Trailer bearing replacement

[cheaterparts]

I would normally just get my wife to do them for me but last time she jacked up and I had to repack my own

Something also worth a look is Durahubs and oil fill the bearings instead of grease - these oil filled caps have a window in them to see the level of oil inside the hub
this has the other advantage that you can see if it is milky ( water in the hub ) straight away and draining and replacing the oil before it attacks the bearings
you also dont have to pack the bearings a messy job as the hub with clean bearings are just assembled and adjusted and the last job is to fill the hub with gear oil
any way they are worth a look

[Redhunter]

You can do it properly, or you can take a short cut and rely on others who take no responsibility. My advice is to take the time to ensure things are done properly. A small price to pay to save you time & money down the track.

As redhunter said
I dont run bearing buddies or anything like it,i don't trust them.
Not sure about the dunbier hubs nowadays but my last one was a dunbier which had a single lip seal at the back which are crap and i replaced them with a double contact seal and s/s slip ring which inserts into the back of the hub and rotates with it while the seal is stationary with a standard grease cup in the front sealed with a smear of sikaflex. Water never entered the hub for 20years that i owned it
My current trailer is a quintrex trailer which has the same setup and i service them every 6 months to make sure all is good

There are two things that I won’t do without...
- When the rear seal is replaced, it must always have a dob of silicone on it. Otherwise those rear seals rarely actually seal.
- Bearing buddies. Every submersible hub should have them imo. The pressure helps keep the water out, so why wouldn’t you have them?

Apparently the oil filled hubs are quite good, but I don’t know much about them. Hopefully a member here may be able to elaborate??

Sorry P5, I have no experience with the kits you have mentioned. But for the sake of the effort, I’d recommend just getting dirty and doing them properly yourself pal. It’s not that hard for peace of mind.

[purple5ive]

A question on wheel bearing replacement.. how much would you expect to pay per axle at a mechanic?

The reason i ask is because i have been wondering if this particular mechanic was trying to rip me off for a trailer that i was looking to get fixed up a while back.. i thought the quote he gave me was very high.

i think i got quoted around 300 bucks to do both sides.

[purple5ive]

You can do it properly, or you can take a short cut and rely on others who take no responsibility. My advice is to take the time to ensure things are done properly. A small price to pay to save you time & money down the track.

As redhunter said
I dont run bearing buddies or anything like it,i don't trust them.
Not sure about the dunbier hubs nowadays but my last one was a dunbier which had a single lip seal at the back which are crap and i replaced them with a double contact seal and s/s slip ring which inserts into the back of the hub and rotates with it while the seal is stationary with a standard grease cup in the front sealed with a smear of sikaflex. Water never entered the hub for 20years that i owned it
My current trailer is a quintrex trailer which has the same setup and i service them every 6 months to make sure all is good

There are two things that I won’t do without...
- When the rear seal is replaced, it must always have a dob of silicone on it. Otherwise those rear seals rarely actually seal.
- Bearing buddies. Every submersible hub should have them imo. The pressure helps keep the water out, so why wouldn’t you have them?

Apparently the oil filled hubs are quite good, but I don’t know much about them. Hopefully a member here may be able to elaborate??

Sorry P5, I have no experience with the kits you have mentioned. But for the sake of the effort, I’d recommend just getting dirty and doing them properly yourself pal. It’s not that hard for peace of mind.

where do you put the silicone on the seal, im guessing between the hub and the seal itself?
i have the bearing buddies at home, ive been waiting to get to doing the bearings and change them while im at it.

[Redhunter]

You can do it properly, or you can take a short cut and rely on others who take no responsibility. My advice is to take the time to ensure things are done properly. A small price to pay to save you time & money down the track.

As redhunter said
I dont run bearing buddies or anything like it,i don't trust them.
Not sure about the dunbier hubs nowadays but my last one was a dunbier which had a single lip seal at the back which are crap and i replaced them with a double contact seal and s/s slip ring which inserts into the back of the hub and rotates with it while the seal is stationary with a standard grease cup in the front sealed with a smear of sikaflex. Water never entered the hub for 20years that i owned it
My current trailer is a quintrex trailer which has the same setup and i service them every 6 months to make sure all is good

There are two things that I won’t do without...
- When the rear seal is replaced, it must always have a dob of silicone on it. Otherwise those rear seals rarely actually seal.
- Bearing buddies. Every submersible hub should have them imo. The pressure helps keep the water out, so why wouldn’t you have them?

Apparently the oil filled hubs are quite good, but I don’t know much about them. Hopefully a member here may be able to elaborate??

Sorry P5, I have no experience with the kits you have mentioned. But for the sake of the effort, I’d recommend just getting dirty and doing them properly yourself pal. It’s not that hard for peace of mind.

where do you put the silicone on the seal, im guessing between the hub and the seal itself?
i have the bearing buddies at home, ive been waiting to get to doing the bearings and change them while im at it.

I was referring to the rear rubber seal dude. Otherwise the grease tends to blow out the back and cover the inside of your rim. A pro for the rim, but you will go through more grease than you need to.

Bearing buddies are a bloody great thing I reckon. They basically work as a spring pressured, grease-filled reservoir for your hub....
As those wheels turn while you click up kms, the grease in the hubs warm up and seem to dissipate. The bearing buddies help keep that hub pressurised with grease during and after this time.
Trailer hubs, as many 4WD owners will know, aren’t much different to diffs or gearboxes when it comes to river crossings. They are hot/warm upon approach, where components have expanded, then when submerged are quickly quenched in water, causing them to cool rapidly, and then causing everything to “shrink” to some degree. With 4WD’s we have breathers. Basically an aerator tube that runs off one-way valves from the diffs and gearbox up the snorkel to a “high point” on the vehicle to allow those components to breathe and not suck in water. Trailer hubs will tend to suck in grease from the spring-loaded grease-filled bearing buddy, as opposed to “breathing air”, and therefore use this pressurised method as a way as to not be able to take water into the hub and damage bearings/bearing housings.

[russellh2]

Timken the way to go - Replace bearings on both sides of trailer using "Old School Method as described above - Clean and examine old bearings and inspect for any wear/damage - If worn or damaged - Throw them out - If OK, regrease with high temperature Marine Wheel Bearing Grease - Pack in Greaseproof paper and place in zip lock bag - Carry as spare/s or buy 2 sets ( 4 Bearings ) and keep a set of brand new bearings as spares - Pack as described - I carry 2 sets of new bearings and a tub of high temperature Marine Wheel Bearing Grease in boat at all times - Never know when a bearing will fail - Finally DO NOT overtighten bearing retaining nut - Always replace split pin with new ones - Also carry a couple of spares.

[purple5ive]

You can do it properly, or you can take a short cut and rely on others who take no responsibility. My advice is to take the time to ensure things are done properly. A small price to pay to save you time & money down the track.

As redhunter said
I dont run bearing buddies or anything like it,i don't trust them.
Not sure about the dunbier hubs nowadays but my last one was a dunbier which had a single lip seal at the back which are crap and i replaced them with a double contact seal and s/s slip ring which inserts into the back of the hub and rotates with it while the seal is stationary with a standard grease cup in the front sealed with a smear of sikaflex. Water never entered the hub for 20years that i owned it
My current trailer is a quintrex trailer which has the same setup and i service them every 6 months to make sure all is good

There are two things that I won’t do without...
- When the rear seal is replaced, it must always have a dob of silicone on it. Otherwise those rear seals rarely actually seal.
- Bearing buddies. Every submersible hub should have them imo. The pressure helps keep the water out, so why wouldn’t you have them?

Apparently the oil filled hubs are quite good, but I don’t know much about them. Hopefully a member here may be able to elaborate??

Sorry P5, I have no experience with the kits you have mentioned. But for the sake of the effort, I’d recommend just getting dirty and doing them properly yourself pal. It’s not that hard for peace of mind.

where do you put the silicone on the seal, im guessing between the hub and the seal itself?
i have the bearing buddies at home, ive been waiting to get to doing the bearings and change them while im at it.

I was referring to the rear rubber seal dude. Otherwise the grease tends to blow out the back and cover the inside of your rim. A pro for the rim, but you will go through more grease than you need to.

Bearing buddies are a bloody great thing I reckon. They basically work as a spring pressured, grease-filled reservoir for your hub....
As those wheels turn while you click up kms, the grease in the hubs warm up and seem to dissipate. The bearing buddies help keep that hub pressurised with grease during and after this time.
Trailer hubs, as many 4WD owners will know, aren’t much different to diffs or gearboxes when it comes to river crossings. They are hot/warm upon approach, where components have expanded, then when submerged are quickly quenched in water, causing them to cool rapidly, and then causing everything to “shrink” to some degree. With 4WD’s we have breathers. Basically an aerator tube that runs off one-way valves from the diffs and gearbox up the snorkel to a “high point” on the vehicle to allow those components to breathe and not suck in water. Trailer hubs will tend to suck in grease from the spring-loaded grease-filled bearing buddy, as opposed to “breathing air”, and therefore use this pressurised method as a way as to not be able to take water into the hub and damage bearings/bearing housings.

yep there is only one seal really, and that the one in the back, i just wasnt exactly sure where to put the silicone lol.
Thanks once again for the info.

[Nude up]

The only problem with bearing buddies is people over fill them. you pump grease in just till the plate moves this allows for expansion which then compresses the spring.

[Bugatti]

Bearing buddies. Every submersible hub should have them imo. The pressure helps keep the water out, so why wouldn’t you have them?

Totally agree

And the pressure also obviously keeps the bearings greased

What convinced me. Back in my early dayz, towing the boat on a country highway 110 km/hr. She tows really nice. Until a Wheel Bearing (no Buddies fitted to the Hub) on the Boat Trailer blew (which also blew my butt , with a reading of about a 7.5 on the Sphincter Scale) , , , , sparks and smoke everywhere. Took everything I had to control it and come to a stop. Also had a little help from God, he must of thought my yelling "Oh God" was a call for help in-lieu of me taking his name in vain.


Thank you person who invented Bearing Buddies


Cheers, Bugs

[SteveoTheTiger]

A question on wheel bearing replacement.. how much would you expect to pay per axle at a mechanic?

The reason i ask is because i have been wondering if this particular mechanic was trying to rip me off for a trailer that i was looking to get fixed up a while back.. i thought the quote he gave me was very high.

i think i got quoted around 300 bucks to do both sides.

Ok, i was quoted $1000 to get the bearings done (tandem trailer) and a new winch post. He said he charges $250 an axle so i guess he wasnt ripping me off. My mate was going to show me how to do it, but i just got rid of the trailer as it was.