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How To Grease Trailer Bearing

How often should you grease trailer bearings?

When Should You Grease Your Bearings With a larger travel trailer, you should grease your trailer wheel bearings every 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. If you have a smaller travel trailer, however, you’ll need to grease your wheel bearings every 2,000 miles.

Can you grease bearings on a trailer?

If your trailer’s axle(s) are equipped with a grease zerk on the ends, the bearings must be greased every six months or 6,000 miles to ensure functionality. To apply the grease, remove the rubber plug from the axle end and place the grease gun on the zerk. Pump grease until new grease begins to appear.

How do I know if my trailer bearings need grease?

Keep your hand on the wheel and spin it. If you feel any motion that is not smooth, hear any noises, or if the wheel does not spin freely, the wheel bearing is defective or needs lubrication.

Can you put too much grease in a bearing?

When it comes to regreasing bearings, more is not always the better option and actually can be a costly mistake. Too much grease volume (overgreasing) in a bearing cavity will cause the rotating bearing elements to begin churning the grease, pushing it out of the way, resulting in energy loss and rising temperatures.

Can you over grease bearing buddies?

Can Bearing Buddy Bearing Protectors Be Over-Filled with Too Much Grease It is possible to over-fill a hub that has a Bearing Buddy bearing protector such as #BB1781. The convenience of easy filling through the zerk fitting can often mean we can be tempted to keep adding more grease.

Should I put grease on my trailer ball?

You do not need to grease your trailer hitch ball. That is entirely up to you. However, greasing it is recommended. Greasing will help ensure that the trailer hitch ball keeps its structural integrity, and it will help prevent it from squeaking.

How much does it cost to repack trailer bearings?

Trailers tend to be cheaper to repack professionally (think $100-$200), but don’t underestimate the power of the upsells a mechanic might try to give you. If you’re serious about cash, you can likely save a few bucks by repacking your bearings yourself.

How much grease should you put in a bearing?

Open angular contact thrust ball bearings for screw drives should be lubricated with a grease quantity that fills ~ 25 to 35% of the free space in the bearing. Freshly greased bearings should be operated at low speeds during the running-in period.

How much grease do you put in a Bearing Buddy?

How Genuine Bearing Buddy® Works The axle hub is filled with grease until the grease forces the Bearing Buddy® piston outward about 1/8 inch. Grease can be added to the hub through an easily accessible grease fitting located in the center of the piston.

How much play should be in a trailer wheel bearing?

Jack up the trailer and secure it on adequate capacity jack stands. Check wheels for side-to-side looseness – There should be a very slight amount of play in the wheel, typically 1/8-inch or less. If the wheels are loose or spin with a wobble, the bearings must be serviced or replaced.

How many pumps of grease are in a trailer hub?

For traditional greases (NLGI Nos. 1 and 2), pump a ring of grease into the entire circumference of the wheel hub and coat the hub cap inner wall. The housing should only be half full of grease. Too much grease causes churning and higher temperatures.

Do new bearings need grease?

YES, they need to be greased with BEARING GREASE unless you bought the bearing and hub pre-assembled from Timken and spent hundreds of dollars. You DID NOT buy a hub and bearing for $100 so if you think you did you didn’t.you will only be receiving the bearing.

What happens if you don’t grease bearings?

The inside of the bearing race of the wheel hub was likewise HOT, dry and had metal stuck to it. THAT’S what happens if you don’t grease the wheel bearings. They run dry, get hot, literally weld their parts to the hub and spindle, and the wheel falls off.

Are bearing buddies a good idea?

Bearing Buddies are a great way to keep grease in a trailer hub. I recommend them as long as you are aware that it’s very easy to put too much grease in a hub with these which will blow out the seal. They have no problem being used on longer road trips so the would work well for you.

Can you mix Marine grease with regular grease?

Don’t Mix Grease, but Change If Needed If you can, start with completely clean parts and new grease. Otherwise, greasing more often will flush out the old incompatible grease faster.