wheel bearings repacked

[AustinBoston]

AustinBoston,

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.

You are correct on this - I didn't think through it before posting.  I stand by the rest of the post, though.

Austin

[sjwelchjr]

I have an '88 Coleman Shenandoah that I got from my parents when they decided to stop camping.  I have had it for 7 years and logged many miles and camping trips with great fun and success.  I have never repacked the bearings and suspect that they are worn out.  Where do I buy new ones?  At the dealership or somewhere else?

[brainpause]

I have an '88 Coleman Shenandoah that I got from my parents when they decided to stop camping.  I have had it for 7 years and logged many miles and camping trips with great fun and success.  I have never repacked the bearings and suspect that they are worn out.  Where do I buy new ones?  At the dealership or somewhere else?

You can usually get them at auto parts stores.

Larry

[wavery]

I have an '88 Coleman Shenandoah that I got from my parents when they decided to stop camping.  I have had it for 7 years and logged many miles and camping trips with great fun and success.  I have never repacked the bearings and suspect that they are worn out.  Where do I buy new ones?  At the dealership or somewhere else?

When it comes to replacing bearings, you may want to consider taking the trailer to a shop.

When replacing wheel bearings you must replace the races. Don't try to short cut the job by using the old races because bearings and races are a matched set. Also, the slightest imperfection in the old race will quickly ruin a new bearing.

Often times the bearing races are frozen to the spindle and/or in the hub. Sometimes you can heat the race on the spindle with a propane torch and get it off. Other times, it must be chiseled off (best done with an air chisel). If you're not prepared to do that, don't start the job. If you start it and can't finish it, you may be really stuck.

Don't get yourself in a position where you can't get the race off of the spindle and also can't put it back together to tow the trailer to the shop. In that case, you would be faced with having a tow truck come and put the trailer on a dolly or even drag it up on a flatbed truck.

The race in the hub will usually just knock out with a hammer. In some cases, you may have to use an air punch or air chisel to get it out also. If you can't get those out, it's just a matter of taking the hub to an auto parts store with a machine shop.

[Old Goat]

I replaced the wheel bearings on our Niagara last October with out any problems. Knocked out the old races from the hubs and installed new ones with a monel punch I made from a piece of old propeller shaft. Two sets of new bearings with grease seals and cotters plus a can of high temp wheel grease with lithium cost just under $30.00....The old bearings had almost 35,000 miles on them and I thought it was time to change..They looked good and showed no signs of pitting or wear and were not discolored from overheating...I have gone 12 to 15 thousand miles without repacking and trailer gets used all year long and never sits long enough for grease  in the bearings to settle......

[wavery]

I replaced the wheel bearings on our Niagara last October with out any problems. Knocked out the old races from the hubs and installed new ones with a monel punch I made from a piece of old propeller shaft. Two sets of new bearings with grease seals and cotters plus a can of high temp wheel grease with lithium cost just under $30.00....The old bearings had almost 35,000 miles on them and I thought it was time to change..They looked good and showed no signs of pitting or wear and were not discolored from overheating...I have gone 12 to 15 thousand miles without repacking and trailer gets used all year long and never sits long enough for grease  in the bearings to settle......

That's "Best case scenario" and I'll bet that your Niagra is not 16 years old and neglected. However, sjwelchjr stated:

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I have an '88 Coleman Shenandoah..... I have had it for 7 years and logged many miles ..... I have never repacked the bearings and suspect that they are worn out.
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I just thought that he should know what "Worse case scenario" might be.

Hey, Old Goat......did you get my PM?

[unitydnk]

thank you all...
as I just bought it and do not know its history I think repacking is in order...should it have come with  a lug nut wrench..I gotta go buy one now...*SIGH*so I am going to have to guess what size....then take the wheel of then get parts...then finish

[Old Goat]

thank you all...
as I just bought it and do not know its history I think repacking is in order...should it have come with  a lug nut wrench..I gotta go buy one now...*SIGH*so I am going to have to guess what size....then take the wheel of then get parts...then finish

Be sure to buy a four way lug wrench as it will fit the lugs on your trailer and tow vehicle...Also spend a few extra bucks and get a good one..Some of the flea market cheapies, especially the colapsible ones will bend and can break easily, just when you need'um the most.......

[unitydnk]

OK so I took it apart and the first wheel the bearings were everywhere but in the track!!! we are luck nothin happend to it on the way home when we bought it(25 min 70 MPH)any way I bought a new one and am going to put it back together tomorrow...any last min advice about putting it back together?

SO GLAD I TOOK IT APART!!!!!!!!!!

[Old Goat]

OK so I took it apart and the first wheel the bearings were everywhere but in the track!!! we are luck nothin happend to it on the way home when we bought it(25 min 70 MPH)any way I bought a new one and am going to put it back together tomorrow...any last min advice about putting it back together?

SO GLAD I TOOK IT APART!!!!!!!!!!

The keepers that hold the rollers in place on the bearing were broken allowing the rollers to spill out when you took it apart.. Better change bearings on the the other side too as they are probably in the same condition.......

[flyfisherman]

As a follow-up to my previous post on the 1st page of this tread, pulled the little Starcraft down to Charleston, SC, and had the dealer there service the wheel bearings. Cost was $50.00 for re-packing and new seals. Have all the service records since the camper was new and the same cost for the 2001 service was $30.00 ... inflation marches on! Anyway, this dealer does great service work and I'm not begrudging the charge, but looks like next year I'll be back to servicing my own bearings. When the cost was 30 & 35 dollars, and I knew the job was getting done right, just was'nt worth getting my hands all messed up for that price.

Since I was there, did manage to camp three nights and see some old friends. Oh, and did a little fishing in the salt marsh creeks and managed to catch a few!


Fly

[brainpause]

Since I was there, did manage to camp three nights and see some old friends. Oh, and did a little fishing in the salt marsh creeks and managed to catch a few!


Fly

Cool!

Larry

[ScoobyDoo]

Over the years I have worked on lots of bearings. I have learned that the first step after you get it apart is clean and inspect the RACE. The race is much easyer to clean than the bearing, and if the race is pitted then it and the bearing are scrap. If you are just going to throw it away why waste time and solvent cleaning it? Pitts are much eazier to see on the race, if the race is good you still need to check the bearing but if the race is bad, why bother?
 
   The famaly has a car hauling trailer that gets pulled about 15,000mi a year. The only time the bearings get backed is when the brakes need replaced. We built it in 1981, still running the same bearings.

[jimlinalf]

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

Would I be able to get my seals from a NAPA store, or maybe one of the auto zone or advance auto parts places.  I'd like to stay away from our local popup dealer if possible.

Thanks
Jim

[aw738]

I work for Adavance Auto Parts and I can't get the seals for my PU. The one that cross reference from the Dexter part number are close but will not fit. If anyone else has a Dexter axel with 7" brakes finding bearings is not hard. All you need to ask for is the outer wheel bearings for a 72 Plymouth Barracuda with 9" front drum brakes.