Off Topic Wheel End maintenance

spincast

spincast

Well-Known Member
Spring and fall are a good time to inspect your wheel ends, including fasteners, bearings, seals and hubs. You don't wanna be this guy.
Wheel off Incident.
Most trailer manufacturers recommend repacking bearings annually or every 20,000 k. I think the annual interval may be a bit much, but checking the bearing buddies and grease at least monthly, and looking for thrown oil is a must. I inspect monthly and repack at 5 years. I am about obsessive about looking for oil spray
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And that's why I switched to oil bath bearings when I bought my new EZ Loader, wasn't much more money and one of the best decisions I've made. You can even buy retro fit kits to switch from grease to oil bath. Peace of mind. I got real tired of replacing bearings and races and probably the money works out in the end with the parts and grease and seals you have to buy. Regular trailers can survive a few years as long as well lubricated but boat trailers that get sunk into the water every week should really be changed every year.
 
Yep, it’s a good reminder. My friend borrowed my grease gun to do his maintenance and realized he had a seal problem and rust in there.

I keep an eye on them too like the others who replied but I have one other check: when I arrive and I am preparing the boat to launch I put my hand on the hubs and see if any bearings are heating up.

Of course if they are hot it means something is seriously wrong already, but better to find it this way than a failure. This method worked for me in the past when I thought I had a bearing issue on my car, wasn’t sure which side etc…
 
Octavius Brine said:
Yep, it’s a good reminder. My friend borrowed my grease gun to do his maintenance and realized he had a seal problem and rust in there.

I keep an eye on them too like the others who replied but I have one other check: when I arrive and I am preparing the boat to launch I put my hand on the hubs and see if any bearings are heating up.

Of course if they are hot it means something is seriously wrong already, but better to find it this way than a failure. This method worked for me in the past when I thought I had a bearing issue on my car, wasn’t sure which side etc…
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hub temperature is a great way to see if trouble is brewing, works the same on your car or truck too just be careful, they can be screaming hot.
 
My 2003 E Z loader trailer had one side inside rim with thrown/lost grease from the hub assembly earlier this year...so last month Sept. my neighbour and I started with the bad side first..after 19 years I removed the bearing buddy spinning and tapping with a ball peen hammer to finally come out then we tore apart the hub assembly..the 2 taper roller bearing cones were wore down with no numbers and 1 was rusted..yes lack of grease which lets water in at the ramp causing rust damage.

so I got the part numbers from a EZ loader dealer in Alberta with the trailer VIN..Thankyou...I called Standard axle in London and they had the parts instock. we took the parts over to standard axle and matched up parts and the right oil seal . as there are 2 different size inner diameter oil seals to fit the OD on 2 different axle Diameters..Thats important..Ya I double checked the oil seal fit first on the axle

Anyway I bought full replacement hub assemblys for both sides including 2 bearing covers ($12.00) and oh boy they had nice replacement rear trailer lights at $5.00 each..
my invoice total was $56

I been using the quicksilver brand marine 24C grease successfully since 1985 and its been improved with teflon along the way..
ya the other side hub assembly ( 19 seasons old) was like brand new..wow.. we changed them anyway and I kept the old ones for a spare set..
Tires I am on set number #3.. new 2 seasons ago..ya lots of my fishing destinations are miles far

In a normal season I trailer and fish down to LSC up on huron and western basin & half of central Erie..I stay away from the east and like going west..

Like others I check & inspect my boat & trailer during and after each trip..
 
it will help if you can specify double lip seals to keep the water out. On my old trailer I could only get single lip and they failed quite often.
 
Tandem trailers destroy bearings a lot more quickly, especially if you have a heavy boat. There is a lot of side load on the wheels when jackknifing to back up and the bearings are not designed for side load. I did the "hot touch" trick every time I got to the ramp or home. When I had the big boat I removed and cleaned the bearings each year and replaced the seals. Almost every year there was at least one bearing that needed to be replaced, usually on the front axle that gets more sideload when backing up.
 
Hey @Outdorman I think I remember you mentioned about your oil seal not sealing before..

my standard axle invoice Part # 9103307

The description is "Seal Grease Double lip 1" (1.249" ID X 1.986" OD) (30/Sleeve)

Ya that would be a frustrating experience not sealing ...sounds like you got your wheel hub assembly well lubricated now

for you guys looking for parts, easy access off the 401 at Governers Rd ( Airport Rd)

Standard Axle
336 Sovereign Rd
London

phone 519-451-1116
 
Maybe a dumb question and not to derail the topic, but marine grease was mentioned- should I be using that? Is that standard?

I just use regular wheel bearing grease (it was Chevron Starplex I think?). I figure if the seals are fine it’s not supposed to get wet anyhow.
 
Octavius Brine said:
Maybe a dumb question and not to derail the topic, but marine grease was mentioned- should I be using that? Is that standard?

I just use regular wheel bearing grease (it was Chevron Starplex I think?). I figure if the seals are fine it’s not supposed to get wet anyhow.
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Ideally marine grease is better. The non marine grease is miscible with water and overtime this can contaminate bearings, especially if you don't repack them often. If you see the grease looks whiter / a more milky colour than it comes out of the tube, that's an indication water is getting mixed in.
 
Thanks @spincast ... yeah I know the milky look you referred to. I can't recall seeing it often with grease so good to know it shows up the same as with gear oil etc.
 
oh yes the milky oil discovery in the bottom end..

great reminder to check and or most usually change the gear oil before freeze up
 
mick said:
oh yes the milky oil discovery in the bottom end..

great reminder to check and or most usually change the gear oil before freeze up
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Yup - I drain mine into a peanut butter jar, not the black oil collection containers.. Easy to miss it especially if the contamination is just starting.
 

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yup. Lower end pressure test on the menu once the winterization backlog is done at the marina. Flushed the lower end till it ran clear,
 
I agree with @mick standard axle is hands down the best price for trailer parts. Don't believe me, call for a quote somewhere else. They will call you back with a price.... After they get a quote from standard axle! I found out after calling three other trailer places, waiting for a call back then called standard axle. They didn't need all my measurements etc since they just quoted it out three times already
 
Mid-September, I noticed the oil in one my 2005 EZ Loader oil-bath hubs was starting to get low, @ the bottom of logo. Time for an oil change.
I'd put over 3500km on the trailer since the oil change this spring. I change the oil every spring and as required thru the season.
 
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