Trailer Axel grease

[Molarbu]

my guess would be oil bath and yes re: water in the oil. I pulled the service guide off UFP's website and it didn't seem too tough to drain and refill with 50 weight oil so my 2 cents would be to drain and replace once to see if the water returns prior to going through the whole seal replacement drill. I think I read in a previous post that if perhaps the hub wasn't toped off, then driven to heat up the oil, then quickly submerged in cold water that the sudden drop in temp (and internal pressure) could lead to a sucking sensation and pull some water into the hub even the seals are still functional. I could be wrong.

So at lunch today I swung by the BU and took off the offending wheel, removed the allen screw and drained the milky clay colored oil.

I didn't have any oil at the time so just left it open and will return tonight to finish the job. (this is beginning to sound like a gangsta flick)

Anyway I picked up some SAE 50 motor oil (valvoline), my question now is... I'll rinse it out a couple of times with the oil then do I fill it right full or only partially? Perhaps while I have the tools out I'll check the other three and top them off as well.

Thanks for the help.

-Jared

Fill'em right to the top! I had two fail on my 07 trailer this year and had the seals replaced. I'm not a huge fan of the oil bath hubs so far.

[discoverydrafting]

Update,

I have filled the hub partially and spun it around a bit in an attempt to flush all the water out. The outer cover still looks milky, althought the oil drains have improved significantly.

Is there a more effective way of getting all the moisture out? Perhaps draining, and rinsing with some sea foam (hear that is good for removing moisture from oil). I am headed to the lake in the morning so I will keep a close eye on that hub and hope for the best.

Thanks,

-Jared

[88Skier]

I have a performance trailer and I believe I have buddy bearings with grease. They have rubber caps on the ends. I took mine off last week for the 1st time ever and one of them had what looked like gear oil pooled up. Does water and grease mix to make grey gear oil, or could I have oil bearings that are leaking?

Its probably the little rubber caps that are leaking. I would pull them and re-pack the grease. water and grease dont mix, if its grey your performance trailer will soon show unsatisfactory performance.

It is grey. What's that mean? Should I pull the wheel and repack the bearings?

[kona90]

Update,

I have filled the hub partially and spun it around a bit in an attempt to flush all the water out. The outer cover still looks milky, althought the oil drains have improved significantly.

Is there a more effective way of getting all the moisture out? Perhaps draining, and rinsing with some sea foam (hear that is good for removing moisture from oil). I am headed to the lake in the morning so I will keep a close eye on that hub and hope for the best.

Thanks,

-Jared

Fill it 1/2 way, spin it a bit, let it drain and fill it to the top. Then at the end of the season do it again. I have gotten water in mine several times. I believe it happens because I am not letting the hubs cool down enough before submerging them. Now I wait a bit more before lunching and it seams to help.

-Don

[footnlongline]

I have a performance trailer and I believe I have buddy bearings with grease. They have rubber caps on the ends. I took mine off last week for the 1st time ever and one of them had what looked like gear oil pooled up. Does water and grease mix to make grey gear oil, or could I have oil bearings that are leaking?

Its probably the little rubber caps that are leaking. I would pull them and re-pack the grease. water and grease dont mix, if its grey your performance trailer will soon show unsatisfactory performance.

It is grey. What's that mean? Should I pull the wheel and repack the bearings?

I would pull the wheels, replace the bearings, seals, and the rubber inserts, re pack with grease and have some peace of mind. It's easy to do, it's cheap and the alternative is assured bearing failure which is inconvenient, costly and dangerous. There are kits available with everything needed.