I bought a used trailer about a month ago and noticed that the iner seal on one of the hubs is blown. I'm not sure if the previous owner ever repacked them. I was thinking about just getting a new hub. I found some at northern tool that come prepacked with grease and berrings so all you have to do is install them. I never have repacked bearings so I figured this might be a better route. Question is should I do both sides? The one side is good but I don't know for how long. All help is appreciated.

 

How heavy of a trailer is this/what axle is under it?

Anyway, if all it is doing is oozing grease, take it apart, clean everything, repack with fresh grease and reassemble with new seal...

Go here, and right click on owner's manual and you can download a very nice, free pdf trailer brake/axle manual...

http://www.al-kousa.com/index.htm


Dexter also has a nice, free manual...

http://www.dexteraxle.com/products___literature


Repacking trailer bearings and replacing the seal isn't complicated. If you aren't comfortable with it from what's in the manual, maybe there's someone near by that could look over your shoulder for your 1st time?

 

It is a floe 8x10 tilt snowmobile trailer. I was thinking about just doing the hub since it would be the quickest way. I think I might try doing what ya said and take it apart and regrease and repack the bearings. Not sure yet.

 

Assuming it's a pretty light weigh axle, with no brakes?

Generally once you have the thing jacked up, with a safety stand and the other wheel chocked, you would pry off the center cap. Under that will be a cotter pin in a castle nut. Once those are off, there would be a washer, and if you giggle the hub the outer bearing should pop out. Generally it would be a tapered roller timkin type, and the rollers are caged to stay with the inner race. The outer race is a press fit in the hub, and would stay there unless the bearings were to require replacement.

Anyway, once you've got the outer bearing off, the hub should slide off the spindle. You could then pry the seal out of the back side of the hub, and hopefully send an assistant down to the auto parts store to pick up a couple of new ones. Then just lift the inner bearing out of the hub.

Once the bearings are out, wipe out all the old grease from the inside of the hub. Diesel or kerosene (not gasoline) makes a good solvent to clean up the bearings in a oil pan or whatever.

Once they are clean, you can wipe them and let them air dry the rest of the way, or blow them out with compressed air. Don't allow the air to twirl the bearings around the inner race, as doing so can cause damage.

Once they are clean, they need packed with grease. I prefer synthetic Mobile 1, but any wheel bearing grease that meets NLGI GC or GC-LB would probably be OK.

There's kind of a knack for putting a wad of grease in your palm and working it into the bearings from the big end until it fills all the voids to the small end.

You would also want to smear about a golf ball sized wad of grease inside the center of the hub. Put the inner bearing back in, and use a block of wood to drive in the new seal. A light coat of grease goes on the spindle, and wipe the area where the seal rides clean, and put the hub back on.

Then the outer bearing (packed with grease) and washer and nut go back on. Tighten the nut snug, then back it off to the next place the cotter pin hole lines up with the nut... Put the cotter pin back in, check to make sure everything rotates fine. If you can feel play at all in the hub, it should be very little...

If everything's fine, put the cap back on, and wheel if removed, and you are ready to do the other side...