Rear Seal on Trailer Wheel

[Time]

Been blowing a bit of grease out of the rear seal of the wheel bearing. I know it has to be replaced, only question is can it be deferred for a bit? Pump a bit of grease into it (enough to move the bearing buddy plate out about 3/8") before leaving home and at the ramp before returning home. Checked hub temperatures after trailering and it feels as cool as the other one. Would like to do this for a few more trips, but don't want to screw up the axle.
Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[rico]

depends on how far u need to travel, but if they are both the same temp, i would say you r ok. just keep lots of grease in there in make a barrier for the water. With that said, it doesn't take long to change the bearing and seals. That is probably your beat bet.

 

[ReelAffair]

for the 15 minutes it takes...why gamble

 

[Time]

Agree, it's a short job, but my mechanical skills rank up there with my fishing skills.
Just want to wait for my mechanic friend to return from his holiday in a week or so. And maybe get in a quick trip or two (short driving distance) before then.

 

[salmon9]

I think if the temperature of the hub is cool during towing then it should be OK as long as the trips are not long.

 

[Lobster Boy]

The rear seals on my trailer leaked for a long time before I finally summoned up the courage to pull it all apart and replace them. I just kept pumping in grease to keep the bearing buddy plate "wobbly". There was no corrosion or significant bearing wear on either wheel. Replacing the seal was a breeze. There are lots of how-to sites on the web.

With leaky seals, when you keep pumping in grease it keeps coming out all over your wheel hubs which is generally enough to make you want to replace them. I think the seals blew in the first place because I was over-enthusiastic with the grease gun.

 

[spring time]

make sure you guys are using a double lip seal just don't go to lordco and get a seal because its a single lip

 

[Time]

Double lip seal?
First I heard of that.
Makes sense given the salt water environment it gets dipped in.

At Lordco, Canadian Tire, or specialty trailer supply stores?

 

[spring time]

I went to highliner trailers in delta for bearings and the guy said about seals and I said I had some from napa and he told me to take them back and use these seals and he said they were double lipped to boat trailers.

 

[WillyD]

Change the seal. I was with my neigbour one time and he had a blow seal. We were coming back from port and the hub seized. The back tire passed us on the hignway. It was not pretty.

 

[flytyer]

As having been in the same "boat" as willyd, it sucks to watch a wheel and hob pass you only to know that there is a hell of a lot of damage going on behind you and you cant stop fast enough. THE biggest reason for wheel seal failure, which leads to bearing failure is coming in off the highway and backing straight into the water to get that fish. Taking 5-10 minutes to get the boat set up and ready to go in the parking lot can save you many hours at the side of the road. Part one of this i learned when i was young and----- the other part i learned getting a wrench license

 

[Last Chance]

Don't forget to check for really rusty rims. I had my lugs pull through the rims on the way to the Sidney launch years ago..

Last Chance Fishing Adventures

www.lastchancefishingadventures.com
www.swiftsurebank.com

 

[-smtw]

add to LastChance's "Don't Forget"..... the leaf springs. My trailer is all galvanized, and when looking at it, you cant see the springs because of the fenders. Last trip home, heard horrendous "BANG" from the rusted through spring pack breaking.
Has kept me landlocked for weeks, everything is replaced w/ shiny new, but during the "removal" the hammer blows were a bit too liberal, and I broke a leaf spring mount off. Catch-22 now... no welder to fix it where its parked, but cant tow to get fixed for fear of stressing the opposite side of the now missing mount.
(beer/$ for anyone in the courtenay area that can do a VERY small weld job on my lame trailer)