Can you please explain the 2 tools you use to remove the seal...some type of pliers along with the other one that allows for leverage? Thanks so much for the video, huge help.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. Here are the list of tools: Dust cap pliers- amzn.to/32ABDQZ Seal puller-amzn.to/3c4fjT5 Bearing Packer- amzn.to/2EcDqT4
I wish the people that give thumbs down were forced to provide an explanation. I think is a terrific, easily understood and very informative video. Thank you, great job!
I guess one possibility is they may be working on the same axle on a boat trailer in which case you would want to actually use that bearing buddy in this situation you’re simply using it for a cap which is perfect for a trailer that doesn’t go in the water! Great job just looking at your hands tells you have some idea of what the hell you’re doing! Experience is the best teacher
I did provide an explanation. This is a driveway mechanic version of doing the job properly. If you are going to go the the trouble to repack the bearings the very least you can do is replace the seals and not reuse the old ones. You also need to pack the hub full of grease. If the only grease in the hub is in the bearings and race it will quickly thin out and move to the center of the hub and then the bearings have inadequate lubrication. That is the beauty of the spindles with a grease zerk on the end that pushes the grease from behind the back bearing out to the front, effectively packing both bearings each time you grease them PROPERLY.
@@crappieslinger yeah I’ve only done this job once before.. it only cost about $15 per side for the bearings and new caps.. may as well just use all new parts and grease it up
I really like the fact that you explained the reasons why bearing buddies are not fail safe. Sometimes the old fashioned way of doing things is the best way.
Until now, I completely unaware that using my bearing buddy was resulting in an incomplete and potentially hazardous situation. Greatly appreciate your no-nonsense approach as well. Thank you!
From eTrailer: Bearing Buddy pumps grease into the center of the hub all the way back to the grease seal. A double lip seal should be used to prevent grease from blowing out the seal when added. When the hub and seals and bearings are first assembled, they should be packed. After a period of time and when you want to maintain the grease on the bearings, the grease would travel from the zerk fitting on the Bearing buddy through the outer bearing. It would then fill the cavity inside the hub and continue to the inner bearing. You will want to use caution when using bearing protectors and make sure you do not overfill the hub with grease because too much grease can blow out through the grease seal.
@@jimlindagochnauer2610 That is good to know. I just bought a set of Bearing Buddies and that was my understanding of how they worked. They claim the new ones have a valve that will allow grease to escape if too much is applied.
That blue grease packer is dope and so is that gasket puller. You're one of those dudes that buys the correct tools for the job. Respect. Imma just sit here with my palm and small flathead and a wish lmao
I'm a mechanic, so I have to have the right tools for a job like this. Since I am a mechanic it has taught me to have that having the right tools for a jobs is faster, and gives better results. On a job like this, you will be fine packing the bearings by hand.
Your welcome Bill! If your trailer has small tires, they bearings will need serviced more frequently because the tires will make more revolutions per mile than trailer with larger tires.
Great, I'm not the only one who didn't do this! Now I will... lesson learned! I have a small utility trailer that I use to haul kayaks around. Still need to maintain it well.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video, but you passed right over an important part without explanation, cleaning the bearings. What do you clean them with and how do you clean them? Also, most people don’t have the bearing tools that you have and if they did they wouldn’t have to watch the video! Next time make the video using regular tools, this would help a lot more people I think.
Great video! I learned my lesson about Bearing Buddies the hard way, lost my left trailer wheel on the freeway because the bearings apparently were gone over time even though I greased through the Bearing Buddies periodically; I had to have my axle rebuilt with 2 new wheel hubs and the most important advice I was given when I picked it up was "DON'T USE THE BEARING BUDDIES... grease the old school way and hand pack them or use a bearing packer! ... if you use the Bearing Buddies's, you'll force grease out of the seals and crack them because you're introducing new grease and there's no room to hold both old and new grease, old stuff has to go somewhere and it will be forced out through the seals." This video is a valuable lesson!! It repeats what my trailer guy told me. Thanx for sharing!!
Thanks Roger. That's the problem with bearing-buddy's b/c they give a false sense bearing lubrication. When I fished tournaments, several fellow boat owners had burned their bearings b/c the bearings were NOT well lubed. They said they put lube in the bearing buddy's and that's when they realized the grease did not go through to the rear bearings. They pumped grease into a salt-water filled race (ouch). Excellent job, Roger. Full-watch.
How are you doing? I had not seen you around in a while. You do fishing tournaments? My uncle was looking at trailers for his jon boat years ago. One of the selling points on the trailer he got was bearing buddys. Thanks for watching!
Hey back at ya, Roger. Yep, I fished bass tournaments back in the early 80's up until late 80's. Since we were on the east coast, we fished branches that were brackish. What a nightmare that proved to be for trailer bodies, axles, and anything that was metal. Sorry, not many videos made this year but I'll get some out. Good talking to ya. Have a fine week.
People need to understand that even with a set of bearing buddies or the easy lube hub you still have to take them apart clean them and check them and reinstall them once a year, or you’re just asking for five hours along side the busiest highway in the country!
@@theusconstitution1776 You're definitely right on the money, Pete. Along side a very busy road with a very heavy load on the trailer at that. Thanks for the courtesy reminder b/c you're spot-on. Have a fine upcoming week. 👍🏽🙂
As cheap as most seals etc are I always go ahead and repack, replace and clean everything up before I button it all back down.. You end up with a fully serviced hub good for years ... vs not doing it all and having to do it more often as well as end up with bad parts screwing up good parts/// Thanks It is always nice to see someone do their own work.. I try to and so far I haven't paid a mechanic or a service hand in over 40 years... I'm retired so.. yeah I think it's all been worth.. it !
Was going to say this as well. I just did mine and both inner bearings were corroded and rusty due to the seals being hard and I guess worn - cleaned them up and they dont look worn but the rubber was all hard and brittle. then i read while purchasing a bearing kit that mfr recommends REPLACE THE SEALS EVERY TIME YOU REPACK - they are a wear item and can save your bearings from early death. former owner said he repacked previous year and i believe him, but he obviously re-used the seals for years...now i gotta buy a whole kit to replace bearings and seals. Good on you for using a new cotter pin tho! never reuse those either. not worth it.
I'm still going to have a pro do the work for me, but I like seeing what's involved. Your video was well done. Straight to the tutorial and no fluff or other useless BS. Nicely done and very informative.
This was a great video...very detailed and straight to the point. Thank you for posting. I will be greasing my bearings today on a trailer I am selling..I thought you simply remove the cap and slap some grease in there..end of story....
Thank you so much! I am just starting to repack into a Casita travel trailer and did not know any procedures to follow. Now I feel much more competent and know what to look for.
Very well done video i noticed there was no B.S. of fluff....just on point and to the point...Thank you this will help me a lot when I tackle this job.
I'm a rv mechanic of 20 years, and I agree with everything you said except I always recommend new grease seals, there cheaper than a pack of gum and the rubber and spring wear making them more likely to release grease on to brakes, and my personal opinion bearing buddies have no place on axels with brakes, but great video.
I agree. I have E-Z Lube axels on my tailor. I still repack my bearings every two years and/or replace them every four. I use my E-Z Lube once or twice a year after the trailer has been sitting in the off-season. Or if I use it more than usual during the season, I'll give the axle a couple of squirts once in a while. Other than that, they still need to be repacked and the old grease cleaned out regularly.
I think a lot of people don't know that bearing buddies are spring loaded so that the hub is pressurized for a longer period of time. I usually grease them just before I back my boat trailer into the water. You can see the grease zero move out and will stay there if there is no bad seal. As far as the worry you might over grease the bearing buddy pushing the seal out of the hub you should know that the design of the bearing buddy has a bleed hole that lets the grease out of the same area as the zerk is installed on.
I liked the information you provided. Personally I would highly recommend replacing the seals. They don't cost that much, might save you another bearing job later on.
I've not packed wheel bearings in nearly 20 years so I wanted a refresher. Very well done, I would say however please wear gloves, your hands are a sponge and you absorb the toxins in grease, oil, etc. Again, thank you.
helpful video, thanks! For my trailer, I'm thinking about getting some new cotter pins, 'cause mine are really old... It's way overdue for repacking the wheel bearings.
Great video much appreciated I do have one question though I followed the video to t But when I put everything together including the lug nuts spun the tire when it was finished and it still sounds rough? Does that mean maybe the castle nut is too tight?
No brakes Maybe the castle nut is just a little too tight? I did notice that with the bearing that there was a bit of play between the outer and inner rings Everything was cleaned and everything was smooth
You can remove the hub and look at the seal. There should be a number on it. You can also measure the seal. There should be a tag on the axle to tell you what it is so you can find it by application. You probably have a 2k axle.
Great video. Question. I’m currently renovating a single axle and want to change the bearings. If my axle doesn’t have a number to identify it is there another way to determine what type of bearings I need?
You should never loosen the spindle nut to line up the hole for the cotter pin. Always tighten to next castelation. Backing it of will allow more play then needed and can damage the bearings , Also if too tight will damage the bearings by overheating. But one castelation will not . just the right amount of preload. I work on airplanes and the manufacturer gives us a certain torque to tighten the nut and then back it off to zero and re-tighten to a lower torque spec then go to next castelation to line up the cotter pin hole. never back off.
I don't agree. I was taught by old timers. Finger tight after seating, back off to fit pin. A full castle nut lug tighter and you're too tight,. Too tight is worst, as more heat is generated, Degrading your grease and destroying the bearings prematurely. Hub Should not move laterally but spin freely. If movement repeat process. That's how I was taught. Never lost any bearings yet.
Tapered bearings do better loose than tight. I know you work on airplanes. You do understand that airplane wheels don't just spin for hours and hours right? Slightly tight probably won't hurt for heading down the taxiway or taking off. But a 10 hour trip down the highway at 60+.....probably not so well.
Definitely depends on the application. I work in heavy equipment component repair, some ag components also. Most tapered roller bearings have .001-.003" preload. Few have .000-.002" endplay. Others you apply anywhere from 1,400 pounds of force to 20,000 pounds of force with a press and measure to figure out how much shimming is needed to maintain that setting. Small trailer axles are the only application I know of where a castle nut gets backed off rather than advanced to the next slot.
Nice work. Forget the bearing buddy. It allows debris and water into the bearings. It looks good on paper, but I've not had very good luck with them. Just use a dust seal.
nice video, however your reasons in the beginning about the bearing buddie is spot on.....yes you're just mixing new grease with old grease....and then.......... you put the bearing buddy back on....WHY??
When I was a kid my dad didn't maintain the wheel bearings properly, and we had the entire wheel come off while driving down the highway. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone because it probably would have been deadly. We were on vacation, and only a mile or two from the next town, so my dad lashed a log to the axle and dragged the trailer to the nearest tire shop. I'll never forget the trail of sawdust we left on the road 😂
Hi Roger. I'm about to go through the Bearings and the Electric Brakes on an older enclosed trailer I bought earlier this year. The Hub Nut needs to simply be finger tight (after backing off)? I don't need to apply a certain amount of torque to preload the Bearing? Will defo look out for your Brake how-to video....thanks.
I tighten the nut down some with the tool I used in the video, so it is not super tight. Then I loosen the nut, and re-tighten til there is no play. If you trailer has dexter axles, here is the manul for them. www.dexteraxle.com/docs/default-source/dexteraxle/product-documentation/manuals/600-8k_complete_service_manual.pdf?sfvrsn=cfe1e328_42 Here is the trailer brake video. th-cam.com/video/ZrLZcvIGR48/w-d-xo.html
Great video. I was expecting to hear an air gun wrench sound during the time lapse nut removal. I think I would wear gloves while handling the grease. And the biggy - a couple of bad camera angles where the right arm blocks the camera from seeing the part and related action. Otherwise, the learning is all there. Are there different sizes of trailer bearings? How easy to obtain the special tool you used to remove the seal?
From what I understand bearing buddy's are for Marine application. There not ment to grease the bearing. There ment to slightly pressure the seals to prevent water from getting in. My dad always make me give them a pump before backing the boat in the water.
Thanx To Point Out To Every-one the mixing of clean vs dirty grease aka just makes the clean grease last less longer! Bravo To save the seal, doesnt work that easy for Me :) . 2 axle brakes is excellent idea especially if you live in mountain or hilly areas of travel. People Good idea to take rim off hub for saving the wheel seal latr.
We picked up a pop up camper and on the way home we noticed smoking and the hub cap was gone. Only one wheel at first. We’ll be doing this today,hoping this is it!
Can you please explain the 2 tools you use to remove the seal...some type of pliers along with the other one that allows for leverage? Thanks so much for the video, huge help.
I'm glad you found the video helpful. Here are the list of tools:
Dust cap pliers- amzn.to/32ABDQZ
Seal puller-amzn.to/3c4fjT5
Bearing Packer- amzn.to/2EcDqT4
Only explanation is they don't know how to do it themselves!
@@TractorTech Thank you. Your video is a huge help.
Use a piece of doll rod to tap the bearing and seal out from the front side.
That's 'dowell rod' if you want to go looking for it online. Its also very good advice that you gave.@thepoopsoup
I wish the people that give thumbs down were forced to provide an explanation. I think is a terrific, easily understood and very informative video. Thank you, great job!
Thanks, I appreciate that!
I guess one possibility is they may be working on the same axle on a boat trailer in which case you would want to actually use that bearing buddy in this situation you’re simply using it for a cap which is perfect for a trailer that doesn’t go in the water! Great job just looking at your hands tells you have some idea of what the hell you’re doing! Experience is the best teacher
I did provide an explanation. This is a driveway mechanic version of doing the job properly. If you are going to go the the trouble to repack the bearings the very least you can do is replace the seals and not reuse the old ones. You also need to pack the hub full of grease. If the only grease in the hub is in the bearings and race it will quickly thin out and move to the center of the hub and then the bearings have inadequate lubrication. That is the beauty of the spindles with a grease zerk on the end that pushes the grease from behind the back bearing out to the front, effectively packing both bearings each time you grease them PROPERLY.
Force is never the answer. I wish TH-cam still showed the dislike counters.
@@crappieslinger yeah I’ve only done this job once before.. it only cost about $15 per side for the bearings and new caps.. may as well just use all new parts and grease it up
Hands-down one of the best step by step instructions. Thank you for not talking too much.
Thanks for the good feedback!
I really like the fact that you explained the reasons why bearing buddies are not fail safe. Sometimes the old fashioned way of doing things is the best way.
I"m glad you liked the video!
Clear, concise, yet thorough. Props!
This is the Citizen Kane of trailer bearing repacking videos. Thanks for the information that's directly to the point.
Thank you!
Until now, I completely unaware that using my bearing buddy was resulting in an incomplete and potentially hazardous situation. Greatly appreciate your no-nonsense approach as well. Thank you!
Your welcome!
From eTrailer: Bearing Buddy pumps grease into the center of the hub all the way back to the grease seal. A double lip seal should be used to prevent grease from blowing out the seal when added. When the hub and seals and bearings are first assembled, they should be packed. After a period of time and when you want to maintain the grease on the bearings, the grease would travel from the zerk fitting on the Bearing buddy through the outer bearing. It would then fill the cavity inside the hub and continue to the inner bearing. You will want to use caution when using bearing protectors and make sure you do not overfill the hub with grease because too much grease can blow out through the grease seal.
Thx for the video.
@@jimlindagochnauer2610 That is good to know. I just bought a set of Bearing Buddies and that was my understanding of how they worked. They claim the new ones have a valve that will allow grease to escape if too much is applied.
That blue grease packer is dope and so is that gasket puller. You're one of those dudes that buys the correct tools for the job. Respect. Imma just sit here with my palm and small flathead and a wish lmao
I'm a mechanic, so I have to have the right tools for a job like this. Since I am a mechanic it has taught me to have that having the right tools for a jobs is faster, and gives better results. On a job like this, you will be fine packing the bearings by hand.
Thanks Roger. I have a small light duty trailer and have never serviced the bearings. Now I know how. Great explanation.
Your welcome Bill! If your trailer has small tires, they bearings will need serviced more frequently because the tires will make more revolutions per mile than trailer with larger tires.
Great, I'm not the only one who didn't do this!
Now I will... lesson learned! I have a small utility trailer that I use to haul kayaks around. Still need to maintain it well.
Great video. Very straightforward and easy to follow. Great job and thanks for the overview of this task.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video, but you passed right over an important part without explanation, cleaning the bearings. What do you clean them with and how do you clean them? Also, most people don’t have the bearing tools that you have and if they did they wouldn’t have to watch the video! Next time make the video using regular tools, this would help a lot more people I think.
Great video! I learned my lesson about Bearing Buddies the hard way, lost my left trailer wheel on the freeway because the bearings apparently were gone over time even though I greased through the Bearing Buddies periodically; I had to have my axle rebuilt with 2 new wheel hubs and the most important advice I was given when I picked it up was "DON'T USE THE BEARING BUDDIES... grease the old school way and hand pack them or use a bearing packer! ... if you use the Bearing Buddies's, you'll force grease out of the seals and crack them because you're introducing new grease and there's no room to hold both old and new grease, old stuff has to go somewhere and it will be forced out through the seals." This video is a valuable lesson!! It repeats what my trailer guy told me. Thanx for sharing!!
Thanks for watching and commenting! You were lucky that your axle was resuable. Have a good week!
Bearing buddies don’t replace regular maintenance.
Thanks Roger. That's the problem with bearing-buddy's b/c they give a false sense bearing lubrication. When I fished tournaments, several fellow boat owners had burned their bearings b/c the bearings were NOT well lubed. They said they put lube in the bearing buddy's and that's when they realized the grease did not go through to the rear bearings. They pumped grease into a salt-water filled race (ouch). Excellent job, Roger. Full-watch.
How are you doing? I had not seen you around in a while. You do fishing tournaments? My uncle was looking at trailers for his jon boat years ago. One of the selling points on the trailer he got was bearing buddys. Thanks for watching!
Hey back at ya, Roger. Yep, I fished bass tournaments back in the early 80's up until late 80's. Since we were on the east coast, we fished branches that were brackish. What a nightmare that proved to be for trailer bodies, axles, and anything that was metal. Sorry, not many videos made this year but I'll get some out. Good talking to ya. Have a fine week.
That sounds like fun. I'm having a hard time getting videos out this year too.Have a good week.
People need to understand that even with a set of bearing buddies or the easy lube hub you still have to take them apart clean them and check them and reinstall them once a year, or you’re just asking for five hours along side the busiest highway in the country!
@@theusconstitution1776 You're definitely right on the money, Pete. Along side a very busy road with a very heavy load on the trailer at that. Thanks for the courtesy reminder b/c you're spot-on. Have a fine upcoming week. 👍🏽🙂
As cheap as most seals etc are I always go ahead and repack, replace and clean everything up before I button it all back down.. You end up with a fully serviced hub good for years ... vs not doing it all and having to do it more often as well as end up with bad parts screwing up good parts/// Thanks It is always nice to see someone do their own work.. I try to and so far I haven't paid a mechanic or a service hand in over 40 years... I'm retired so.. yeah I think it's all been worth.. it !
New seals are not a bad idea. It is not an oil bath hub so if the seal leaks, it is not like oil is going to get on the brakes.
Was going to say this as well. I just did mine and both inner bearings were corroded and rusty due to the seals being hard and I guess worn - cleaned them up and they dont look worn but the rubber was all hard and brittle. then i read while purchasing a bearing kit that mfr recommends REPLACE THE SEALS EVERY TIME YOU REPACK - they are a wear item and can save your bearings from early death. former owner said he repacked previous year and i believe him, but he obviously re-used the seals for years...now i gotta buy a whole kit to replace bearings and seals.
Good on you for using a new cotter pin tho! never reuse those either. not worth it.
Thank you for a simple and easy to understand step by step tutorial. Great work and very helpful!
You're very welcome!
I just bought a small utility trailer and this video is going to make maintenance so much easier for me.
That is great to hear!
Thank you for taking the time to record this. Nice job!
I'm still going to have a pro do the work for me, but I like seeing what's involved. Your video was well done. Straight to the tutorial and no fluff or other useless BS. Nicely done and very informative.
This was a great video...very detailed and straight to the point. Thank you for posting. I will be greasing my bearings today on a trailer I am selling..I thought you simply remove the cap and slap some grease in there..end of story....
Thanks! Good luck on the sale of your trailer.
Very good video, by a guy who really knows his stuff!
Very informative. Thank you. I’m almost confident enough to tackle this myself.
Thank you so much! I am just starting to repack into a Casita travel trailer and did not know any procedures to follow. Now I feel much more competent and know what to look for.
Your welcome. Good luck with your project!
Good info. I always take the tire off first, so the hub is easier to handle.
Well done video - plain and simple but very accurate and informative
Thank you kindly!
Roger, Sir! Thank you for this excellent video. Im ready to do this for the first time.
Very simple and easy to understand. Thanks for posting this video
Great presentation bud. No BS
Just good content and great presentation thanks keep up the good work
Much appreciated!
Repack bearings many a times a time-consuming but well worth it, maintenance is the key to longevity
Great video. Now I know what to do along with just installing the bearing buddy.
Very well done video i noticed there was no B.S. of fluff....just on point and to the point...Thank you this will help me a lot when I tackle this job.
You're welcome!
Straightforward to-the-point thank you buddy
Yep, this guy knows what he’s doing. 100% correct
Perfect video. Just right. Much thanks from Tennessee.
Glad it helped!
Great Video, one of the best I have seen on that subject.
Thank you!
I'm a rv mechanic of 20 years, and I agree with everything you said except I always recommend new grease seals, there cheaper than a pack of gum and the rubber and spring wear making them more likely to release grease on to brakes, and my personal opinion bearing buddies have no place on axels with brakes, but great video.
I agree. I have E-Z Lube axels on my tailor. I still repack my bearings every two years and/or replace them every four. I use my E-Z Lube once or twice a year after the trailer has been sitting in the off-season. Or if I use it more than usual during the season, I'll give the axle a couple of squirts once in a while. Other than that, they still need to be repacked and the old grease cleaned out regularly.
I agree, they old grease needs to be cleaned out once in a while.
I think a lot of people don't know that bearing buddies are spring loaded so that the hub is pressurized for a longer period of time. I usually grease them just before I back my boat trailer into the water. You can see the grease zero move out and will stay there if there is no bad seal. As far as the worry you might over grease the bearing buddy pushing the seal out of the hub you should know that the design of the bearing buddy has a bleed hole that lets the grease out of the same area as the zerk is installed on.
I liked the information you provided. Personally I would highly recommend replacing the seals. They don't cost that much, might save you another bearing job later on.
Thanks for watching!
Well laid out with great reference comments ( from experience)
I agree about bearing buddies, learned the hard way. Good video
Thanks! I heard my dad having a discussion with a customer about bearing buddies today.
@@TractorTech worthless
They give people a false sense of doing maintenance
I have to do this tomorrow. Great video, thank you!
Thank you!
Thanks for making it clear and simple.
You're welcome!
Good evening Sir, very well made bearing maintenance video !!! Your very good at it and very good detail ! Keep up the good work !!! Cheers !!!
Thanks Dave. I appreciate you watching and commenting on my videos!
@@TractorTech Have a good week !!! Cheers !!!
This is exactly what I needed for my trailer! Thank you!
You are welcome!
Excellent informative video thanks for posting it!!
I've not packed wheel bearings in nearly 20 years so I wanted a refresher.
Very well done, I would say however please wear gloves, your hands are a sponge and you absorb the toxins in grease, oil, etc.
Again, thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Slayer, U B Running On Borrowed Time, The Force was with You!!!
Good video bud. Straight and to the point. And no funny shit or sillys.
Thank you!
Nice video just what I was looking for.
Glad I would help!
Awesome video andvery informative, thank you
You are welcome!
helpful video, thanks! For my trailer, I'm thinking about getting some new cotter pins, 'cause mine are really old... It's way overdue for repacking the wheel bearings.
I'm glad you found the video helpful!
Guess what I’m doing this weekend? Thanks for the informative video
Have fun!
Great video much appreciated I do have one question though I followed the video to t
But when I put everything together including the lug nuts spun the tire when it was finished and it still sounds rough?
Does that mean maybe the castle nut is too tight?
Is this on an axle with brakes?
No brakes
Maybe the castle nut is just a little too tight?
I did notice that with the bearing that there was a bit of play between the outer and inner rings
Everything was cleaned and everything was smooth
@@Ryan-yi6su It is tough to say without seeing it but it sounds like you have a bad bearing.
Fixed
With an 8$ bearing and Lucas Xtra heavy duty grease
@@Ryan-yi6su I'm glad you found the noise.
Thank you. Excellent tutorial.
Very good how to video.
Excellant tutorial...Thank you Sir.
Thanks brother, good stuff, great maintenance tips
You are welcome!
Are these light duty axles pretty much the same? I have a small popup trailer with a 4 lug hub. I would prefer new seals but don't know what to buy
You can remove the hub and look at the seal. There should be a number on it. You can also measure the seal. There should be a tag on the axle to tell you what it is so you can find it by application. You probably have a 2k axle.
Any advice for getting the seal off if it’s really really tight?
You can use a prybar to pop it out. You will need new seals.
I have a super-lube axle and I don't remove my bearing buddies. Just take the buddy apart and then remove the spindle nut and hub?
Pop the bearing buddy off then remove the spindle nut.
Great video. Question. I’m currently renovating a single axle and want to change the bearings. If my axle doesn’t have a number to identify it is there another way to determine what type of bearings I need?
The bearings should have a number on them. If not they can be measured to figure out what you need.
Damn, I need to design and 3d print that bearing grease packer, great idea.
Did you ever end up designing one? I'd love to get the file if you did.
Great idea!
Great video. Very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Isn't there few old vehicles that the wheel bearing will be compatible with mobile home trailer áxle like old gm or ford 2 wd truck
I'm not sure.
You should never loosen the spindle nut to line up the hole for the cotter pin. Always tighten to next castelation. Backing it of will allow more play then needed and can damage the bearings , Also if too tight will damage the bearings by overheating. But one castelation will not . just the right amount of preload. I work on airplanes and the manufacturer gives us a certain torque to tighten the nut and then back it off to zero and re-tighten to a lower torque spec then go to next castelation to line up the cotter pin hole. never back off.
I don't agree. I was taught by old timers. Finger tight after seating, back off to fit pin. A full castle nut lug tighter and you're too tight,. Too tight is worst, as more heat is generated, Degrading your grease and destroying the bearings prematurely.
Hub Should not move laterally but spin freely.
If movement repeat process.
That's how I was taught. Never lost any bearings yet.
Tapered bearings do better loose than tight. I know you work on airplanes. You do understand that airplane wheels don't just spin for hours and hours right? Slightly tight probably won't hurt for heading down the taxiway or taking off. But a 10 hour trip down the highway at 60+.....probably not so well.
Application matters.
Definitely depends on the application. I work in heavy equipment component repair, some ag components also. Most tapered roller bearings have .001-.003" preload. Few have .000-.002" endplay. Others you apply anywhere from 1,400 pounds of force to 20,000 pounds of force with a press and measure to figure out how much shimming is needed to maintain that setting. Small trailer axles are the only application I know of where a castle nut gets backed off rather than advanced to the next slot.
Hey Roger. I'm Roger. Thanks Bro.
Your welcome Roger!
Nice work. Forget the bearing buddy. It allows debris and water into the bearings. It looks good on paper, but I've not had very good luck with them. Just use a dust seal.
nice video, however
your reasons in the beginning about the bearing buddie is spot on.....yes you're just mixing new grease with old grease....and then..........
you put the bearing buddy back on....WHY??
New boat owner here. Wondering what happens if you don't do this and they go bad? My trailer is 15 yrs old. Thanks!
A wheel bearing will fail, possibly ruining the axles, and hub or brake drum. You will be sitting along side of the road.
ruined a fishing trip for me about 5 years ago.
When I was a kid my dad didn't maintain the wheel bearings properly, and we had the entire wheel come off while driving down the highway. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone because it probably would have been deadly.
We were on vacation, and only a mile or two from the next town, so my dad lashed a log to the axle and dragged the trailer to the nearest tire shop. I'll never forget the trail of sawdust we left on the road 😂
How can you call the tool you used to pack the bearing quicker???
I'm assuming you clean the bearings before repacking what did you use to clean them
Wipe them off with a shop towel then use brake parts cleaner.
What do I do if I don’t have a bearing packer? Wish you had shown how to do this without specialized tools.
You can pack bearings by hand but it would be best to buy a bearing packer. They don't cost much.
Hi Roger. I'm about to go through the Bearings and the Electric Brakes on an older enclosed trailer I bought earlier this year.
The Hub Nut needs to simply be finger tight (after backing off)? I don't need to apply a certain amount of torque to preload the Bearing?
Will defo look out for your Brake how-to video....thanks.
I tighten the nut down some with the tool I used in the video, so it is not super tight. Then I loosen the nut, and re-tighten til there is no play. If you trailer has dexter axles, here is the manul for them. www.dexteraxle.com/docs/default-source/dexteraxle/product-documentation/manuals/600-8k_complete_service_manual.pdf?sfvrsn=cfe1e328_42
Here is the trailer brake video.
th-cam.com/video/ZrLZcvIGR48/w-d-xo.html
Thank you sir! Very helpful.
You are welcome
Great video. I was expecting to hear an air gun wrench sound during the time lapse nut removal. I think I would wear gloves while handling the grease. And the biggy - a couple of bad camera angles where the right arm blocks the camera from seeing the part and related action. Otherwise, the learning is all there. Are there different sizes of trailer bearings? How easy to obtain the special tool you used to remove the seal?
Yes there are different size bearings for different axles. The link to the tool is pinned that the top of the comments.
Great video! Thank you for doing this.
Your welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Skipped over the cleaning process and material used. Why?
From what I understand bearing buddy's are for Marine application. There not ment to grease the bearing. There ment to slightly pressure the seals to prevent water from getting in. My dad always make me give them a pump before backing the boat in the water.
You are correct about that.
Thanks for a great explanation!!!!
Your welcome!
So how did you clean the bearings?? You left out critical step.
You can wash them in diesel fuel or blow them out with some brake cleaner.
Good information , thanks.
Thank you I believe I got it😊
so how did you clean the dirty bearings?
Wiped them off and blew the out with brake parts cleaner til they were spotless.
So, no need for a grease gun?
So the bearing buddies are basically useless. Thanks for this video.
Thanx To Point Out To Every-one the mixing of clean vs dirty grease aka just makes the clean grease last less longer! Bravo To save the seal, doesnt work that easy for Me :) . 2 axle brakes is excellent idea especially if you live in mountain or hilly areas of travel. People Good idea to take rim off hub for saving the wheel seal latr.
I've had some complain about resuing the seal. Thanks for watching!
Good video , but should have shown how you cleaned the bearings before repack.
Well, here is your chance to make a video and show us how you clean the bearings.
At the end, should I have any play on the wheel on not. Thanks!
There should not be play.
Are most trailers easy like this?
Yes.
We picked up a pop up camper and on the way home we noticed smoking and the hub cap was gone. Only one wheel at first. We’ll be doing this today,hoping this is it!
Keep your eye your brakes also. They could be dragging.
Excellent video. Thanks.
Glad you liked it!
Great video
Thank you!
Thanks for the video
No problem!
I don't really understand. What's the point of using the bearing buddy if you have to do all this work anyways?
Me either.
Always pump the space between the bearings full of grease, centrifugal force will keep grease on the bearings!
Never reuse a removed seal.
nice vid
Never would have thought he was gonna do the wheel bearings with out removing the wheel lol
Why? It isn't nessecary.
Thanks for doing this
No problem!
Once you've removed the wheels from the trailer, it's best to throw the rest of the trailer away and start fresh with a new trailer.
Thanks for watching!
Great video thanks
Glad you enjoyed it