Bearing Buddy maintenance & grease level

D

DanL

Member
I purchased a brand new Highliner trailer last July which came with Bearing Buddy. On the last road trip, I noticed the passenger-side hub just slightly warm to the touch during highway stops, compared to the driver side. Not hot by any stretch, but you could tell a slight difference.

Looking at the Bearing Buddy web page , it says:

Lubricant level (and pressure) can be checked quickly by pressing on the edge of the moveable piston. If you can rock or move the piston, the hub is properly filled.
Click to expand...

The moveable piston, meaning the blue plastic sleeve? When pushing on it, it does seem to rock a little bit, though it takes a bit of force. I dont know what it's supposed to feel like, so not sure if it's at the right grease level.

Also:

You should see the piston extend out or the blue ring past the front of the Bearing Buddy® when it's properly filled. However, as air escapes the piston (or blue ring) is going to collapse inward. This is normal. After driving several miles, check the piston (or blue ring) to see if it has moved inward. If it has, add a little more grease to get the piston to move outward or the blue ring to move about 1/8" past the front of the Bearing Buddy®.
Click to expand...
I've attached a pic of both hubs. Both sides look more or less the same, but it looks like I could add more grease until the blue sleeve is extending out a bit more? It currently seems to be not quite flush, or slightly sunken from the piston.

I was going to try topping it up, but I've been reading not to try adding grease to Bearing Buddys if they dont actually need it, as that can blow the seal.

SrEYX4W.jpg
 
my bearing buddies have a spring instead of that blue cylinder but i believe that blue cylinder is suppose to stick out a bit when full so looks like you could put some grease in them. Do you see any grease coming out the back of the hub? the seal on the back went out on mine and i could see grease marks and water in my bearings after replacing that ive been good so far.
 
so the seals on axels are no where near
air tight and grease will start to ooz
out the back which i try to avoid
this in excess. if you are experiencing
a warmer hub i would be investigating
by repackaging which should be done regularly. .. at least once a season
 
i found it really hard finding the back seal for my ezloader trailer and could find some that would be just a tad big which i would think would have cause grease to come out the back. i finally tracked down the right seal which is very tight and i havent had any grease come out the back since and that was 3 or 4 years ago with no water getting into my hubs so far.
 
The above replys are right on. You can add a tich more grease (never over fill) and keep an eye on it but sooner (better) or later you’ll need to pull that wheel. After yearly $2000 shop bills I bought the necessary tools for a few hundred dollars, sourced brakes, bearings, rims, on line and took on the task myself. Now my yearly trailer brake costs are a few hundred dollars and my wheels are lasting alot longer. Not rocket science to learn with lots of help here and on utube.
 
If you decide to add I little grease I was told by a trailer guy that it’s best to jack the wheel off the ground and rotate the tire as you slowly pump in a few squirts. This helps the grease work into the bearings. You can add until the blue cap stops moving outward.
 
One other thing that can increase heat is the tightness of the bearings. Jack the trailer up so that the wheels are off the ground. Then grab the wheel, with one had at the top and one at the bottom and rock the wheel you may find that there is more play in one wheel than the other.
 
kevind said:
i found it really hard finding the back seal for my ezloader trailer and could find some that would be just a tad big which i would think would have cause grease to come out the back. i finally tracked down the right seal which is very tight and i havent had any grease come out the back since and that was 3 or 4 years ago with no water getting into my hubs so far.
Click to expand...
When I bought last kit for my ezloader trailer it had 2 sets of rear seals. OD was same but ID was different so you need to make sure you install correct one for your shaft size. Also in this neatly packed kit they had put in the wrong size tapered bearings. Fit on the shaft ok but not thick enough to take slop out of the hub when you tightened the nut. With brakes, if you don’t know what you are doing it’s best to get some help.
 
Cannot tell from picture, but if you are running brakes, the slight difference in temperature could be a result of one brake hanging up, or even not working as well. It is also a good idea to check relative tyre temperatures as well as these can vary as well depending on load and inflation pressures.
 
Some good tips in the replies, thanks.


I will have a closer look at the back of the hubs for splatter this evening (hopefully it’s not losing grease through the rear seal), and will try adding some more grease, taking care to try and not overdo it too much.

The trailer has no brakes, and only carries a 14’ aluminum that weighs <200lbs. Total load including trailer maybe 400 lbs. I adjusted the tire pressure just prior to the last trip so pretty sure that was fine, but will check it again in case it changed.

Just talked to a guy at Highliner

- Also suggested jacking up the wheel and making sure it spins freely with no noise, while greasing
- The blue plastic sleeve can apparently extrude up ½ or ¾ inch, so it appears I still have a good margin of error for adding grease
- He said if you add too much grease it will actually come out the front (presumably oozing out from under the blue sleeve), and there should be little risk of blowing any seals. I had not heard this before, so don’t know how accurate that statement is.

I have one last road trip next week then I have all fall & winter to learn how to properly service the bearings myself. There will have been ~3.5-4000 km since purchase so maybe about time anyways, though the Highliner guy said it should be unnecessary if the grease levels have been properly maintained. Still, would probably be a good thing to know how to do…
 
DanL said:
He said if you add too much grease it will actually come out the front (presumably oozing out from under the blue sleeve), and there should be little risk of blowing any seals. I had not heard this before, so don’t know how accurate that statement is.
Click to expand...

There is truth to that.
most bearing buddies have a weep hole that releases a small amount of grease as
the buddy gets pressurized with grease.
 
Dan, filling your bering buddies has no effect of the rear bearing. The grease you put into the buddy bearing only put pressure on the front bearing to keep water out...as it is otherewise open to water intrusion. Without the bearing buddy it would be just a dust cap which doesn't keep water out. The rear bearing is like your car bearing it doesn't need any new grease and is water tight so long as the rear seal isn't damaged.
 
profisher said:
The grease you put into the buddy bearing only put pressure on the front bearing to keep water out...as it is otherewise open to water intrusion. The rear bearing is like your car bearing it doesn't need any new grease and is water tight so long as the rear seal isn't damaged./QUOTE]
Don't want to derail the thread but I don't think this is the case. If you read the documentation from the manufacturer you will see that when the Bearing Buddy and hub is properly filled it exerts about 3psi of pressure inside the hub. Since the outer bearing is not a sealed bearing (at least on the sets that I've installed) this 3psi pushes grease through the bearing, fills the hub and if necessary the back bearing. On new bearing and hub installations it is recommended that you prepack the bearings and hubs with grease before installation so that it doesn't take forever to fill it through the bearing buddy. On a new installation it will take a while to work all of the air out of the hub and bearing area so this is why you see the blue sleeve in this case being pushed in by the spring as the air escapes. After several trips once all the voids are completely filled with new greased the blue sleeve will stay in the outer position longer. If you pump in too much grease after all voids are filled it will start to squeeze out the front of the bearing buddy because of the built in relief system. As your rear outer seal wears, and it will over time, you will see a ring of grease start to ooze out around the seal and shaft. Paying attention to this location will give you an idea of when the seal is starting to wear. If you pump in grease and see a drip of water or white pasty grease oozing around the seal then you need to strip it down IMHO. With a slightly worn seal, as long as the hub and bearings are completely filled, water has no where to go but I wouldn't leave it too long before checking things out. Sorry for the long winded post.
Click to expand...
 
Keep in mind if you are driving in one direction for a while, one side of your trailer will be in the sun and one won't be. This will make a dramatic difference to the temperature of your hubs and could lead to an erroneous assumption that there is something wrong with one side.
 
I fill mine till grease comes out of the little hole on the side.
Then I fill the outside covering the grease nipple till its flush with outside of bearing , then put on plastic cap
Which I fix in place with a few wraps of electrical tape , helps stop the nipple from seizing

When I first got my ez loader I lost a couple of bearing buddies while driving ,that’s scary to see bounce across the road they were seated properly but worked loose , bought new ones and the same happened ,they started coming loose
Cleaned them real good with ISO and guttersealed them to the hub , they ain’t moving now .

I would urge people to look at how they are seated occasionally
 
profisher said:
Dan, filling your bering buddies has no effect of the rear bearing. The grease you put into the buddy bearing only put pressure on the front bearing to keep water out...as it is otherewise open to water intrusion. Without the bearing buddy it would be just a dust cap which doesn't keep water out. The rear bearing is like your car bearing it doesn't need any new grease and is water tight so long as the rear seal isn't damaged.
Click to expand...
Not exactly true. The Buddy adds a slight amount of pressure to the entire hub and spindle, keeping anything out front and rear. Inner seal is most susceptible to leakage with age, especially dropping a hot hub fresh off the highway into cold water at the launch

Extra bearing heat may be a result of improper bearing nut torque
 
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