? about trailer hubs with zerk fittings

[TTfromBlaine]

I was at Cabela's yesterday and saw trailer hubs with a zerk fitting over the inner bearing. to me it seemed like a good idea since even with bearing buddies you dont get any grease to the inner bearing, Does anybody have any experince with these types of trailer hubs?? and what do you think of them??

Tommy from Blaine.

[chris63]

Im not positive but I think they may be "oil bath"or wet hubs.They have oil instead of grease.c63 Bearing buddies are ok but nothing takes the place of preventative maintenence.Removal and repack is yearly!c63

[TTfromBlaine]

Nope these were not oil bath, the hubs already had the bearings pre-packed which I've seen before.

[delmuts]

i'm not sure about the new ones, but , my older ranger had the zerks on the center of the hub. you pumped grease into it . the grease would flow throu the center of the hub to the back and get pushed out around the outside of the bearing. you put enough grease in so you had fresh coming out , wipe it off , and you were good to go. del

[luckyc]

I've done this on my hubs, drill a hole into center ( make sure no metal shaving go inside)and put in a tap-in zerk. Then I pull off the dust cap and pump in waterproof grease until it comes out the outer bearing. Then tap on the dust cap and you are ready to go. The reason to remove dust cap is to make sure you don't get pressue build up inside, you'll pop a seal or the dust cap when your on the road.

[TTfromBlaine]

Well I got my hubs off my shore-lander trailer tonite and I thought I had bearing buddies but see its just a zerk in the end of the spindle but the grease passage comes out right in front of the inner bearing. I noticed the grease is contaminated probably from the leaking inner seal, but I have a funky rubber plug that covers up the zerk and the axel nut and it doesnt seem possible to be water proof by itself. does anybody have this set up ??? and what have you done to make it better??? I've considered plain dust caps.

any help would be appreaciated, Thanks

TOMMY T in Blaine..

[cold one sd]

My guess is that you have what is called E Z Lube hubs or another brand like them. I have them on my camper, ATV trailer and ice house. I don't think I have ever seen them on a boat trailer.

[theoilman]

Bearing Buddy (the brand name) and a number of other brands are designed to full pack the hub and grease both inner and outer bearings. In my opinion the bearing buddy brand are probably the best for boat trailers. However if when you do your full tear-down inspection (recommended annually with most greases) you need to pre-pack and pre-fill the hub as full as reasonable. With a bearing buddy the grease pumps through the outer bearing then fills and goes through the center hub area and then fills the inner bearing all the way to the seal. The piston in the center needs to be able to move freely in its 'cylinder' (the outer cover). Pump it only until it is about 1/3 of the way out - do not pump it all the way out. The spring pressure is designed to keep the grease full with a light pressure against the seal. If you pump it too full you may be forcing excess grease past the seal or worse may cause the bearing buddy to come off while driving.

The other popular type with a grease fitting in the center of the spindle that has a cap with a pop off rubber dust cover - the spindle is drilled so the grease comes out in the center hub area and goes both ways to both bearings. With this type you normally grease until a small (very small) amount of grease starts coming through the outer bearing. Be sure to replace the dust cap. This type of unit has no feature to maintain any pressure to keep water out.

I do not recommend a full fill grease system on utility trailers. A full fill system will run hotter hub temperatures than a normal bearing packing will. In normal driving (towing) the grease will heat up and expand. (Thats why with a bearing buddy you should never pump the piston all the way out.)

I have more information posted on my site in a Lube Tip: go to my site, link below, the Lube Tip links are on that page and go to the one on boat trailer wheel bearings.

[TTfromBlaine]

Thanks Oilman, I tried to pump grease into the hub thru the zerk but it kept coming out thru the cotter pin hole. I didnt totally fill the hub manually but did load some in there. I now have 2 questions, if I install bearing buddies will I need to remove the existing zerk at the end of the spindle in order for it to work properly?? The other is I put some grease but didnt completely fill the void area between the inner bearing and the grease seal, am I ok??

oh yea I have a caravan trailer

[Surface Tension]

oilman, Good description on how the buddy works.

Tom, its best to fill the hub before you put the buddies on but air being thinner the grease will allow it to pass though the seal and buddy. About the zerk on the spindle, if the buddy can compress with it on then you can leave it because the grease passes though the outer bearing and into the hub.

One note about the buddies, they need to be kept clean in order for the piston to work properly. Use a bra.

[TTfromBlaine]

Hi Frank how ya been?? its been awhile since WEE-WOO WEE-WOO and french toast thanks for the info, I'm going with the buddie set up, but I've already did the bearing/seal thing and installed so that will have to work for the outing this weekend. when we gonna hook up and do some fishing maybe get a few other guys together??

have a good one Frank.

Tom from Blaine

[Surface Tension]

Things are good here Tom. Just getting antsy for Opener like everyone else. Next get together will probably be trolling the big pond for trout and salmon. Keep an eye on the BWCA/Duluth boards for that one. Take Care.