How often do you check your Bearing Buddies?

Have heard different things, would not want to over or underfill, think I would check before a long haul. Thanks

How often do you actually take the bearings out and check them?

I get the boat/motor checked each autumn. Check incl bearings.

I don’t have bearing buddies, but every spring I pull the hub, inspect and the bearings and repack (or replace). Every fourth year I replace the bearings whether they look fine or not. So every year i put new inner seals on at a minimum, cheap insurance is how i see it.

I jack up my trailer every spring and spin the wheels to see if I see anything questionable. If everything looks good, I’m ready to go.

In a perfect world they should be looked at every year-most don’t.
I pull the hubs and pack them every year.I replace them every other year.I don’t want to be that guy along side of the road missing a wheel on the trailer.

Pack them every fall. Do it last thing before storage and come spring you are good to go.

tim hurley wrote:

Have heard different things, would not want to over or underfill, think I would check before a long haul. Thanks

I have Bearing Buddies on every trailer I own. I check them about once a month and anytime before I’m going on any long trip.

IMO, the key is what to look FOR when you’re checking them. A properly functioning Bearing Buddy with a good rear seal will maintain its “full” position for quite some time during regular use. If the inside seal is bad, the Bearing Buddy will lose pressure after each trip of any distance as it pushes grease out the bad seal, so it’s then time to replace that inner seal and check the sealing surface.

I have never repacked bearings with Bearing Buddies, either the system is working and if that is the case, there is no reason to repack, or it’s not in which case the rear seal is bad and contamination has been introduced which means it’s time for a teardown/inspection/reubild anyway.

Thanks

I’ve never lost a bearing using buddies in 30 years. I dont tow a tremendous amount but I have put a lot of miles on a few trailers in that time.
My current trailers have an updated grease system that I dont expect to ever change out the bearings.

Never change? What is it called S.?

tim hurley wrote:

Never change? What is it called S.?

NEVER change. Some mfg including Triton and Aluma use a Bearing-Lube grease system. I have them on both of my current trailers.
People that tow for a living or frequent long distances have to worry about bearings but I dont.

Dexter EZ lube hubs allow you to repack your bearings with fresh grease without disassembly.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Products/Hub-Hub-Drum/Grease–Oil-Caps

to answer the OPs question – never in the 6 years ive owned my current boat. which is exactly why i just dropped it off at the marina to have them give it a once over before i take her up to VNP in a few weeks. Thanks for the reminder

Have not changed as many bearings as most here im sure, but it confuses me on how these bearing buddies are suppose to do their job on the rear seal. Sure it might work well for the outer, but the tolerances are so tight how does it provide any benefit to the inner. Protecting only half the system seems like a silly notion. Every bearing set i have redone with these bearing buddies, the inner bearing always has considerable more wear than the outer.

No buddies for this guy, I just cap it now.

Deuces wrote:

Have not changed as many bearings as most here im sure, but it confuses me on how these bearing buddies are suppose to do their job on the rear seal. Sure it might work well for the outer, but the tolerances are so tight how does it provide any benefit to the inner. Protecting only half the system seems like a silly notion. Every bearing set i have redone with these bearing buddies, the inner bearing always has considerable more wear than the outer.

No buddies for this guy, I just cap it now.

Bearing Buddies are not designed to grease the bearing they are designed to keep positive pressure inside the hub to keep water and contaminants out. That is why checking the inner seal for grease leaking thru is important. Many overfill Bearing Buddies you want to keep enough grease just to keep the spring compressed.

I don’t see how it provides benefit to the inner bearing. That pressure imo does not get thru.

Deuces wrote:

I don’t see how it provides benefit to the inner bearing. That pressure imo does not get thru.

HUH? High school physics, tells us the pressure is equal throughout the system. That said, the presence of positive pressure in the system in of itself, does not move grease around within the system.

When the bearing buddy is pumped to a normal pressure, you think the grease gets pushed all the way thru, I don’t. You think it creates pressure to the inner bearing, I don’t. Sure there will be some pressure when the bearing buddy gets maxed out and no spring is left, hence the warning sign to them the inner seal will blow, but that’s not normal operating condition. Imo there would be no measurable pressure on the inside if one could install a gauge to both outer and inner bearing areas. Call me newb but that grease is thick and wouldn’t act the way.

Insert meme guy at table……prove me wrong

Deuces wrote:

When the bearing buddy is pumped to a normal pressure, you think the grease gets pushed all the way thru, I don’t.

Did you read what I said,

Huntindave wrote:

That said, the presence of positive pressure in the system in of itself, does not move grease around within the system.

Deuces wrote:

You think it creates pressure to the inner bearing, I don’t.

Yes, the pressure will register the same PSI anywhere within the hub. Grease is not a solid wall able to maintain a pressure differential within the hub.

Deuces wrote:

Call me newb but that grease is thick and wouldn’t act the way.

Bearing grease comes in a wide variety of thicknesses. The numerical rating helps you pick the best one for your application.
Most commonly, the numerical rating ranges between 0 and 6. The 0 rating indicates that the grease is soft, in an almost liquid-like consistency. The 6 rating indicates that the grease is quite hard, with a consistency that’s like a firm cheese. Most wheel bearing formulas come with a rating of 2. This indicates that the consistency is similar to peanut butter.

Even if the grease is peanut butter consistency at rest, it does not stay that way going down the road.
As grease is sheared between wearing surfaces and moves faster, its resistance to flow reduces. Its viscosity decreases as the rate of shear increases.

One might be able to achieve a slight pressure differential as the grease is being pumped thru the grease zerk. Minutes later the pressure anywhere within the hub will be equal.

prove me wrong

I have much prefered my Vault hubs. 5 to 10 year no peek. Unless I see grease splattering I don’t touch them. I touch the hub when I’m trailering on a trip to check if they are working as designed.

Deuces wrote:

When the bearing buddy is pumped to a normal pressure, you think the grease gets pushed all the way thru, I don’t. You think it creates pressure to the inner bearing, I don’t. Sure there will be some pressure when the bearing buddy gets maxed out and no spring is left, hence the warning sign to them the inner seal will blow, but that’s not normal operating condition. Imo there would be no measurable pressure on the inside if one could install a gauge to both outer and inner bearing areas. Call me newb but that grease is thick and wouldn’t act the way.

Insert meme guy at table……prove me wrong

I can see your thinking beads but think of it like the dexter ez lube in reverse, the ‘outlet’ of that zerk is just inside the inner seal but when I pump grease through it (eventually) it starts squirting out through the outer bearing. So in a general way the BB is the same thing in reverse. My issue with buddies isn’t the design itself but the false sense of security it gives too many people to not check them often. I’m a little too paranoid that Mr. Murphy will show up on a trip to not be checking mine once a year at a minimum (which I do in spring right before my longest haul of the year with it).

Dont bearing buddies have a bleed off hole so you cant overfill them and blow out the rear seal ? Thats why often times you see grease under the cap or all over the rim after going down the road after filling them ? We felt the bearings on my friends trailer every stop to and from Oahe. Nice and cool. 5 miles from home the bearing was down to the spindle.

Hopefully this is the only bearing I have implode (from my mower deck this evening).

(Edit – they dont make these like they used to apparently, last summer the last (3 blade deck) 25+ year old original mandrel gave up in similar fashion, this one was replaced about 7 years ago)

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What poomunk said.

Not often enough

…tried to attach picture of my trailer failure last weekend. Didn’t work. You get the idea