Wheel bearing Service

Wheel bearing service (or repack) is necessary on the front wheels of most rear wheel drive vehicles , on the rear wheels of many front wheel drive vehicles , and most important of all on trailers . On this service the wheels and the brake drums or rotors are removed and the grease seals are replaced . The bearings are removed , cleaned and inspected and new grease is installed into the bearings and hubs . On most automobiles this is , or should be done every time the brakes are serviced or relined .

On trailers this service should be done at least once a year . Boat trailers wheel bearings service should be done several times a year , if the trailer is submerged into the water often . Often when the boat trailer is submerged into the water to remove the boat , the hubs and bearings are very warm from the road trip . When they are submerged into the water they are suddenly cooled . This creates a vacuum inside the hub which will actually suck water and contaminates onto the bearing hubs . This is why the boat trailer bearings have such a high failure rate and require service more often .

On boat trailers or any trailer , devices such as bearing buddies can be installed ,to help extend the wheel bearing life . These devices are installed in place of the wheel bearing covers . They have a grease fitting on the outside and are spring loaded . You use a grease gun to fill the bearing hubs with grease until the spring moves . As the hub is completely filled with grease , there is less room for water . The spring also applies a small amount of pressure (3 psi or so) to the inner seal to help it hold the water out . These devices also have a cover that goes over the outer portion to protect the grease fitting from water and from road dirt etc .

These bearing protecting devices are made for boat trailers , but can be used on any trailer . They are not recommended for automobile wheel bearings .

The bearings still need to be serviced at regular intervals but the proper use of the bearing buddy type devices will lengthen the bearing life and lower the number of bearing replacements .