|
|
Posts: 512
| afternoon gents, getting the boat ready today for a trip south next week and noticed that i have a little bit of play in the passenger side bearing.. i'd say no more than 16th of an inch. can barely feel it move.. but of course this has me concerned.
should i be? i think ive read a little play is ok and or normal.. never had an issue before, knock on wood, but just started to learn about bearing maintenance in the last 10-15 years.. im amazed back then i didnt have any problems.. First time i took mine of this boat to replace, there was water and rust on the spindles... so i replaced them with a prepackaged set a few years ago, was kind of a pain because the inner seals were a little snug, so i had to order different size seals.. and thats whats on there now.. i always take off the bearing buddies, and clean up and re-grease every year, but this is the first time where ive noticed any play.. and of course when i tapped the bearing buddy back on, i think it made it a little worse..
thoughts please??
thanks, Dave |
|
| |
|
Location: Eastern Ontario | Not a fan of bearing buddies i pull my bearings every spring clean repack and replace seals also put silicone on dust caps before replacing |
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| they just always made sense to me if they work as advertised. i heard that if your hubs are hot when you launch, when they hit the water they cool, and that could make it suck water into the hubs.. these keep a little pressure on the hub to prevent that supposedly.
but, do you think my play on one side will be an issue?? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I'd play safe on this one... A tear down, seal replacement, and new grease is a good thing to do if for no other reason than peace of mind.
If there is 1/16" of play, I'd say that is too much, and if that play wasn't there beforehand when you installed the hubs originally, it could be an indicator of an issue just starting to form. The last thing I think anyone would want is to run into a bearing issue on the road. I've been on trips where another person's trailer had issues like that, and it's not fun, it's time consuming, and it can be quite expensive...
I wish you were closer Dave... We'd get that thing torn down and repacked quickly.
I feel you should take the hour to tear down, inspect, clean up, replace the seals and repack the bearings....both sides.. Turn the hub the counter-clockwise while you tighten the castle nut until the hub cannot spin, then back it off, and slowly tighten while checking free-play. Get as close as possible to no free play...it'll be between two notches on the castle nut...one will have a tiny amount of free-play, the next will be no play. THAT is the position to set your hub to. It'll run nice and cool...
The biggest thing is peace of mind.. If you don't do it, it will be on your mind all trip...
I think the bearing buddies create a nice tight fit on the outside of the hubs...much tighter than a simple dust cap. With greased bearings, the seal is not a perfect and water can get in....but...in the many many years I have run them, the only time I ever had water intrusion was when I left the trailer in the water while I fished for a couple of hours in the late late season. For a quick few minute dunk for load/unload, things stay pretty clear of water...maybe a droplet or two that gets in over a season.
One thing I have noticed, though, is that bearing buddies do get to a point they don't fit as snug, and when that happens, it is time to replace them. A lost dust cap or bearing buddy is a sure sign to dirty a hub and cause issues on the road...
Steve
Edited by VMS 2/22/2019 10:13 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| VMS - 2/22/2019 10:05 PM
Hiya,
I'd play safe on this one... A tear down, seal replacement, and new grease is a good thing to do if for no other reason than peace of mind.
If there is 1/16" of play, I'd say that is too much, and if that play wasn't there beforehand when you installed the hubs originally, it could be an indicator of an issue just starting to form. The last thing I think anyone would want is to run into a bearing issue on the road. I've been on trips where another person's trailer had issues like that, and it's not fun, it's time consuming, and it can be quite expensive...
I wish you were closer Dave... We'd get that thing torn down and repacked quickly.
I feel you should take the hour to tear down, inspect, clean up, replace the seals and repack the bearings....both sides.. Turn the hub the counter-clockwise while you tighten the castle nut until the hub cannot spin, then back it off, and slowly tighten while checking free-play. Get as close as possible to no free play...it'll be between two notches on the castle nut...one will have a tiny amount of free-play, the next will be no play. THAT is the position to set your hub to. It'll run nice and cool...
The biggest thing is peace of mind.. If you don't do it, it will be on your mind all trip...
I think the bearing buddies create a nice tight fit on the outside of the hubs...much tighter than a simple dust cap. With greased bearings, the seal is not a perfect and water can get in....but...in the many many years I have run them, the only time I ever had water intrusion was when I left the trailer in the water while I fished for a couple of hours in the late late season. For a quick few minute dunk for load/unload, things stay pretty clear of water...maybe a droplet or two that gets in over a season.
One thing I have noticed, though, is that bearing buddies do get to a point they don't fit as snug, and when that happens, it is time to replace them. A lost dust cap or bearing buddy is a sure sign to dirty a hub and cause issues on the road...
Steve
Hey Steve, thanks for the reply. and yes, i was preparing to do just that today, i actually have another set of the prepackaged ones that i replaced a few years back, so im going to do that today.. only thing is, like i said earlier, is the seal on the inside is a little snug, and i thought i had some extra, larger seals, but i do not. hopefully i can find one locally, or possibly reuse the one on the hub i take off. will auto part stores have those on hand possibly? was kind of a pain last time because my trailer has spindle sleeves, but i couldnt get those to go on/stay on, so i went without them.. a little frustrating for sure..
but, need to get cracking and hopefully i can find the inner seals i need
thanks again
Dave |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Brand and model of trailer?
Napa auto usually carries the correct seals as will northern to for the most part. With a parts diagram for your trailer you can get the right seal number, and Napa can cross reference for you.
I’m assuming the seal was hard to install on the hub? If so, get a small chunk of 2x4 and put it on top of the hub seal, then pound the wood with a hammer. Much easier to seat the new seal and it guarantees the seal is flat with the hub.
Where you headed south? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| VMS - 2/23/2019 8:10 AM
Brand and model of trailer?
Napa auto usually carries the correct seals as will northern to for the most part. With a parts diagram for your trailer you can get the right seal number, and Napa can cross reference for you.
I’m assuming the seal was hard to install on the hub? If so, get a small chunk of 2x4 and put it on top of the hub seal, then pound the wood with a hammer. Much easier to seat the new seal and it guarantees the seal is flat with the hub.
Where you headed south?
its a shorelander SLR22LW
i dont think it was an issue installing the seal, maybe removing the wrong sized one was an issue, just finding the right size replacement, and the the whole deal with the spindle sleeve not working for me..
and im familiar with NAPA, but not northern, might be a minnesota thing? 
and we go down to florida every spring and drag giant shiners around looking for 10 lb plus large mouth.. cant wait! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 3472
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | The bearing seal number is this: 4410130
if you call Napa, any auto parts store or to Northern tool, they should be able to cross reference the seal but....if not, these are the specs you will need:
Seal Inside Diameter. = 1.750"
Outside Diameter. = 2.566"
Width = .312"
Fun little project...
|
|
| |
|
Location: Athens, Ohio | I've found there's not a lot of auto mechanics these days that do good work on trailer bearings. I ended up taking my problem to a trailer dealer and got things fixed right. If you have ANY question abt your ability or your parts, I'd go find somebody who does this a lot. Better than finding a tow truck at night in the middle of Georgia somewhere. m |
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| VMS - 2/23/2019 9:14 AM
The bearing seal number is this: 4410130
if you call Napa, any auto parts store or to Northern tool, they should be able to cross reference the seal but....if not, these are the specs you will need:
Seal Inside Diameter. = 1.750"
Outside Diameter. = 2.566"
Width = .312"
Fun little project...
fun, he says. i actually like this kind of stuff, just not 5 days before im heading out for a 16-17 hour drive!
ill pull it off in a few, see what the heck seal i have on the back of that one now!
thanks again for everything Steve.. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| mikie - 2/23/2019 9:15 AM
I've found there's not a lot of auto mechanics these days that do good work on trailer bearings. I ended up taking my problem to a trailer dealer and got things fixed right. If you have ANY question abt your ability or your parts, I'd go find somebody who does this a lot. Better than finding a tow truck at night in the middle of Georgia somewhere. m
ya i may do that in the future, pressed for time now, and i actually trust my work than most any marine or dealer actually..
i did this 4 or 5 years ago, i should be able to handle er this time
just originally asked if i could get by with the play in the hub, but Steves right, not worth the worry if i can take care of it now.. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 292
| vmc
sorry to jump in ......where do you find out this info on parts with out taking it apart for part #s?..im going to replace mine and would like to have parts first.
thanks chris |
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| muskiehunter2 - 2/23/2019 3:58 PM
vmc
sorry to jump in ......where do you find out this info on parts with out taking it apart for part #s?..im going to replace mine and would like to have parts first.
thanks chris
hey Chris, i have a shorelander trailer, and you can go to their website and put in the vin or trailer model and it will tell ya those numbers
NAPA couldnt cross reference em though, but if you can get the sizes, they can hook you up..
i'd order it all online myself,, just pressed for time |
|
| |
|
Posts: 63
| I just did this and O'reilly auto parts has a generic set of races, bearings etc ... that fit ~most~ single axle boat trailers. I did take my old ones into the store but turns out that wasn't necessary. The bearings and races were $50 and the tub of high temp packing grease was $5.
-Darryl
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
| tenthousandand1 - 2/25/2019 8:02 AM
I just did this and O'reilly auto parts has a generic set of races, bearings etc ... that fit ~most~ single axle boat trailers. I did take my old ones into the store but turns out that wasn't necessary. The bearings and races were $50 and the tub of high temp packing grease was $5.
-Darryl
I would suggest just getting the prepackaged hub/bearing kits if it cost that much, I think I paid around $40 for mine.
problem I'm having now is the castle nut adjustment, one hole it seems too loose, the next its too tight, still up in the air what I'm going to do about that. I may put the old one back if I cant get a straight answer from someone soon! |
|
| |
|
Posts: 31
| Here's a good how-to link for getting the pre-load right on trailer wheel bearings:
https://www.championtrailers.com/pre-loading-trailer-wheel-bearings/
I always felt like just a little tight is better than a little loose. Don't want the wheel wobbling. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 512
|
i ended up grinding down the washer a bit, couldnt find a thinner one at the hardware store, and now i can get the nut lined up without using a wrench, and the tire/hub spins easier,
took it for a test ride yesterday, seems good to go. not hot at all after 20-30 minutes highway driving.. |
|
| |
