Question about wheel bearings

[Tim Jeffers]

Good Morning.



I went to grease the bearings on my trailer tires this weekend, and when I pulled off the rubber "plug" to reveal the grease zerk, the entire cavity around that zerk was filled with yellowish grease. I cleaned it out with a paper towel, and began pumping fresh grease into the zerk, and all that flowed out of the return was water. Does this mean I have a blown seal? And, is that grease supposed to build up like that around the zerk?



('95 Trailstar dual axle with "easy lube" system)



Thanks in advance,



TJ

 

[Mini]

Yes youy have a blown seal. You need to disassemble and repack your bearings.



Mini

 

[fatrap]

I've NEVER repacked the bearings on my current 93 trailer. I went to the dealer and he told me to keep my hubs pumped up and my fingers off the the bearings. Something to the effect that the grease has channels through the hubs and you pump grease in and it pushes grease back out through the bearings. It's been thirteen years maybe time to look? What you all think.

I packed em twice a year when I ran bearing buddies on my old Lowe.

fatrap

 

[Dan J.]

If you've towed the trailer loaded and haven't noticed the hubs smoking or really hot, you're probably fine. (LOL!) Water can pass into any vacancies without dispelling needed grease around the bearings. The color you indicate leads me to believe that you just need to keep pumping fresh grease into the hub until you see the new grease coming back out around the edges. (When it starts out cream color and turns charcoal/black on it's own, that's bad!) That's how the flow through hub works. As you pump grease in from the zerk, it pushes the old grease (or trapped water) out the front, lubing from behind the bearings out. Some folks will use two different colors of grease to make the visual indication a little easier to see. I suggest a once a year minimum "flush", bi-annually or more with extensive trailering. Also check your lug nuts at the same time. Dual axles will tend to loosen due to their close proximity under turns. Good luck!

 

[Tim Jeffers]

Thanks alot, guys! I'll be re-packing them on Wednesday, just to be safe. I'm heading down to Indiana next week and I really don't want any unpleasant "surprises" along the way.



TJ