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Bearing buddies keep popping off!

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scooper77515

scooper77515

freebie fixer
Premium Member
I have lost 4 in the past 6 trips. Short trips, like 5-8 miles each. Last time, I bought a new one, and actually tack WELDED them on. Took it yesterday to get gas, and today, on the way into the water, it is gone AGAIN!!! :(

I went ahead and launched, and will again tomorrow, then I am buying all new hubs both sides, with new buddies.

Any idea why these are popping off?

They were a very tight fit, like they are supposed to be. I have used them on several other trailers in the past. No idea why this one trailer has an aversion to them...
 
I guess those wheels just like the "open air" feeling.
Maybe grease in-between the hub and the bearing buddy??????

Those things would go flying when they come off at 60mph.
 
Haven't been far enough from home to do over 45. But I would hate to have one hop up onto a sidewalk toward me at that speed, even.

I even ground the paint and got down to bare metal, and put a good heavy tack weld, and thought my problems were behind me forever.

Lasted 10 miles...
 
Are these real bearing buddies, I've noticed some of the other brands are made in China?

Lou
 
You know, all the ones I bought in the past were from walmart or Academy. These are all from a local Ace Hardware. Maybe that is the problem.
 
I've lost one over the years. Unfortunately, I never figured out why. But if I had to guess... the bore or buddy has a tapper, and its working it self back out.

Before installing the new buddy, make sure there isn't any grease at the end of the hub.

As far as welding to the cast Iron hubs... it was a fail at the start. Basically, when you weld to iron, the carbon that is in your rod mixes with the iron, and you get a goofy interface. Also, the iron will "Sink" heat, and cools too quick. So... basically, the iron will crack directly at the weld.

So... I can guaranty that the weld failed by the time you put you tools away.

When welding iron... you need to use low carbon rod, and you have to heat the iron to cherry red first... then keep it hot after the weld to "Normalize" the weld. (And let it cool over a couple hours) It's a pain in the but, and that's why it's generally known that you can't weld iron.
 
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Had a similar issue with my trailer. I ended up using a center punch to displace the metal on the bearing buddy. Created like a burr. Installed the bearing buddy's and haven't had a problem since. I trailer most every weekend in the summer round trip 50 miles.
 
Used a gas mig welder, and tapped it with a hammer to make sure there were no cracks. It appeared fine, and the other one is on tight still.

Either way, I am buying new hubs all around, new name brand buddies, and new bearings (since I have launched twice without a cover on it, and driven through dusty areas uncovered). I hate having to do this, since I probably only have 50 miles on the old bearings. But I don't like to mess around when it comes to bearings. I don't like swapping them on the side of the road when I SHOULD be out on the water.
 
Now that I read how everyone has a "secret" method of making bearing buddies stay on, I will just go back to dust caps.

I drive less than 5 miles to launch the boat, so I really don't need any fancy setup. Just the basics.
 
Any suggestions on where I can find better seals.

As I tore into the hubs, both had leaked water in from the inner seal. The one with the bearing buddy still on was actually WAY worse than the one I had launched the boat 4 times without a cover at all. The open hub had just a little gray grease on the inside near the seal. The one with the buddy still on was completely watered down.

Seals are new, but only single lip. I was wondering about those when I looked at them. Much cheaper looking than most I have used in the past.

These are just rubber, single lip, no spring. Very cheap, and doing a crappy job at keeping the hub dry.

Also, as I was pumping grease in before I had the cap on, it was squirting out the inner seal!
 
Scooper.There is a very good chance there is TO much grease in the hub.The wheel bearings are meant to be greased.But there has to be air inbetween the inner and outer bearing.You say grease came out of the inner bearing seal.WAY to much grease.Take them off.Clean out the excess grease inside the hubs.Or just leave it untill the end of the season.For the buddies to stay on,there has to be air in there.they are spring loaded,so the hotter grease from travellng,expands.Spring has nowhere to go,buddy blows off.To much grease can do this.I have towed trailers across Australia.Hope this helps
 
I would imagine that a name brand trailer company over there should do the marine hub seals like we can get in NZ. Here they are referred to as a triple seal and you must not use a bearing buddie as these are designed to work on there own and keep water out.

I'd put up a link to show you but they have since updated their website and all the good info is gone and the site is just rubbish now.
 
What???
Bearing buddies,with the spring loading of the grease.Keeps positive air pressure inside the hub.Thats what keeps water out.Not 2 tons of grease.You only grease them when the spring is extended
 
Well, I popped off the bearing buddies, slapped on some caps, and less than a mile up the road, one of the caps pops off.

So today, new hubs, bearings, caps, the whole shebang!

Next step is to run some sort of flat strap over the caps, and hose-clamp them to the hub.
 
The bearings have to have grease.That is all.The seals stop water coming IN, not out.To much grease will overheat the bearings..I wrote to you about this last night.There is TO MUCH GREASE'.Clean out all the inner hubs and just pack the wheel bearings.Not the entire hub cavity!
 
On any car that has rear wheel drive,the front hubs float.The same as a trailer.Pack the bearings and NOT the entire hub.Trust me on this one please.If not.See you on the side of the road.
 
Very interesting thread.
I've had bearing buddies for a long time on various trailers and they have never fallen off.
I got the following off Google this morning. The second paragraph of #12 and also the very last line of the report may be of interest to you.

Special seals for some trailer????

http://www.rofb.net/faq/faq_wheelbearings.htm
 
I have listened to you, and was going to remove as much grease as I could yesterday, but got tangled up fixing a buddy's car. I will hopefully get a chance to remove it this afternoon.

I have a poll regarding how much grease people put in their hubs, mainly because i have heard various "experts" recommend both ways. From just pack the bearings, to the other extreme of fill it and fill the caps.
 
Heres a quick quote from etrailer.com...
On standard utility trailers, grease just the surface of the races.
There is no need to grease the entire hub unless you are working on a boat trailer.
On boat trailers, grease is used not only to protect the bearings but also to help keep water out.
Bearing protectors or bearing buddies can be used to make sure enough grease is in the boat trailer hub.
Be careful when using bearing protectors not to overfill the hub with grease because too much grease can blow out through the grease seal. This can be especially messy on drums with brakes.
 
See...conflicting information. Some say for boats, fill er up. Others say just bearings and a little in the hub. :boxing_smiley::ack:
 
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