Bearing Buddies

[Snappas]

Just had my trailer bearings replaced. Dealer did not put bearing buddies back on saying they were more of a problem than a benefit as salt water mixing with grease inside them makes them pack hard, become abrasive and do more damage. I've never heard of this before and have a spare set to put back on if need be.
Has anyone else had this sort of problem?

Snappas>:(

[Crunchy]

last boat had bearing buddies, dunked every launch / retreive, never had a any bearing troubles, they looked like new every time I replaced them. New boat doesn't have bearing buddies, I noticed one sizzling hot wheel wheen when got home from the ramp last night, havent investigated cause yet but I'm a fan of BB's personally.

PS I never had hard grease or water in my grease using BB's.

[shakey55]

Agree some people have had problems with them.

Me, I use them and have had NO trouble whatsoever. Still need to physically check them say once a year.

When replacing bearings ensure you pack them with grease before putting on the bearing buddies. Buddies are good to regularly put a bit of grease into hub/bearings.

They are not meant to mean you never have to physically look at bearings, they are a means of getting grease into bearings without removing all the time and gives you some assurance that there is some grease in there.

I'm no expert but this is what I have learnt and been told.


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[Dignity]

Just had my trailer bearings replaced. Dealer did not put bearing buddies back on saying they were more of a problem than a benefit as salt water mixing with grease inside them makes them pack hard, become abrasive and do more damage. I've never heard of this before and have a spare set to put back on if need be.
Has anyone else had this sort of problem?

Snappas>:(
I'm also a fan of them, I find that we you replace your bearings give the buddies a good clean out as well as I have had the nipple clog up.

Also I suggest whoever did your trailer return your old bearing buddies otherwise your forking out for another set and he'll probably put yours on another trailer.

[scottar]

I tried them once - they fell off and I went back to caps, but one thing I have noticed is the difference between holden seals and ford seals. The ford seals don't have a solid washer either incorporated into the seal or behind it on the axle to stop the grease being pumped in from pushing the rear seal out. I have looked high and low to see if there is one available - similar to what is used on a holden seal but can not find one. With the ford seals on my trailer it is extremely easy to push the seal up over the retaining lip on the axle - just having the hub solidly packed with grease pushing it on is enough. Could explain why some have all sorts of trouble with seal displacement and others not so much??

[552Evo]

One tip I was told, re marine trailer seals.
1/ that could help retain the ford seal and
2/ should improve the retention of any marine seal be it ford or Holden.
Is to actually glue the seal to the axle surface with araldyte as you are rebuilding the axle.
Only on the axle and seal surface of course not all over the seal.
And the axle has to be 100% degreased before rebuilding.
Allow the glue to dry before being driven.
The glue helps the seal stay in position and not spin, as well as assisting the prevention of moisture ingress and axle stub corrosion.
Come time to remove the seal again the araldyte is not hard to knock away and clean up.
It takes a little more patience to add this extra step into the axle rebuild but I think it's a good idea


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[Spaniard_King]

We pretty much do as per 552 EVO except we use 406 Loctite to a clean axle and seal and always grease the rubber seal lips and the stainless cup. We also use Loctite 641 when fitting bearing buddies and ensure they are fitted squarely as any wobble flicks them off.

The key to bearing buddies it to continually grease them until they are full then do not over pressurise them, great product if used correctly

[littlejim]

Suspect they are superior to the rubber hubcap they replace.
I used to go through wheel bearings at an alarming rate (circa 6 months) until I started packing the inside seal ribs with grease.
Try to repack annually. They now last for years.

[Snappas]

To all you guys who responded, thanks very much for the info. I now have a set of new buddies and wheel caps to play with.
Tight lines
Snappas

[TheRealAndy]

Worth noting, that the genuine bearing buddies are the go. The chinese knock-off are rubbish,

[tunaticer]

I had a bad run with losing bearing buddies on the stanage bay run, nearly every pass lost one or both bearing buddies.
Solved that by tapping three m3 holes though the hub lip and through holes drilled in the bearing buddy tang.
I get over three years from a set of bearings, give them a check every 18 months or so.
Good quality bearings and grease is the best solution.
I also fitted a grease nipple between the inner and outer bearings to fill that void before initially loading the bearing buddy with grease.
Never pump bearing buddies so that the springs are completely compressed tight, that more than anything will blow the rear seal out when the hub warms. I give it two or three pumps once the pressure plate starts to move and that is it.

[Noelm]

Worth noting, that the genuine bearing buddies are the go. The chinese knock-off are rubbish,
Couldn't agree more, I have used bearing buddies for years, and had good luck with bearings, recently I got a new tinny and it has cheap bearing buddies, one fell off first trip, and I lost the other one a few trips later, got some genuine ones that I had saved from an old trailer, and they are still on now.

[Hagar]

I am another bearing buddy fan . Original brand only no cheapies .Have not had to regrease bearings for last 5 years . Just checked annually . Four on a dual axle and never lost any .

I have used Shell Nautilus boating grease for the outboard and also the wheel bearings for last 10 years with no problems even on long tows . Does not dry out in the buddies like a normal wheel bearing grease does.

Using the multi lip doughnut type inner grease seal is a must and install on a perfectly clean / dry axle so it does not rotate or use adhesive of some type like Garry says .

Cheers Chris

[scottar]

Got motivated today and went chasing an intermittent brake overheat on the trailer. Stripped and re-assembled the calipers and did the bearings at the same time. Found that a standard holden seal from super cheap with the actual rubber seal cut away and fitted back to front is the perfect diameter to act as a seal retention washer for a ford marine seal - possibly a little thick - time will tell on this. I have fitted them and will keep an eye on them

[Lovey80]

I won't go near bearing buddies for salt water use ever again. Every time I went to check the bearings water had always been in there from the marine seal at the back. Since going to Durahub more than 5 years ago I've been very impressed. I just recently changed my first set of bearings that I converted to Durahub over 5 up years ago and they are still like new......5 years and not a spec of rust!!!!

[Triple]

Water ingress from the rear seal is no fault of the bearing buddies. Do you just use oil in the durahub or grease pack and then oil top up as I've heard if you do have a leak once the oils gone its cooked but at least with grease its still lubed for a bit.

[TheRealAndy]

I won't go near bearing buddies for salt water use ever again. Every time I went to check the bearings water had always been in there from the marine seal at the back. Since going to Durahub more than 5 years ago I've been very impressed. I just recently changed my first set of bearings that I converted to Durahub over 5 up years ago and they are still like new......5 years and not a spec of rust!!!!

Each to their own, I have never had problems with bearing buddies, the polycraft had them on the entire time I owned it and I never once changed the bearings. Trailer yachts had them in the hardstand which is the ultimate test and never had an issue.

BTW, if your durahub seals had a leak at the back they would be farked also.

[Crunchy]

Worth noting, that the genuine bearing buddies are the go. The chinese knock-off are rubbish,

How can you tell the difference?

[Lovey80]

Each to their own, I have never had problems with bearing buddies, the polycraft had them on the entire time I owned it and I never once changed the bearings. Trailer yachts had them in the hardstand which is the ultimate test and never had an issue.

BTW, if your durahub seals had a leak at the back they would be farked also.

The genius of Durahub is you know immeadiatly that you have a leak. That's the problem with those supposed "marine" seals. They let water in far too easily.....

[TheRealAndy]

How can you tell the difference?

Quality. Dont buy the chinese ones, look for the genuine branded ones. You wont find them in super cheap.


The genius of Durahub is you know immeadiatly that you have a leak. That's the problem with those supposed "marine" seals. They let water in far too easily.....

Mate, the seals work the same. Good seal on a grease hub is just as good as good seal on a durahub. Shit seal is bad on both. Problem is you dont realise until you 500km into the fishing trip when the bearing seizes.

Durahub v Bearing buddies is a ford v holden debate. They both work well if installed properly.

[Crunchy]

Quality. Dont buy the chinese ones, look for the genuine branded ones. You wont find them in super cheap.



Mate, the seals work the same. Good seal on a grease hub is just as good as good seal on a durahub. Shit seal is bad on both. Problem is you dont realise until you 500km into the fishing trip when the bearing seizes.

Durahub v Bearing buddies is a ford v holden debate. They both work well if installed properly.

Ordered durahubs today, happy to give them a crack and see how they go, i carry spare bearing kits if they crap out

[Lovey80]

Quality. Dont buy the chinese ones, look for the genuine branded ones. You wont find them in super cheap.



Mate, the seals work the same. Good seal on a grease hub is just as good as good seal on a durahub. Shit seal is bad on both. Problem is you dont realise until you 500km into the fishing trip when the bearing seizes.

Durahub v Bearing buddies is a ford v holden debate. They both work well if installed properly.

I completely disagree. The standard bearing seal with the little spring that holds it tight against the stub and lubricated by oil is a much better seal than those couple of flappy bits of rubber sealing against the hub on a marine seal.

If the Durahub gets water in there you can see it imeadiatley, easily drain it mostly out whilst on the side of the road or at the ramp and top up the oil. Like I said, my first set were installed in 2011 and I just changed the bearings for piece of mind. They are like new and are now packed with grease as a spare set. I've never had more than 12 months out of marine seals that get submerged without them having signs of rust.

In that same period a set of old man emu coil springs and a set of shocks are completely rooted. That's the whole pudding right here for me.

[Lovey80]

Ordered durahubs today, happy to give them a crack and see how they go, i carry spare bearing kits if they crap out

Crunchy just take a good look at your stubs. Mine have been installed on new stubs so haven't had problems. The standard seals obviously fix to the hub and spin on the stub, If yours have pitting there may be some small oil leaks. If that happens just grab a speedy sleeve and push onto your stub so the seal has a nice smooth staino surface to run on.

[Crunchy]

Crunchy just take a good look at your stubs. Mine have been installed on new stubs so haven't had problems. The standard seals obviously fix to the hub and spin on the stub, If yours have pitting there may be some small oil leaks. If that happens just grab a speedy sleeve and push onto your stub so the seal has a nice smooth staino surface to run on.

Yeh mate they look OK but will be polishing them up to a mirror finish before installing the durahubs.I'm going to try running 100% oil for the cleanliness factor so hope those seals don't leak..........