Wheel bearing failure poll

[bogib]

Originally Posted by The Garfish

i rekomend whail fatt insted ov greese forr weel barings.

sea bowgi forr deetayls ov wher too by itt fromm

gaRf

GARF - thin ice

Bogi

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by rbw156

It it essential to replace the outer bearing race as I found this quite difficult on my trailer? Can I get away with leaving it in place and replace the bearing with the same make?

You should really replace the inner and outer. They will be matched at manufacture. However, I've seen two bins at Indispension, one holding the inner races and the other containing the outer tracks and they just pick one from each bin.

You shouldn't have too much difficulty changing the outer. You need a drift with a nice flat end so it doesn't slip from the bearing when you tap the little you can see of it. The hub may have recesses for positioning the drift. Chap the rear of the bearing track at opposite sides, one chap at a time. Replace it by tapping the outer on opposite sides until it is caught firmly in the recess, check it for level, place the old bearing on top of the new and place a block of hardwood on top of them both. Whack cleanly and check for straightness after each whack. If the old bearing gets set into the hub a short distance, it's an easy matter to turn the hub over and use the drift to remove it the same way as you originally did. Use the drift to give a final tap on its rim on opposite sides. It should sound very firm.

It goes without saying that you should never drive the outer into place by applying pressure to the inner. This will cause the rollers to damage the surface of the outer and inner tracks. You probably wont be able to see the damage but the the bearing will have a short life. If you have a suitable press to refit them, all the better.

An extra precaution. The edges of the bearing recess can be very sharp. If you wipe out the grease with you finger, take care. Personal experience.

[Ezgoing]

Hi guys

I cannot say enough in praise of the bearing savers. . Excelent product.

From experience I advise keeping them topped up with waterproof grease. I always add some grease before any sort of a journey to the point of having the grease running out of them.

I also top up the grease before emersion and always let the bearings cool down for approx 30 minutes before emersion.

rgds

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by Derrick

On unbraked trailers I have used bearing buddies (bearing savers I think this side of the pond) and always found that the pressure on the grease especially when warm from a run forced said fluid grease past the inner grease seal and spread it liberally around the inside of the tyre.

Having had this experience I have formed the view that this would happen also with braked trailers except in the latter case the escaping grease will be distributed liberally inside my brake drums. I would not welcome quantities of messy grease lubricating my brakes! I may be overly cautious here but this is my story.

Nah. The grease ends up on the inside of the wheel rims. The grease escapes behind the drum backing plate (well, behind, in a looking-straight-at-the-wheel manner.)

I trailer about 100 miles each way usually 2 or 3 times a month. Other than adding a bit of grease now and then, I have had zero hub related problems.

I do a quick bearing test by simply feeling the exposed hub at a stop. Should run warm, possibly into the hot range, but should not run too-hot-to-touch. Actually, even in the hot range, I'd suspect something requiring investigation.

Remember that trailer brakes will add heat to the equation as well, disk brakes especially so.

Pretty good directions for whoever was asking about a DIY bearing job:
http://www.championtrailers.com/techsup.html#packhubs


jky

[stepheneyre]

wheel bearings and salt water do not mix even if thay are sealed for life,
try to avoid sealed fro life bearings as you need a press to but them in
tapered bearings are the best i have found i carry some spare s in my car so can change them at the road side if i have to.( only takes about 1/2 hrs if you know what to do) but if you jack up the wheel when you are up the slip way if no movement you should get home
i find bearing buddys the best thing as they pump grease in all the time so no water can get in , a good investment as you dont want to change a wheel/bearing on the road side in the rain and its always dark.
just check you wheels/bearings befor a long trip just like you would check your car engine oil etc
best thing dont put the bearinges in the water try to keep them out of water and on the slip.beach launch no choice but to get the trailer in the water.

thanks
stephen

[wavelength]

http://ribworld.com/forum/showthread...=castrol+heavy
unfortunately can't get castrol heavy anymore but a waterproof grease and bearing savers seem to do the job, together with taking 'em apart and regreasing. Our trailers still have the original bearings in them and one of them is 5 years old-used regularly (very) and trailed loadsa miles. Brakes and brake cables give me a lot more trouble than bearings these days.

[jwalker]

Coincidentally, last week I put in my Castrol order and included Spheerol. I'll report back when I've given it a thorough testing.

[wavelength]

oooh Spheerol- I've got a tube of that in the garage, never plucked up the courage to try it yet, but then again hadnt seen the spec before. Looks good but it was ***** expensive when I bought it by the tube compared to Castrol Heavy. Still if it does the business its cheaper than sitting by the roadside replacing a wheel bearing. When I replaced my brake cables this year the guy at the little trailer supply place that he runs from a farm building apologised to me for only having cables with grease nipples on them. I didnt think you could get them anymore so we will see how these last with an occassional squirt of grease in them. Ok grease causes some friction in a new cable- but a sight less than rust does in a used one!

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by wavelength

. Ok grease causes some friction in a new cable- but a sight less than rust does in a used one!

Too right. Just connect a big return spring at the front to haul them back. Or a piece of fat shock cord will do the trick.

[wavelength]

What a good idea,never thought of that -I'll give it a try!

[Nick Hearne]

I inspect my bearings once or twice a year & so far no problem!
I do NOT submerge them though, when launching!
One thing I do, is once a year disconnect the brake cable & pore 3 in 1 oil down them! Nearly 4 years old now & the bearing are older

[Nos4r2]

Try this stuff on your bearings-expensive but it seems to work well. I use it in a grease gun on my outboard and all the underwater fittings look like new.

Corrosion Block Grease


I haven't tried it on bearings yet btw but judging by the other results it should help.

[Derrick]

Jyasaki has provided a very helpful link to Champion Trailers. Whilst I have no wish to embark on a forum disagreement I would like to draw the attention of fellow Ribnetters interested in this topic to the final paragraph of the bearings section of the link as follows......

If you are installing brakes on a "plain" spindle axle, we recommend that you use plain dust caps and not "bearing protectors" (Bearing protector refers to the spring loaded dust cap device with a grease zerk fitting in the piston.) Bearing protectors add two to four PSI of pressure inside the hub cavity and in many cases, they cause grease to leak past the seal. If sufficient grease leaks past the seal on a brake hub drum, it will centrifuge out with some grease getting on the brake shoes. Grease on your brake shoes will drastically decrease your braking capacity.

[toby4594]

I have black dust cap type covers on the center hubs of my wheels which when taken off allows access to a grease nipple which I have always kept well greased ,what are they for ! ! I,m assuming they feed the bearing ,how effective are they.

[toby4594]

Yeah Ok i should have read the previous reply, sorry all .

[wavelength]

never had a problem with grease getting in the brakes from bearing savers despite loadsa trailering.
So it might (But i've never had the problem from bearing savers) ooze thru back grease seal, but I have had that years ago with no bearing savers probably from over enthusiastic grease gun application. When its back there it just sprays onto the inside of the wheel and stops it rusting!
The problems I have had from brakes sticking on etc a bit of grease in there might well have helped things . Drum brakes on a boat trailer are a nightmare. Esp when the shoe rusts, as it will, and the rust under the lining prises the bonded lining off the shoe and drops it into the drum!

[Cypman]

Hi All,
Sorry I havent responded earlier but I have been away , I fully agree with Dave M that well serviced bearing savers are one of the best solutions. However!!! I now have a Elxis Trailer (Manufactured in Greece) which guarantees bearings for three years AND comes with hydraulically operated disc brakes. We have them for our club RIBs which are being launched and recovered almost on a daily basis. Not only have we not had any problems but this is especially notable as the increased salinity in the eastern Med usually causes increased problems when compared to UK. Maybe one of you would consider a UK Dealership, by the way I have nothing to do with Elxis, only like their product.
.
Have a look at www.elxiscenter.com

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by Cypman

Hi All,
Sorry I havent responded earlier but I have been away , I fully agree with Dave M that well serviced bearing savers are one of the best solutions. However!!! I now have a Elxis Trailer (Manufactured in Greece) which guarantees bearings for three years AND comes with hydraulically operated disc brakes. We have them for our club RIBs which are being launched and recovered almost on a daily basis. Not only have we not had any problems but this is especially notable as the increased salinity in the eastern Med usually causes increased problems when compared to UK. Maybe one of you would consider a UK Dealership, by the way I have nothing to do with Elxis, only like their product.
.
Have a look at www.elxiscenter.com

They do look pretty good - small though.

http://www.elxiscenter.com/html/eng/techn.htm#

[Just Looking]

Just had a total wheel bearing failure after 3 months - from new

I set off this morning on my way to Harwich for a weekend away. Stopped after about 20 mins for the usual check that things are as they should be to see smoke coming out of the right hand wheel , significant smoke and ultra hot (maybe even close to catching fire having seen hot wheels before on aircraft). I then notice the wheel was not straight - it looked buggered. Luckily there is a large trailer centre near my house, therefore nearby who came out to inspect.

Took the wheel off to find the wheel bearing ground to almost nothing, the brake unit buggered etc. Luckily he had all the spares and put a new bearing on, I towed it back to the trailer centre where it is currently being fully checked and the brake replaced; I should get away in the next couple of hrs only slightly behind schedule - I hope.

Now, I hear you ask, what have I been doing with my trailer - nothing unusual is the answer:

Purchased from Ribcraft with a Rapide 55H 3 months ago. After 1 months use I took the trailer it to a Rapide trailer centre to get an inital service just to make sure things were ok. I have travelled a fair bit around the country, but always below 50/60mph on motorways and really slow on country roads. I always wait at least 40 mins to allow cool down after arrival and ALWAYS wash through with fresh water immediately after use in salt water.

So..................not happy.

Have just contacted Ribcraft who will contact Rapide / Dixon Bate and see what happens.

[codprawn]

I bet they are the "sealed for life" bearings. They shouldn't be allowed to use them - nipples are the only answer.......

That is a disgrace on a trailer as new as that!!!