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Posts: 5874
| In my experience, wheel bearings don't go bad, if properly maintained. The usual culprit is lack of maintenance, improper packing, or relying on Bearing Buddies to keep your bearings from welding themselves to the axle. Is it possible that the brakes may have been dragging, and heating them up?
I suspect that the dealer had learned many years ago, that DIYers sometimes don't really know how to properly repack and install trailer bearings, and that is why they wouldn't stand behind it today. Once somebody else touched them, they were done with it. Actually, there is no way to figure out what happened at this point.
I had a problem about 20 years ago on the way Eastern Ontario with a borrowed boat. I offered to maintain the bearings before we left, but he assured me that the Bearing Buddies were just "Filled", and wouldn't be a problem. We went about 150 miles, and I heard the chirping of dry bearings. Touched the hubs, and nearly stuck my fingers to them, they were so hot. Luckily, they weren't welded on, an Auto Store was open, had the bearings, and some tools, and we did them at night, under the parking lot lights. Now, whenever I go on a trip, I feel the hubs whenever I stop, usually no more than 250 miles. Never had a hot hub in many years, except for a sticky brake caliper this spring.
Edited by Shep 7/8/2004 11:49 PM
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