Greasing wheel bearings
 

I had a bearing go out on our racecar trailer on the way to our last race. Now i'm replcing all the bearing and races on it to get ready for next year. I worked grease into all the new bearings but now i'm unsure about how much grease to put in the hub, the bearing had plenty of grease in the hub when ireplaced it. I've heard you can put too much grease in it. I usually pump about 5 squirts in each buddy bearing before each race and now i'm wondering if thats a good idea or not. Thanks for any replies.

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

I would think if there was grease around the bearing, then the problem was probably a loose wheel bearing causing too much friction. I can't understand how too much grease can cause a problem, just a mess.
Dan

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

In school, I was taught to just spread some grease in the hub area between the bearings to stop rust from occurring.


Too much grease in the hub area can cause problems because if the hub is full grease, it will be churning in there and that builds heat. The excessive grease will try to leak out of the seal and can actually blow out the seal lip. This will then let contaminates in.


Here is a web site that talks about wheel bearings. http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/whee...what-when-why/

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

Unsure how useful bearing buddies would be on a car trailer...mostly used on boat trailers to pressure/inhibit water intrusion.

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

In my opinion, 5 squirts before each trip is way too much. It can quickly fill up and the problem I've had was that it gets forced out of the seal and into the brakes! The grease needs room to "breathe" and expand.


Bearing buddies are a good idea, just gotta keep an eye on them so they don't vibrate out. It's not a common problem, but I've lost 2-3 over the years that I had an open trailer. They are convenient because you don't have to disassemble everything to grease the bearings. But I always check them periodically to see if the bearings need to be snugged up. Too much play or regular looseness is a sign that something is wrong and that they may be on the way out. I jack up my trailer and check the brake and wheel bearing adjustment a few times per year.


Do you have one of these to pack the bearings?
http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/upl...0Composite.jpg


I have found a measurable improvement in bearing life by using synthetic grease. When I had a heavy open trailer, I was using Castrol HD grease. Switching to Amsoil's Dominator Synthetic Racing Grease reduced the maintenance required.


My enclosed trailer now has the built-in EZ lube set-up.
http://www.floeintl.com/assets/pdf/e..._greasecap.pdf

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

Don't know if the following items pertain to you but it's not a bad idea to keep in mind- 1) Wheel bearing grease is rated as wheel bearing grease.... general lubrication and/or chassis grease (L series rating) is NOT suitable for use in a wheel bearing environment (wheel bearing grease will have a GA, GB or GC rating [GC is the highest rating]) Some multipurpose grease will be rated for both purposes and have Gx AND Lx ratings 2) don't mix different types of wheel bearing grease (ie, lithium, moly, synthetic, etc.)
As far as level is concerned a general rule of thumb is to pack the bearings (either by hand or using the cone tool earlier in this thread) and fill the center cavity of the hub with grease just up to the tops of the bearing races inside edges evenly 360° around the hub center cavity.

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

After spending the first 25 years of my working career in a truck shop, I have come to the opinion that a heavily fortified Lithium grease ( 3% Moly ) does the best job on wheel bearings... We tried everything through the years. That stuff lasted 3, 4 times longer before we had bearing failures. And it doesn't dry out like so many other ones.

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

This is why I like this site. Good info from other racers. I believe my trailer has the e-z lube feature; it has a grease zerk attached to the end of the spindle. I'll check on that tomorrow. As far as grease, I have a tube of the Lucas oil red stuff. I'll have to check it out too and see if it's the right grease to use. Thanks again; Bill

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

What size axles you got on that trailer?

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

Jeff: We have Alco 7000 lb axles. They do have the e-z lube feature. The owners manual that came with the trailer say's to pump grease in it until old grease comes back out of the cap around the grease gun nozzle.I didn't know any trailers much less mine had something like this on them. Live and learn.

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

I don't want to jinx myself.....but I have a Classic Terminator trailer and it has Nev-r-lube Dexter bearings. Sealed bearings just like modern vehicles with sealed front wheel bearings. I never heard of them before I bought this trailer.

I replaced the cartridges once not long after I bought the trailer just because I felt better putting new ones on it, and never touched them since....Just check them with the wheels off the ground for side play and any roughness or noise...

I carry the old ones as spares but if one goes bad on the road....well the axle stub is probably going to be toast just like any regular bearing failure on the road....

Trailer is a 2003 and I had since 2007.......

Need to pull the drums and check the brakes and bearings before 2015 racing starts.....

The best grease I have used was always synthetic red hit temp waterproof grease and once I used that on my old trailer I never had a bearing go bad again...it had 3500lb axles and used to eat bearings pretty regularly.....

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

First of all do you have bearing buddys or EZ lube axles? Bearing buddys are caps with a zerk fittings, EZ lube axles have a zerk fitting in the end of the axle. With the EZ lube axle you jack the wheel off of the ground and rotate it while pumping grease into it. There are Youtube videos. The grease has to be forced thru the bearing to do any good and the EZ lube axle forces the grease back towards the outer bearing. The bearing buddy pushes the grease back and will force it past the seal and on the brakes, that's why you find them on boat trailers that don't have brakes.

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

My boy builds and sells all kinds of trailers and you are right on lube techniques.

However, All boat trailers must comply with state regulations on
being equipped with functional brakes. In Nevada any trailer over 1500
GVW and in California any trailer GVW 2999. Your state will vary but
all states and Canada that he has sold in have a number on weight (usually very low)!

Re: Greasing wheel bearings
 

Dexter has a list of acceptable greases in their instruction manual which you can download from their website. Don't mix greases of different base stocks as they might not be compatible. As above, too much grease doesn't help. Loose bearings don't help--preload per mfg. recommendations. If the seals are good, there is no reason to keep adding grease.