wheel bearings repacked

[unitydnk]

how do I do this myself or how much should I expect to pay?

[Ron]

This info is Dexter Axle site.
http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/6-8K%20Service%20Manual/Hubs__Drums____Bearings_7-05_80_res.pdf

[unitydnk]

I wonder if I if I am brave anough to try this

[brainpause]

Many of us here choose to do it ourselves.

It isn't too hard of a job; just messy.

I have packed my ATV trailer's bearings once, and the camper's once. I think I'll just take it to my local camper dealer and let them do it next time. I have a homeowner's association that gets on to me whenever I make a big mess in the driveway.

Should you choose to have a camper dealer do them, I think we paid around 25 bucks or so for each wheel (50 for trailer). If memory serves correctly.

Larry

On edit: I went back to Quicken, and found the transaction. It was 50 dollars plus tax, as I remembered.

[flyfisherman]

I had a great old time dealer that I took mine to because of the super job they done and the cost was only $30.00 - (maybe 6 years ago), then the price went to $35.00, then $40.00 and I think last year $45.00 - and I'm slated to take it there next week ... I'll let you know. For the thirty or thirty-five bucks it was'nt worth getting my hands messed-up, but I fear It's getting to where I'll have to resort to doing it myself once again. Years past I use to do it myself because I did'nt trust who would be doing the job - and I think that still has an importance to it. Nothing like having someone trustworthy to take the job to. But I understand you can easily be paying someone $90.00 these days.


Fly

[The Tree Top Inn II]

how do I do this myself or how much should I expect to pay?

My trailer's owner's manual suggests annual or 12,000 mile wheel bearing service, whichever comes firstly.  And, everything I read suggests that wheel bearings need to be cleaned and repacked annually--even if one has a grease zerk on the outside of the bearing for topping off the grease and keeping moisture out.
 
For our trailer's annual wheel bearing cleaning and repacking:  last year and this year, too, I paid $66 to a local wheel and tire store that also handles pickup trucks' towing-related issues like hitches, brake controllers, tranny coolers, etc.  
 
We put less than 3,000 miles per year on our trailer; but we always clean and repack our bearings annually, just to be on the safe side.  There are few things as ugly as seeing smoking, locked up, wheels on the rig ahead of you on the highway.
 
This year, our repair guy said as he was cleaning the bearings he noticed that they looked really good, despite being four years old. (Just in case, we do keep a brand new set of bearings, seals, cotter pins, dust caps, and high temperature grease in our tool kit.)  I'm wondering how many years and/or miles one set of bearings can last if kept clean, dry, and greased.
 
Incidentally, in prior years when we lived closer to Atlanta we used PECO Campers' annual Fleetwood Folding Trailer service where they go through everything on the trailer and adjust/clean/lube it (check Air Conditioner seals) for about $150.  The past two years I've done everything myself except for the bearings.  This year I adjusted the pullies underneath to adjust for the cables stretching slightly in four-plus years.  
 
The guy doing the bearings for us does bearings for a living so we figure he can do it better than I can.  Scott

[unitydnk]

mess does not bother me but how long does it take and what do I need to buy?

[Billy Bob]

mess does not bother me but how long does it take and what do I need to buy?

I went to Alfred State University for auto-mechanics and we were taught to thoroughly clean the bearings with kerosene and pack them with axle grease. Better grease is now available and I would get a marine bearing grease. Use Playtex gloves and put a healthy amount of grease on your left palm. Take the bearing in your right hand with the larger side down and press it into the grease on your left hand. Keep doing this until the bearing is full of grease. Clean the hub and check the races. If everything in there looks OK lightly grease the races and install the rear bearing and a NEW grease seal. Put the tire on the axle and put the outside bearing in place and the end washer. Slightly tighten the outside nut and check for end play. A little end play is normal. Then install the cutter pin and then a clean and GREASED dust cap. Your all done. Do all of this over cardboard and the clean up is a snap.

 I packed my bearing on my boat more than 15 years ago and have not done them again but I don't get my hubs wet like most other boaters while launching or retrieving.

I can't see ANY reason to repack your bearings every year. As long as you keep them dry they are just like the bearings on your car or TV. If done right they should last at least 5-10 years and probably much more.

At the beginning of the boating season (3 more weeks) I jack up the boat trailer and spin the tire. If it sounds good with no noise I then check the the end play of the bearings by pushing and pulling on the top and bottom of the tire at the same time. If the end play is good jack it down and check the other side.

Good Luck,
Bob

[AustinBoston]

I went to Alfred State University for auto-mechanics and we were taught to thoroughly clean the bearings with kerosene and pack them with axle grease. Better grease is now available and I would get a marine bearing grease. Use Playtex gloves and put a healthy amount of grease on your left palm. Take the bearing in your right hand with the larger side down and press it into the grease on your left hand. Keep doing this until the bearing is full of grease. Clean the hub and check the races. If everything in there looks OK lightly grease the races and install the rear bearing and a NEW grease seal. Put the tire on the axle and put the outside bearing in place and the end washer. Slightly tighten the outside nut and check for end play. A little end play is normal. Then install the cutter pin and then a clean and GREASED dust cap. Your all done. Do all of this over cardboard and the clean up is a snap.

I agree with all of the above.

I packed my bearing on my boat more than 15 years ago and have not done them again but I don't get my hubs wet like most other boaters while launching or retrieving.

15 Years?!  You are missing something important here...

I can't see ANY reason to repack your bearings every year. As long as you keep them dry they are just like the bearings on your car or TV. If done right they should last at least 5-10 years and probably much more.

The bearings on my car (at leas the front ones, and maybe the rear as well) get new grease every 3,000 miles (i.e. every lube & oil change)...a lot more often than once a year.  My trailer is 6 years old and has over 25,000 miles.  In that same distance, my car bearings are re-greased more than 8 times.

Grease does flow - slowly - and can all be on one side of the bearing if left to set for six months.  Do you use your trailer six days a week (like I use my car)?  That use of the car keeps the grease distributed.  Not true with bearings that sit for months at a time.  

My van (which I use to tow the trailer) has 1,000 lbs per wheel fully loaded and ready to tow.  It has larger and heavier bearings than the trailer.  The trailer weighs nearly 1,600 lbs per wheel - 60% more than the van - on those smaller bearings.

In addition, trailer wheels may be as small as 10" (mine are 13", still smaller than the 15" tires on the van), which means at highway speeds they rev. much faster.  Faster revs, smaller bearings, more weight, greater heat.  Not the same at all.

The design and layout for the trailer bearings may be very similar to automotive bearings, but what some of us ask them to do is far different.

If you use your trailer every week, never go long highway distances, and only put a few hundred or maybe a thousand miles on your trailer each year, then yes, once in 15 years is plenty.  But some of us are towing things that make boats look small, take them all over the US & Canada, and only do it a few times a year.  Use (or lack thereof) have as much to do with service as design.

Austin

[AustinBoston]

mess does not bother me but how long does it take and what do I need to buy?

The first time I greased my bearings, it took me about 2-1/2 hours, including trips to a nearby parts store and cleanup.  I was being very methodical.  Today, it takes me about 20 minutes per side (40 minutes total).  Someone more mechaincally inclined could easily knock 5 minutes per side off that time.

I would add/repeat, always replace the seal, and always replace the cotter pins (they're cheap, and if one fails, the weel can fall off).

I start one side and bring the old seal and the cotter pin to the local parts store to buy replacements.

Austin

[Billy Bob]

AustinBoston,
What I have posted is from experience. I have a boat that weights around 2,000 lbs and when we travel with it it really get loaded down. It also has 13 inch tires. I'm from Western NY just east of Buffalo, NY. I tow my rig a lot. I have been to northern Minnesota, northern Ontario, northern Ohio, northern Pennsylvania, northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin and of course northern NY with it. Highway speeds up to 65 miles per hour for 5-7 hours without stopping and have never had any problems.

When you mention you get your bearing re-greased every 3,000 miles when you have your oil changed (never hear of anyone doing this) are you referring to a chassis grease job, because if you are they are NOT repacking your wheel bearing but rather ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, pit-man arm etc............ All this is done with Zerk fitting and cannot be done to the wheel bearings. And as a matter of fact you might have to get the front brake calibers removed in order to clean and grease your inside wheel bearings. This would cost you MUCH more than $20-$25 for a oil, lube and filter job.

I haven't read my owners manual in some time but I think wheel bearings are scheduled on a car/truck about every 50,000 miles.

[wavery]

I think that repacking the bearings every year is questionable also. However, the biggest problem with trailer bearings vs car bearings is the lack of use. The average trailer probably sits for 6 months at a time with no movement at all. This places all of the weight on one specific area of the bearing and also causes voids in the grease pack. There is a real possibility of moisture intrusion just from everyday fluctuations in humidity. Remember water is heavier than grease. Any moisture will displace the grease (over time) in the place where the grease is needed most....right at the lowest part of the bearing, were all the trailer's weight is concentrated.

Corrosion is the biggest enemy to trailer bearings, not wear. However, wear is greatly increased by the corrosion.

If you use your trailer once a month, you probably need to repack the bearings less than you do if you use it once every six months. If your trailer has been sitting in storage for 6 months and you are going to take a 3,000 mile trip and the bearings haven't been repacked in a year, you may want to repack them. On the other hand, if you tow your trailer twice a month and haven't repacked the bearings in a year, you may only need to give them a quirt of grease (if your cap has a zerk fitting) before leaving on the same trip.

I would venture to say that very few people have the wheel bearings, on their family car, packed every year. Most cars are fitted with permanently packed and sealed bearings and will go several hundred thousand miles with no trouble. Even vehicles with traditional bearings will go 100K or more without servicing, although, I wouldn't recommend it.

The bottom line is, mileage is not the enemy. The enemy is moisture corrosion and lack of use. After a trailer sits for a year and you start towing it, you could break a bearing, that was just replaced before storage, in the first instant of moving the trailer. The bearing can be absolutely seized with corrosion and the bearing race very badly pitted from just sitting.  There are no "cut and dried rules" for bearing packing. Every situation is different.

It is a good idea to er on the side of caution, however. If a bearing has just a small amount of pitting, it will increase the operating temperature of the bearing tremendously. The bearing can actually turn the spindle red hot and cause it to break and the wheel to fall off at highway speeds. It happens all the time.

[wavery]

One thing that I forgot to add. You can avoid having to service your bearings so often by going out and moving your trailer a few feet, once a month or so. This will give the bearing a new place to rest and it will put some grease between the bearing and race. The problem is, if the bearing sits in one place for a long time, the trailer weight will eventually displace all of the grease and you will have metal to metal contact. Throw in a little moisture and you have a welded surface, over time. At the very least, you will get some pitting in the race....not good.

[NadMat]

One thing that I forgot to add. You can avoid having to service your bearings so often by going out and moving your trailer a few feet, once a month or so. This will give the bearing a new place to rest and it will put some grease between the bearing and race. The problem is, if the bearing sits in one place for a long time, the trailer weight will eventually displace all of the grease and you will have metal to metal contact. Throw in a little moisture and you have a welded surface, over time. At the very least, you will get some pitting in the race....not good.

That brings back memories. When we got our camper, I had either had just gotten or was just about to get learners permit. I was hot to drive anything, for any reason. Dad had me move camper around in back yard between 3 spots so as not to totally kill out grass, and to keep bearings in top shape.

Also helped me to develop excellent trailer backing skills. By time I was was ready to take license test, I could have parallel parked while towing trailer, so was piece of cake without it.

[flyfisherman]

Dexter recommends 12,000 mi/annual for my little popup. Since it has the 12" tires and I tow it with a full sized pick'em up (which has16" tires), you know those little trailer tires are just a humpin' to keep up! And, usually, I put a respectable amount of miles on the Starcraft every year to where I'm sure it was/is needed. One year I did'nt travel so much, maybe only about 3,000 miles, because of some medical proceedures I was going through, so I did not repack for that year. Last year (camper was bought new in 2000), I replaced the bearings along with the usual annual re-packing.

I know of some who do not re-pack every year but do so only every other year or maybe every three years, but they do not make that many long distant hauls. In my case, I'm subject to make a 1,000 + mile trip (one way!) and since those 12" tires will be a turn'in, I'm going to pe-pack & re-seal as recommended.

By the way, Dexter says for my 12" tires, that 65 mph should be top highway speed.


Fly