Ranger boat owners

I have a question for tose of you that have a ranger?????I took my 2004 620 in to have a spring tune up done on it and got a call from the dealer today about the trailer. The two front tires have moisture in the hub and they want to no if I want it fixed??? I figured it should be under warranty cause its only 8 months old but its not and ranger said the moisture will not hurt it, but will it is one of the questions????? They want 100.00 to fix it which is pennys compared to the boat or a new hub but if I have them fix it theres no gurantee the new one wont get moisture either. What would you guys do???????

Wait til it is warm out and fix it yourself. Bearings and seals are not that tough. And I agree 8 months time is not that long. I wounder if they were packed right to begin with.

repacking the bearings is easy. it can be messy because of all the grease. if you don’t have to replace any bearings or races, it takes about 20 minuets a hub….tom f

Here is another option. Liqua-Lube

Thanks guys. If it were just repacking bearings Id do it my self. It has the liquid buddys like steve posted. I have never done these before and wasnt sure what I am geting into. I just dont want it to be one of those do it your self nightmare projects. Ranger claims the moisture will not hurt it so I dont no what to believe.

The dealer you took it to, is he the dealer you bought it from? If so I’d get him to stand behind it, maybe split the cost with you? You said it was a 620 with a tandem trailer and I would think he would want you happy,happy!
If not fork over the hundred and get it done right.

To be honest, a little moisture won’t hurt it. But I’d be wanting to know how the moisture got in there in the first place. Most likely a leaking seal. You said you have liquid buddys. Never heard of it. Is it an oil bath system like the Liqua-lube? I heard Ranger had something similar on their trailers.

most likely the moisture got in there because of lack of grease. on most of the newer trailers the hubs are designed so you can keep pumping grease into them and the old grease will come out a small hole in the hub on the inside of the trailer hub. when the hub is full and the small hole is filled with grease it wont allow water in. If you look under your trailer on the inside center of the hub and see a small hole that is about 3/16 diameter you should grease your hubs untill you get a good stream of grease out of it.

Yes it is the dealer I bought it from and they wont work with me on the cost since ranger wont warranty it. It does have the liquid lube like herb said so there is no greese gun involved. I have not looked at it yet cause the dealer still has it. I dont no if I want to try this myself or just pay to have it done. It probally needs a new seal which I am not sure what is involved, I think if I set my mind to it I could do it my self but Im not sure its woth the time vs the 100.00

I also have a ranger boat with the oil filled hubs. The fluid is easy to replace. Your manual will explane it. There is a screw in plug on the hub to drain and refill the hub. ? How the moisture got in there. Possibly condinsation or bad seal. If you change it I would keep an eye on it through the sight glass on the end just in case the seal is bad. Good luck with there warrenty, I havent had any luck with them.

I heard that Lund will grease them for ya’, right out of the factory…….. It’s something to look into!

For clairification here from the ’05 Ranger catalog: Our exclusive COOL Hub lubrication system which is designed to continuously bathe the wheel bearings in oil while sealing out damaging moisture. Touting less maintence, stronger performance, and lasting peace of mind, this oil bath system is also used by the demanding long-haul trucking idustry.

Basically, there is reservoir of 50W oil that your bearing are encased in. I have had moisture in my hubs, as long as the hubs don’t look milky, they are fine. I have ran mine for thousands of miles with a little moisture in them without adverse affects. It only takes one drop of moisture to make one hub look different than the rest. I would ask if they look white, if not I would run them for a while. This is what I was advised when I asked the tournament support trailer who I trust. As posted, if you are handy, you can change the oil yourself. Remove the lug nut cover, jack up that side of the trailer, use an allen wrench and remove the set screw while you have it rotated to the top, rotate to the bottom to dran, rotate back to the top and fill with oil, replace the set screw and lug nut cover and drop down the trailer and repeat for the other side.

If you have the dealer do this for you, find out what kind of warranty they offer on this specific service.

Good luck and let me know if you have other quesitons,

ted

Stickboy,

I have put close to 20,000 miles a year on my Ranger and have had moisture get in my hub area that you can see through the sightglass (plastics clear hub cap). As Ted mentioned, this is pretty much harmless unless it turns a milky color like any other hub system. However, these hubs are real easy to re-oil, inspect or replace as needed. Because the entire hub is sealed and is oil versus grease, maintenance is a bare minimum. An easy visual inspection is all you need to do.

Frankie’s told me right when I bought my boat to replace the o-ring on the press-on outer clear cap with a high temp silicone due to the salt and road grime of winter travel. Apparently these elements have been known to chew up o-rings over time. I would only do this if your dealer reccomends you to do so.

I also believe that all wheenl bearing upkeep is all maintenance issues and would not be covered under warranty unless faulty for some reason.

hey stickboy,

as far as repacking your bearings that is a peice of cake. I could even come over and help you do it. but if you don’t have any bearing buddies than maybe you should take a look at getting some. they are nice and it lets you oil the hub and also helps keep the water out of the hub. I am not familiar with what a ranger trailer has for hubs, but bearing buddies are nice.

shane

Steve and ted
Thanks for the info I no you both run rangers and have for quite some time so your opinions are greatly appreacited.

Heres the latest. After the info I called to see if they were milky and they are, I am having them fix it this time and they are going to try to push it through as warranty(keep my fingers crossed). I did mention as steve said to put some silicone around the outer part and they agreed and hopfully that will help. In the 8 or9 months Ive had it I have put on quite a few miles so a little maintenance wont hurt it any way.

That’s a good attitude and a safe play – a little thing like that can ruin a trip or worse cause some damage.

Preventitive maintence so all you have to worry about is finding and catching fish goes a long ways towards piece of mind.

Feel free to ask questions always, I usually don’t have the answers but have the contacts to find out the correct responses. Always glad to help.

ted

I inherited a 1994 Ranger from my Brother, I know he was using it. But… He was an electrician, I am not. There are 3 batteries in the rear, a single 12V battery (starboard) and 2x12V wired in series for 24V. To winterize the boat, he disconnected all the positive wires. I have the engine and other 12V system running, there was only 1 positive on that side and it could only reach the single 12V battery. Its the other side that is killing me. The rear left/port side has a circuit breaker with 4 wires coming out. One each Black, White, Red, Orange. The black one is connected to the negative side of the 2 battery arrangement, the other 3 are loose. Where do these 3 wires go?

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The hub is oil sealed not greased. Call dexter axel it is there system. It may be just an o ring and a few pennies. I had no issues getting stuff fixed under warranty from Ranger or Dexter.

Post is from 2005….
DT

@ripn2it, you should start a new thread. It may help with replies.
DT

Thanks, I’ll try that.

Does anybody power wash the carpet in their Ranger boat?
If so how did it turn out?
Thanks

I ditched my cool hubs after multiple failures and went with the Vortex sealed hubs with Lucas grease in them. If you haven’t changed the oil in your hubs since 04 those drain/fill screws are likely in there solid. $100 bucks sounds like a steal. Do it, best $100 you can spend. Only a matter of time before a loose wheel passes you on the freeway. The Tie-down cool hubs were a good idea if you never pulled much. My Ranger is a 2005.