance and no problems. Same tapered roller bearings used in both.
Is it side loading from turns? Cheaping out on component size to reduce cost? CHINA bearings?

With boat trailers being submerged, and those small tired = high rpm snowmobile / utility trailers, I can understand failures.
Only trailer bearing failure I had was on an old snowmobile trailer with 10" tires doing 70 while moving my grandparents stuff 200 miles.

I'm with SmokerBill, I'm not repacking my bearings every year.

[videoarizona]

Failures?

1. To tight. Yep...most places still don't know how to tighten bearings. Result? Failure!
2. Wrong grease. My sailboat uses waterproof blue stuff from Walmart. It works. Those bearings go in water all the time. Always use same grease every time. Doesn't matter brand.
3. To much grease blowing out rear seal allowing contaminants in. Grit and bearings don't mix.
4. Not enough grease. That's why I hand pack. Then pack cavity. I KNOW I have enough grease then.
5. Keep grease cap/bearing buddies clean.
6. Repeated highway speeds with tires inflated to low. That means...higher than normal heat. Bearings don't like heat. Grease is only good up to a certain temp! I live in Arizona...I respect heat!
7. Repeated use of brakes getting the wheels to hot. Use the trannie and tow haul mode to keep speeds reasonable. Never go up a hill faster than you want to go down! On my GMC, with cruise on, I set the speed and the trannie downshifts to try and keep the speed. We have long, steep hills.... Sometimes I'm going down at 50 mph for six or seven miles and never touch the brakes.

Most people still have no clue as to tire inflation. There is a reason tire manufacturers put a max tire pressure for max load numbers on the sidewall. It is up to you to figure out where you need to be. Me? I run max cold pressure when towing on both RV and sailboat. No tire failures...yet! I also tow at 65 mph. Tires are rated for 75. I'm good with that safety factor.

As far as to tight. I snug up the nut to seat the bearing. Rotate and snug again. Then back off until wheel is very slightly loose. IE, on the sailboat...I can grab the wheel off the ground and just barely get a wiggle out of it. That's just right. This back off 1/4 turn nonsense can still be way to tight if the gorilla cranked down on the bearing in the first place!

P.S. yes Chinese bearings are a major cause of failure...I forgot that!

Common sense stuff...

[PaulB12]

Originally Posted by videoarizona

Failures?

1. To tight. Yep...most places still don't know how to tighten bearings. Result? Failure!
2. Wrong grease. My sailboat uses waterproof blue stuff from Walmart. It works. Those bearings go in water all the time. Always use same grease every time. Doesn't matter brand.
3. To much grease blowing out rear seal allowing contaminants in. Grit and bearings don't mix.
4. Not enough grease. That's why I hand pack. Then pack cavity. I KNOW I have enough grease then.
5. Keep grease cap/bearing buddies clean.
6. Repeated highway speeds with tires inflated to low. That means...higher than normal heat. Bearings don't like heat. Grease is only good up to a certain temp! I live in Arizona...I respect heat!
7. Repeated use of brakes getting the wheels to hot. Use the trannie and tow haul mode to keep speeds reasonable. Never go up a hill faster than you want to go down! On my GMC, with cruise on, I set the speed and the trannie downshifts to try and keep the speed. We have long, steep hills.... Sometimes I'm going down at 50 mph for six or seven miles and never touch the brakes.

Most people still have no clue as to tire inflation. There is a reason tire manufacturers put a max tire pressure for max load numbers on the sidewall. It is up to you to figure out where you need to be. Me? I run max cold pressure when towing on both RV and sailboat. No tire failures...yet! I also tow at 65 mph. Tires are rated for 75. I'm good with that safety factor.

As far as to tight. I snug up the nut to seat the bearing. Rotate and snug again. Then back off until wheel is very slightly loose. IE, on the sailboat...I can grab the wheel off the ground and just barely get a wiggle out of it. That's just right. This back off 1/4 turn nonsense can still be way to tight if the gorilla cranked down on the bearing in the first place!

P.S. yes Chinese bearings are a major cause of failure...I forgot that!

Common sense stuff...

You need to add: keep balanced and rotate
PaulB12

[skids]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

We're fond of Lucas Red N Tacky grease, as is many more folks here.

It has a higher melt temperature than others.

[Cincinnati Kid]

After having 3 wheels worth of brakes ruined by grease and a lot of work and money to replace them, I will not be using the easy lube system again. I have a small, low pressure grease gun and carefully spun the wheels while filling, using Dexter recommended grease.. It still failed. Much better to disassemble, clean and hand grease the bearings. Then you have an opportunity to check your brakes and bearings at the same time.
The easy lube system puts too much pressure on the rear seals, begging for a blowout.

[videoarizona]

Yep... But geesh...! Lol

[ARoamer]

Originally Posted by videoarizona

Failures?

1. To tight. Yep...most places still don't know how to tighten bearings. Result? Failure!
2. Wrong grease. My sailboat uses waterproof blue stuff from Walmart. It works. Those bearings go in water all the time. Always use same grease every time. Doesn't matter brand.
3. To much grease blowing out rear seal allowing contaminants in. Grit and bearings don't mix.
4. Not enough grease. That's why I hand pack. Then pack cavity. I KNOW I have enough grease then.
5. Keep grease cap/bearing buddies clean.
6. Repeated highway speeds with tires inflated to low. That means...higher than normal heat. Bearings don't like heat. Grease is only good up to a certain temp! I live in Arizona...I respect heat!
7. Repeated use of brakes getting the wheels to hot. Use the trannie and tow haul mode to keep speeds reasonable. Never go up a hill faster than you want to go down! On my GMC, with cruise on, I set the speed and the trannie downshifts to try and keep the speed. We have long, steep hills.... Sometimes I'm going down at 50 mph for six or seven miles and never touch the brakes.

Most people still have no clue as to tire inflation. There is a reason tire manufacturers put a max tire pressure for max load numbers on the sidewall. It is up to you to figure out where you need to be. Me? I run max cold pressure when towing on both RV and sailboat. No tire failures...yet! I also tow at 65 mph. Tires are rated for 75. I'm good with that safety factor.

As far as to tight. I snug up the nut to seat the bearing. Rotate and snug again. Then back off until wheel is very slightly loose. IE, on the sailboat...I can grab the wheel off the ground and just barely get a wiggle out of it. That's just right. This back off 1/4 turn nonsense can still be way to tight if the gorilla cranked down on the bearing in the first place!

P.S. yes Chinese bearings are a major cause of failure...I forgot that!

Common sense stuff...

Yes, I agree with all of your comments, but my question was why auto bearings that go 100,000 + miles with NO service, are also subject to high temps, neglect, low tire pressure, even unbalanced tires..... seem to be more reliable.

[SmokerBill]

I believe that wheel bearings in cars are now mostly, if not all, sealed bearings, and not open, tapered bearings.

I remember servicing the tapered wheel bearings on my old 65 Ford.

[videoarizona]

Because auto wheel bearings are now sealed assemblies.
Sealed means no dirt, no water, no issues.

If I could do the same for my boat, just think..100,000 miles would be forever on a boat trailer!!

BTW, my 2004 GMC Yukon XL went 218,000 miles before the right front wheel bearing started making noise. Dam good truck... Best vehicle I've ever owned!

[ARoamer]

Originally Posted by videoarizona

Because auto wheel bearings are now sealed assemblies.
Sealed means no dirt, no water, no issues.

If I could do the same for my boat, just think..100,000 miles would be forever on a boat trailer!!

BTW, my 2004 GMC Yukon XL went 218,000 miles before the right front wheel bearing started making noise. Dam good truck... Best vehicle I've ever owned!

Sorry, but I can't buy into that "sealed bearing" theory, I know of a sealed bearing failure in 80K miles. (step son's LR automotive). I've rolled many miles with conventional tapered roller bearings over the years in vehicles, never repacked.