wheel bearings maintenance

[stevebaz]

Originally Posted by Raz

In regard to the original question, I think they were due to be serviced. What do others think?

I think your did it at the right time for your bearings. Red grease is turning black and the dirty grease is looking very wet like a little viscosity breakdown.
Once you cleaned the bearings and races you didn't see any discoloration and any striations in the bearing surfaces did you?

[Raz]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

I think your did it at the right time for your bearings. Red grease is turning black and the dirty grease is looking very wet like a little viscosity breakdown.
Once you cleaned the bearings and races you didn't see any discoloration and any striations in the bearing surfaces did you?

No, they looked fine.

[mary and bob]

I did mine today on the Casita. Probably 6000 miles or so since done a year ago. At that time I installed new bearings from my local parts store on the right, (their "better bearings" option) and the cheapo Redline bearings on the left. Packed with Pennzoil 707 red grease. The grease in the right hub was still clean red, the grease in the redline bearings was more black looking. Replaced them with USA made bearings. New seals, new tang washers, new rubber caps.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

I did mine today on the Casita. Probably 6000 miles or so since done a year ago. At that time I installed new bearings from my local parts store on the right, (their "better bearings" option) and the cheapo Redline bearings on the left. Packed with Pennzoil 707 red grease. The grease in the right hub was still clean red, the grease in the redline bearings was more black looking. Replaced them with USA made bearings. New seals, new tang washers, new rubber caps.

This is the longest I've let the bearings go and the worst I've seen. I assumed the black is brake dust that got past the seal? Two trips over the Rockies and Cascades. Brakes got a workout. Both sets are Dexter made in China bearings that came with the drum kit. Both looked the same. Perhaps it's not brake dust. Do you have any idea why your "better" bearings (USA?) were cleaner?

P.S. just so you know, this service took way more than an hour. I lost the clip that holds the magnet on in the dirt.

[mary and bob]

Raz; I was thinking the discolored grease was due to excess bearing wear, not brake dust, but that's just a guess. There was no pitting in the bearings and they looked OK. I'm sure they were good for many more miles. I was just doing a routine inspection before heading south, and decided to install the US made bearings after reading comments about Chinese bearing failures. I have the EZ lube axle, but have never used that feature. I prefer the disassemble and inspect method. I have a 3" flat magnet on a telescoping handle because I'm good at dropping parts in the dirt or grass

[Raz]

I have a magnet from an old TV set for the same purpose. No joy this time but I had a spare clip I bought after a previous adventure. We all need a hobby.

If you're headed south soon do check road conditions first. Most of eastern North Carolina is under water. Lots of road closures. Safe trip, Raz

[mary and bob]

About heading south, we got a phone call yesterday (automated call) that our reservation at Hunting Island campground in SC for late November was cancelled due to storm damage. LOL, we had cancelled it months ago. But we are booked at Cheraw SP in SC and their website says they are closed until further notice. We don't leave until late November so hope that by then it's open. A couple friends got cancelled out of Skidaway SP in SC later this month because of storm damage. We may have to change our planned route and destinations.

[redbarron55]

The color in the grease is merely a dye added by the manufacturer.
All of out blue Mobile grease will turn black after a while.
We use Mobil PolyRex EM which is a polyurea synthetic electric motor grease which has a higher break down temp and almost all motor manufacturers have migrated to this over the years.
Probably it matters little what grease you use since these trailers probably suffer more from disuse and use.
That being said I saw three (boat) trailers with either smoking hubs or stopped on the side of the road with spindles destroyed and bent form the heat.
But this is boat trailers which probably had the hubs immersed in salt water while still warm from towing to the ramp.
Here is a situation where bearing buddies or EZLUBE is really helpful.
If the bearings are over packed then the excess grease will make them run hot untill it is forced out, either through the outside vent in the EZLUBE or back into the Bearing Buddy or through those new seals you just installed. This is most likely the main cause of grease getting on the brake system from the hub.
The beauty of the EZLUBE is that the excess grease has a known path to escape if you manually overgrease or pump it through with the grease gun.
After you service the axle with EZLUBE if you use the grease gun and don't pull the hub and do it manually there will always be some more grease that will be forced out.
Remember the balls in the races (or rollers for that matter, either way) do not run in grease, they are lubricated by the oil that is carried in the grease and flows into the races over time from being next to the races and in close contact.
The rolling elements make clearance through the grease if you will.
Over greasing forces too much grease within the races and the churning action will cause the overheating and very likely cause the soap and clay to separate the oil and actually end up starving the bearing from oil it needs to lubricate.
The bearings should never be hand packed more than 1/3 full to allow the room for the bearing to run.
When we grease motors here in the plant we have temperature readouts for both ends and we add the recommended amount and the bearings run hotter for several hours until the excess is pushed out of the grease relief ports.
We are transitioning to an ultrasonic measurement of the bearing noise which indicated when the bearing need a little more grease and we then add it until the ultrasonic nois level drops to avoid over greasing and track the actual bearing condition.
If I were to regrease my bearings I would be tempted to use the Mobil PolyRex EM, but this and the more often used lithium based greases are incompatible and should not be mixed. However if you carried your own grease gun it would definitely be better.

[mary and bob]

In my former line of work, before retiring, almost all of the wheel bearings ran in oil. Never had a bearing failure, but what a mess when a seal failed.

[Randi in NJ]

I full-time, and my trailer is used almost daily. After 3 years of ownership, I have not checked the bearings. They were repacked just before I purchased it. Do I really need to do this?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Randi in NJ

I full-time, and my trailer is used almost daily. After 3 years of ownership, I have not checked the bearings. They were repacked just before I purchased it. Do I really need to do this?

No you REALLY do not need to do them!

But if you would like to try and avoid having to do them on the side of the highway one day you probable should do them so you are in control of the location and the time that you do have to do them.

[Darral T.]

I never recommend to anyone what they should or should not do for THEIR RV/Tow. But here's MY scenario and I consider this "Light duty" for my trailer:

April 2010 13' Scamp bought new from the factory. Weighs 1800 ready for trips. Now it is 6-1/2 yrs old with 9,999 (Literally!) miles on it. I've never pulled the hubs nor lubricated the bearings. I've only adjusted the brakes once. Why?

I pull mostly 100 miles (one-way) trips. I check my hubs repeatedly and the last outing 3 weeks ago? Hubs running an avg of 95 deg on 80 deg days. (both sides). I keep my Scamp on jackstands and spin the hubs regularly. They're not loose (I check this as well by grasping each side of the wheel) and they're certainly not "noisy" when I spin them. I do NOT ever pull over 65 mph and try to stay closer to 60 if at all possible.

If I was getting ready for a cross-country trip? Yes I would check them but I dont have ANY doubt that these bearings would look brand new. I pulled the rubber caps off the end last year thinking I may grease with the EZ lubes. Brand new-looking grease was still there at the ends. There was PLENTY of grease installed at Dexters. I replaced the covers and did not grease.

Did I worry about these wheels/hubs on this last outing??....not ONE second. Again, I do NOT recommend this for anyone else, but I'm ok with it. Let the fire fly!

PS: My occupation? Current IT; raised in a mechanic's home, became a 'machinist' out of high school (yes and have turned MANY "bearing fits") and worked as a draftsman also.

Originally Posted by Randi in NJ

I full-time, and my trailer is used almost daily. After 3 years of ownership, I have not checked the bearings. They were repacked just before I purchased it. Do I really need to do this?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

Did I worry about these wheels/hubs on this last outing??....not ONE second. Again, I do NOT recommend this for anyone else, but I'm ok with it. Let the fire fly!

.

No Fire fly but a point to consider as to why its worked out ok with it. Mileage.

Your mileage over 6.5 years is pretty low by many peoples standards. I know I have had many years where I have but well over 6000 miles on the trailer. For me a low mileage year or as I like to call it not so great camping year, would be in the 3-4000 mile range.

The OP indicated they are using their trailer daily so its a good bet they may be putting on more miles in a year than you do in 6.5 years.

[Darral T.]

Yup... we agree.... AGAIN Carol. That's why I dubbed my usage "Light duty" AND in mostly "mild" weather.

BUT (and a BIG 'but' here ), Dexter says do the tear-down/relube EVERY year or 12K miles which ever comes first and I DO NOT and WILL not ever agree with that! 12000 miles a year? Yes, I can see readily see where you would not go 6 yrs w/o a tear-down if you're traveling that many miles a year!

So, when will I do mine? Dunno...maybe next year just for kicks. Definitely not a project I want nor look forward to doing. But again, if I was getting ready to head across the US, I'd do it.

Originally Posted by Carol H

No Fire fly but a point to consider as to why its worked out ok with it. Mileage.

Your mileage over 6.5 years is pretty low by many peoples standards. I know I have had many years where I have but well over 6000 miles on the trailer. For me a low mileage year or as I like to call it not so great camping year, would be in the 3-4000 mile range.

The OP indicated they are using their trailer daily so its a good bet they may be putting on more miles in a year than you do in 6.5 years.

[Raz]

Well Darral, no fire here either but did you look at my pictures? Post 17. Tell me what you think. Raz

[Darral T.]

I did my friend. BUT, as posted by "Redbarron" post #28, you cant really judge the grease? Does it smelled "burned"? Dexter shocked me when one of their engineers told me what the temperature can get up to in those hubs and not harm grease OR bearings!

What I would like to have seen Raz, is a high-res shot of those bearings up close under good light after they were cleaned.

Here's something that happened to me that was a shocker...but it did and still does leave me in wonder! My Dad was getting alzheimer's. He was RELIGIOUS about changing oil every 3K miles!! (I know...doesnt require that). But I happened to come behind him and check and saw where it had been 10,000 miles since he'd gotten an oil change !! (This is a 2007 Chevy Cobalt) I freaked! He/We took it and had it changed and I figured that spelled the end of it. Well, he's gone now and I still have the car and at 50K miles later (from the time I caught that many miles on it) with now a total 155,000, it still runs like new, doesnt smoke and uses NO oil. If you'd told me that car could have had that many miles on the oil without damage, I wouldnt have believed it.

Originally Posted by Raz

Well Darral, no fire here either but did you look at my pictures? Post 17. Tell me what you think. Raz

[Raz]

I'm very conservative when it comes to maintenance. I have a Honda that has a maintenance minder program that's going to tell me when I should change my oil etc. Being an engineer I tend to trust the engineers that designed the car but at 5k miles I'll have a tough time waiting for a magic light to come on.. And change the filter every other time. I don't think so.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

Dexter says do the tear-down/relube EVERY year or 12K miles which ever comes first and I DO NOT and WILL not ever agree with that! 12000 miles a year?

As I have said before this topic pretty well comes down to peoples past experience with bearings.

I tend to go along with Dexter because I have had a bearing fail on the trailer that was under two years old (would not have noticed it was going bad had it not been taken off for the yearly repacking). I worked for a major bearing distribution company as well as an operation superintendent for years in a industry that depended greatly on machines using bearings so I know all to well that bearings can and will fail at the worst possible time if not regularly inspected and maintained.

Its up to each of us to decide what level of risk your ok with. In your case your fine with your decision. Me I am fine with my decision to take them off and inspect and repack every year as well. Even though it now takes me twice as long and cost twice as much to do due to now having 4 wheels to worry about.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Even though it now takes me twice as long and cost twice as much to do due to know having 4 wheels to worry about.

That's what you get for going to the dark side.

[redbarron55]

As to oil change intervals I pretty much go with the manufacturer.
My VW has an oil change interval of 10,000 miles.
Sometimes I go over a couple of thousand miles.
Of course I drive pretty hard and I don't expect the car to last over 500,000 miles.
Currently at 255,000 miles and going strong.
I also do the occasional oil sample and test, but no problem areas so far.
Probably there is more degradation from time and water absorption than rotation.
by the way that VW has those 255,000 miles on the wheel bearings and they have never been greased either. (2009 JSW TDI).
I don't recommend anyone ignoring the maintenance of the trailer, but if I just greased the bearings and started out I would do exactly the same check 25 - 50 miles down the road with the hand and tire temp and hub temp.
I also have a tandem axle car trailer that I last greased the bearings on in 2001. I still check the temp same as the Scamp.
Personally I like the EZLUBE hubs and spindles and I intend to use this feature even though I don't plan to back it into the water over the hubs.