Buddy bearings

[firedog978]

I am curious as to how often, and how much, you all grease your buddy bearings (or similar types)?



Many years ago with my first boat, I found out the hard way that one can overdo it with greasing said bearings. It can blow out a rear seal and cause problems.



What is the concensus on how often? So many hours on the road? Every 2 months?

What is the concensus on how much? Two pumps from the grease gun? Three? The feel of it easilly taking grease?



I know this may sound simple but, after my (long ago) experience, I have also witnessed many a boater have problems with bearings. Even when buddy bearing were installed on the trailer.

 

[Dan J.]

If you travel extensively with your trailer, a repacking of the hubs every 6 mos. is recomended. (I did it yearly and had no trouble on tandems getting 20K+ miles on it annually.) The Tracker hub system (grease flo-thru) is your axle's best friend. Whenever in doubt (and prior to any trip over 100 mi. each way), pump up the zirc until you see grease coming out the front. If you want a quick hub repacking, pump grease until you only see the new grease coming back out. Bearing Buddies can be a blessing and a curse. They need to be installed on a hub NOT fully packed. I can't tell you how many times I've seen the rear seal blown out by hammering the Bearing Buddy on and the pressure seeks the least resistance. (BOOM! - out the back) The newer oil-bath hubs seem rock solid in design and use. The downside I've seen is when they go bad, it's very bad (complete hub failure when evacuated; bearings, races, seals...) or at minimal very expensive in comparison to a greased axle. This is what's worked for me. Hope it helps!

 

[Tim Koepp]

Yet another example of why we need to all help keep this board alive! Great Info. thanks

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Remember the EZ Flow hubs are flow-thru and the Bearing Buddy system is not.

 

[Jim B]

Yep i think Dan J nailed it. M personal opinion is the flow thru system is about as good as it gets for a trailer. I have had that setup on every trailer i have ever owned and i have never had a beaqring failure. I travel a good bit with my trailer too. I take mine apart and repack/ replace the seals anually and have never had an issue. I also give them some grease monthly .



I have never liked the "bearing Buddy" type systems because of the seal blowout mentioned above. Its just too easy to blow out the seal and if ignored bad things will happen. The oil bath setups just plain scare me for the same downside Dan mentioned. When the seal goes its a disaster.

 

[Mike Ratko]

I keep my bearings full but I have been getting a bit leakage lately. I think there is some heating going on from brakes but I also had to use a cheap grease in a pinch. I have found that not all grease is made the same. The cheap grease I bought had a drop point (similar to a melting point) of under 300 degrees while Lukas grease Xtra (green stuff) has a drop point of 570 degrees. I suspect this will do much better in the bearings. I am in the process of purging out the old grease and using the Lukas stuff.



Mike