Trailer hub replacement

[phatdaddy]

blue, i have 2 trailers with the "accu-lube" system. basically a zerk fitting on the end of the spindle with a passage way to the back of the spindle that delivers the grease between the inner bearing & rear seal. they work great. both trailers over 10 years old and no problems. once a year i pump a fresh tube of grease in. i change colors of grease so i know when the old is out and the new is in.

[reelapeelin]

Like Destroyer, I had bad experience w/Tie Down brakes AND actuator...very little customer service and that came w/attitude...

BUT my bigger concern is, does that kit come w/Chinese made bearings or American made bearings...if Chinese there are lots of roadside stories to go along w/those...they simply are not the quality of Timken and other American made bearings...you will pay more for them, but how often have you changed bearings?...if like me, not much, so while yer in there, use the best you can find.

THE OTHER question is what GREASE are those kits pregreased with??...is it a MARINE GRADE lubricant? All grease formulas are not alike nor are they compatible when mixed inside your hub...for instance, if they come w/a typical automotive grade pregrease and you later pump marine grade in there, you could be creating a problem for yourself...

The best way to size the bearings you need is to jack 'er up and get the numbers off the ones that are already in there...

[macojoe]

I love the greasing system you have and thats all I would buy again! Being a tandem I am betting you have a tapered shaft and it will be like 1 1/16 out side and 1 3/8 inside, just take them off and take with you to the store they will tell you. Why are you changing the hubs?? 99% of the time all you need are the bearings and seals. Much Much cheaper! Good Idea to have a spare hub incase. also anti seize the lug nuts so they don't rust on! after 5 years is the salt mine just spun right off!

[Blue_Runner]

A couple reasons for changing the hubs. I got the trailer with working drum brakes. Well, they died pretty quickly and I disabled them but want to get rid of the two hubs with the big azz rusty drums on them.

Secondly, after beating bearing buddies and dust caps on/off over the years I believe the hubs may be damaged to the point they don't seal as well? And third, I was thinking galvanized hubs would be better.

My thinking is, if I'm gonna replace two hubs I might as well replace all 4 at the same time.

Great info - thanks guys.

p.s. Destroyer I believe my bearing buddies popped off cause 1) I over packed the grease and 2) there was grease on the edges when I put them in. Still, I'm not a huge fan of buddies....but they are certainly better than nothing at all.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

My thinking is, if I'm gonna replace two hubs I might as well replace all 4 at the same time.

Great info - thanks guys.

p.s. Destroyer I believe my bearing buddies popped off cause 1) I over packed the grease and 2) there was grease on the edges when I put them in. Still, I'm not a huge fan of buddies....but they are certainly better than nothing at all.

Hmmmm... but there's a greese/pressure relief hole in the buddies... it's impossible to overpack/overpressurize them because the greese will just ooze out of the hole. In fact, that's why they make the bearing bra for them, (so the ooze is captured by the bra and doesn't cover your wheels.)
Now, if your spindles are damaged, that's another story entirely and it's very possible they came off because of that. I agree with you that if you're gonna replace two it's only smart to do all four... and like everyone else said, I'm of the opinion you'll find you have two different size bearings on each wheel. Take off a hub, remove the bearings and take down the numbers... then do like Reelapeelin said and go buy some quality Timken (American) or German (FAG) or Swedish (SKF) made bearings. (Or take the bearings to your local bearing house and let them size them up for you). Remember that your entire boat, trailer and days outing are riding on these 8 little bearings spinning around at hundreds of times a minute. You want nothing but the best down there...

[macojoe]

get the super lube caps for loadrite trailers, they go on and have a rubber cap in the center just pop it off grease the zerk and put the rubber back in, no more removal of the caps!!

http://www.easternmarine.com/superlu...dust-cap-81168

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by macojoe

get the super lube caps for loadrite trailers, they go on and have a rubber cap in the center just pop it off grease the zerk and put the rubber back in, no more removal of the caps!!

http://www.easternmarine.com/superlu...dust-cap-81168

X2 Totally forgot about them. I actually have them on one of my single axle trailers, and they work great... no more pounding the dust cap on or off... love them.

[RidgeRunner]

Tie Downs brake parts are annoying at best, but their posi-lube spindles and hubs are nice. They have galvanized hubs also. Just be careful buying hubs from other manufacturers, the offset of the seal can be too far outboard so as to actually make the little grease hole in the spindle outside of the confines of where the seal rides. IN other words, when you think you are greasing the bearings through the zerk fitting on the end of the axle, you really just have a large blob of grease around the hole and just inboard of where the seal rides.(messy) Ask me how I know.. I would go all in on your bearings being two sizes. (1 1/16 outer and 1 3/8 inner) Last four trailers I owned had the same, never know til you look though.

[Blue_Runner]

I ordered 4 stainless posi-lube dust caps online. I will regrease and install the caps now then take all 4 apart, replace rear hub seals, repack bearing and re-install this winter. I apreciate the help and tend to agree the hubs, bearings, races are probably all in good shape but will inspect and repack after fishing season. I feel dumb b/c didn't know what the posi-lube system was until recently!

[Blue_Runner]

Update - I got the 4 new posi-lube grease caps in stainless. I started work Saturday, jacked up one of the wheels with the rusty brake drum and immediately upon turning it by hand I knew I was gonna have to do something more than just regrease and put a new grease cap on. It made an aweful screetching sound when turning, so I looked for a minute and realized I could remove the inner part of the drum brake assembly and leave the outer drum as it is part of the hub itself. This meant I needed to pull the hub to access the 4 bolts that bolt the drum brake to the square flange on the axle. No problem right? Bolts were stubborn and a little hard to access - that is putting it lightly. Took about 2 hours to get those 4 bolts off! But when I did, that whole rusty concoction is now forever gone. Some metal had rusted off inside there and was free floating around inside the drum - accident waiting to happen. On the rear wheels all I had to do was pop off the grease cap, shoot new grease in/old grease out, install the posi-lub caps and done. To get the new grease in/old grease out you need to jack up the wheel and turn by hand while shooting grease. This helps to get as much old out and new in. Lots of shop rags (old t-shirts) were in order for this. Oh, and a fan cuz it was hot.

So, I have 3 done and one to go - the other side with the brake assembly. It will probably take a couple hours. Starting this evening....wish me luck! Gonna be nice to get this marked off the list. Next up is a new VHF b/c mine is starting to flake.