Wheel bearing question

What's the best way to get saltwater out of your bearings?
I just took my boat to Les Schawb to have my bearings repacked and man that's expensive.
They advised squirting them with a hose and rinse best as possible.
I've heard of people who take their trailers to a lake and back it in thinking that will work, but that seems like a real hassel.
Others I've talked to have bought some kind of contraption that hooks up to your hose and flushes them out.
What do you think?
Something to think about. Les Schawb recommended to me, to only apply a couple squirts of grease in the buddy bearings. They said most people put too much grease in them and end up blowing out the rear seal without realizing it untill it's tool late and their bearings blow apart on the freeway....

If my boat is sitting for an extended period of time, I move it every once in a while so the saltwater does not settle on one part of the bearing and rust it out. I also fill the cap up with grease that covers the bearing. It makes for messy work, but helps keep the saltwater off of the bearing.

I have bearing buddies and I grease mine when I'm tying down to go home. I dip my boat in the lake if I've been in the salt and tend to the lugs and rollers 3 or 4 times a yr.

(knock wood) but I've not had a bearing problem yet.

herm

My bearing buddies have an overfill hole. I fill them until grease starts coming out. Am I doing something wrong? I also inspect/repack/replace my bearings every spring. In addition, I check my bearing temperature(hand on hub), at every stop to ensure they are not heating up. IMHO few people(professionals included) properly pack bearings(not too tight, not too loose) and that is why you see the broken down trailers.

If you have bearing buddies you can't overfill with grease. There is a hole that excess grease will come out of if overfilled.

When I come back from the salt,I flush at the ramp if there's a feshwater hose,or I do it in the driveway at home. Just take the nozzle off the hose,and flush each side for a minute or two.

If it's a new trailer,check the warranty. My trailer warranty had a 5yr warranty on the hubs,as long as you never mess with the bearings,or remove the buddies. To service the bearings on my trailer,all you do is fill the hub with fresh grease from a zirc fitting on the buddie.

I also check the temp of the hub every time I stop for gas or food,it only takes a second to reach down and feel the hub.

I was leary of the maintanance with the bearing buddies,I was used to messing with the bearings every year,just to be safe. I have almost 40k miles on my trailer since 1997 and have had no problems yet......knock on wood.

You may want to look into servicing your trailer yourself,it's super easy to replace and repack bearings. My mom just had a bearing service done on her fifth wheel.....$200. I wish I woulda known,I'd have done it for free.

If you submerge the hubs while hot or even warm, the rapid cooling/contraction will draw water into the bearings. If you have the luxury, allow the hubs to cool before backing in.

I always pump grease into the bearing buddy til the plate with the sert (sp?) starts to move out against the spring. That way I know the bearing is full, but not over-full......

If you are going to fill your Buddys do it after you come back from a trip, when the bearings are warm. The grease will permeate (sp?) the bearings better than when the bearings are cold.

Lots of good advice here..Thanks

the guy at les swab was right on the money ,as i have had this happen to me from over filling with grease and blew out the seal.got pretty exspensive from there.had to replace the whole backing plate as the grease ruined the brake pads and the wheel cylinder.after replacing everything and $300.00 later i threw away the bearing buddies.hope you have better luck with them than i had. happy fishing

One of the concepts of the bearing buddies is that the grease is always under some pressure from the spring ... thus decreasing the inward seepage when submerged.

I've had great luck with mine

You are right on the money Bob. Tat is the whole concept behind the bearing buddie. The spring is the compensator for the contraction of the inner workings of a warm hub immersed in cold water. Keep them greased, rinse off any salt, and check for temp when under way, and your buddies will keep you happy.

Dangerous,

I am convinced that we need to hit the lotto and buy adjoining houses on Green Pt. Just hit the power button to the winch and Badda Bing- in the garage at the end of the day.

Hell, my wife wouldn't have to worry about not having a truck to go load hay!!!

Downriggin'

Now you're talking! No backyard to mow either!