Changing The Oil In These Hubs....
- Thread starter Seafever
- Start date
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Sure thing SF-I have been using that same hub for 7 years- screw off the plastic hub wipe it out and let it drain-replace and refill through the allen key hole If you see the oil is milky on the way home from a big trip and you are a little concerned for water- again unscrew the cap(quicker draining than the allen key) wipe out-drain and replace and fill through the Allen key hole. You will never lose bearings again if you pay attention to the colour of the oil. If in doubt -change it-sometimes it looks different but it's air not water. Don't have to jack it just move the trailer for refilling so the allen key hole is on the top.
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Should add always carry oil(80-90wt gear oil) a plastic margarine tub and lid for drained oil and a couple of allen keys and possibly a rubber strap wrench to remove the plastic cap.
ReelAffair
Active Member
Also if the oil is turning milky, pull it apart and replace the seal, make sure to use the proper double lip seal for oil bath hubs
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Probably the easiest place although not the cheapest is ez loader. You might try e-trailer.com. I got mine from Mike at road runner trailer but I don't think he is doing them any more. They are really great for guys who do their own maintenance-I love mine,used to go through a set of bearings a year till I got the oil baths. Now I'm on the 8th year for the same set of bearings!!
tyeeking
Active Member
I too run oil bath hubs and like them. With that said they are not bullet proof. My practice is to inspect my hubs at every stop including taking their temp with a laser gun (inexpensive and well worth it tool). Four years ago on a trip back from the WCVI I had stopped for fuel and done my check. All four hubs showed the proper amount of oil and the temp on all four hubs was only slightly above ambient air temp and the same for all hubs. A good check in my book. Eight miles later I was on the side of the road with a melted spindle and small fire to put out.
Clearly somehow within 8 miles the offending hub had "dumped its oil". Our best guess on the post mortum sifting through the melted parts is that some road debris kicked up and hit the viewing port on the hub hard enough to allow the oil to escape. Obviously with no oil things heat up very,very,quickly . . . .too quickly to really catch it. Obviously in a grease packed hub that won't happen . . . .but of course as we all know other things can happen with a grease packed hub.
I believe that my situation was a fluke but it goes to show that nothing is bullet proof. I still run and prefer oil bathtubs. I think that the ability to see the lubricant is a huge plus.
Clearly somehow within 8 miles the offending hub had "dumped its oil". Our best guess on the post mortum sifting through the melted parts is that some road debris kicked up and hit the viewing port on the hub hard enough to allow the oil to escape. Obviously with no oil things heat up very,very,quickly . . . .too quickly to really catch it. Obviously in a grease packed hub that won't happen . . . .but of course as we all know other things can happen with a grease packed hub.
I believe that my situation was a fluke but it goes to show that nothing is bullet proof. I still run and prefer oil bathtubs. I think that the ability to see the lubricant is a huge plus.
spring fever
Well-Known Member
The way to cure the problem you describe is pack your bearings with a compatible grease to the gear oil(easy) then you have the best of both worlds-if you lose your oil-your grease will save you. Incidentally I have travelled 5 to 6000 km every year for the last 7 years with oil bath and never once dumped oil-I have sprayed it once due to a cap not being tight enough-but no damage done-just tightened it. I do carry spare caps. Tight Lines.
tyeeking
Active Member
It's interesting that you say that Spring Fever. Two years ago I had them repacked exactly as you suggest. I noticed that they were running hotter than I was used to so I ran the trailer into the EZ Loader factory here in Spokane where they told me that is a big "no-no". According to the factory the mix of oil and grease breaks down in some odd sort of way and will cause the hubs to run hotter. I changed back to straight oil and they absolutely run cooler that way. It doesn't make complete sense to me but hey . . . They are the trailer manufacturer.
With all of that said I'm with you Spring Fever and feel that oil bathtubs are very reliable.
Seafever
Well-Known Member
Changed the oil in the hubs today.....EZ loader dealer said the plastic caps come off pretty easy with a strap wrench.
Put my strap wrench on.......applied a little bit of pressure....the left cap broke in two.
Back up to the dealer to get the aluminum ones (bought a pair)....these are tougher than the plastic ones....no fear of breaking.
I was also told to use some Loctite sealer on the little filler nut when I put it back in ...which I did.
Paid 22 bucks total for the 2 new caps.........
Put my strap wrench on.......applied a little bit of pressure....the left cap broke in two.
Back up to the dealer to get the aluminum ones (bought a pair)....these are tougher than the plastic ones....no fear of breaking.
I was also told to use some Loctite sealer on the little filler nut when I put it back in ...which I did.
Paid 22 bucks total for the 2 new caps.........
Last edited by a moderator:
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Yeah they are the better cap but you'd think they would make them clear-much easier to see.!!LOL
spring fever
Well-Known Member
Must be my old eyes-I find the amber plastic in the alum caps much more difficult to see than the old clear ones. Still I do think they are stronger.
Seafever
Well-Known Member
yep......might be a good idea to take an extra cap and a little bottle of oil along on longer trips......
Rather than fill mine as suggested by filling the cap and quickly putting it on I opted for filling through the little filler hole.
(a) I recommend a little plastic oiler bottle with a narrow tip on it.....the hole is pretty small.
(b) I also didn't let the oil settle when filling the first one......so I thought I had it half full but then when it settled it went quite a bit higher than that so I had to back off the alum cap and drain some out.
The second one I took my time ....filling it a bit at a time....went much better and I didn't have to drain any.
Rather than fill mine as suggested by filling the cap and quickly putting it on I opted for filling through the little filler hole.
(a) I recommend a little plastic oiler bottle with a narrow tip on it.....the hole is pretty small.
(b) I also didn't let the oil settle when filling the first one......so I thought I had it half full but then when it settled it went quite a bit higher than that so I had to back off the alum cap and drain some out.
The second one I took my time ....filling it a bit at a time....went much better and I didn't have to drain any.
Similar threads
