seal

[Sideoftheroad]

Neighbor came over tonight to take the bearings out of the Harbour Freight trailer wheels. He has done it before. I haven't done it at all so wanted someone to walk me through it.

 

Got a couple questions that hopefully someone will be able to answer before we repack the bearings tomorrow.

 

1) Do the rubber seals (looks like a rubber ring really) need to be replaced. They look to be in really good condition. I know the previous owner of the trailer barely used it.

 

2) With the bearings in, there is a cavity in between them. Looks like the grease fitting is just for that cavity. Does that entire cavity need to be filled w/ grease? It certainly wasn't when we pulled the bearings out.

 

Thanks

Edited July 12, 2010 by Sideoftheroad

[Sideoftheroad]

Wow!!!! 57 views and no one knows about the harbor freight trailer grease bearing seals or how to properly grease the bearings?

 

Sorry, not trying to be mean but out of that many views, I would have thought I would have gotten a few responses by now.

 

Any input would be appreciated.

[MiCarl]

Grease is not necessary in the cavity, just in the bearings. If you grease with the Zerk fitting then the cavity will need to fill before it pushes any grease into the bearings.

 

If you're hand packing the bearings the seal needs to be pulled to do the inner one properly. I've never got a grease seal out without ruining it. If it truly isn't warped at all you can probably re-use it. A new one is cheap insurance though.

[BradT]

Pretty much agree with MiCarl, except I was forced to reuse the seal. It got bent removing it but had no other choice but to tap it straight and re use it. It worked well but changed it shortly after.

 

I like to pack the new bearing using the palm of my hand, then I know they are greased well.

 

Brad

[Sideoftheroad]

Since I am new to trailers, let me make sure I am referring to the correct thing. There aren't very many parts to the whole thing, but just to be sure here is a pic of what I think is the inner grease seal. We have just taken out 1 side so far. It didn't take much effort for it to come out at all, but there are somethings I believe in that you replace everytime you do something (like oil filter when you change the oil) and this might one of those items.

 

Yes I will be repacking by hand.

 

Where do you get replacements grease seals?

 

Thanks.

[Trader]

every trailer I have has "bearing buddys" on them.

No repacking....no worring about damaging the seals.... It pushes the grease in as needed...about twice a year I just hook up thegrease gun and reload.

[BradT]

here is a pic of what I think is the inner grease seal.

somethings I believe in that you replace everytime you do

 

Yes and

 

Yes, don't want to wash out the new grease, or let dirt in, as I bet you don't want to be on the side of the road .

 

Any Bearing house should have them. May need to measure but just bring in the old seal.

 

Brad

[kbert777]

Since I am new to trailers, let me make sure I am referring to the correct thing. There aren't very many parts to the whole thing, but just to be sure here is a pic of what I think is the inner grease seal. We have just taken out 1 side so far. It didn't take much effort for it to come out at all, but there are somethings I believe in that you replace everytime you do something (like oil filter when you change the oil) and this might one of those items.

 

Yes I will be repacking by hand.

 

Where do you get replacements grease seals?

 

Thanks.

 

If the seals come out without deforming them and the lip and tension ring are undamaged, you should be able to reuse the seals.

 

A word of warning...

Every HF trailer I looked at so far had metric bearings and seals, which a very uncommon and not easily available at most shops. HF sells bearings and seals as spare parts, every single time I tried they were special order, so I usually ordered some quantities as they are cheap.

After measuring and cross-referencing SKF# 692373 or 11694 seals are suitable substitutes and might be available at bearing supply houses, the dimensions are 30x52x10mm. The bearings are relatively trivial part# 30205, standard 25mm shaft bearing and you might consider replacing the original Chinese stuff if you are planning a longer road trip.

 

Klaus

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Bearing buddys are a great invention, for a boat trailer. Boat trailer bearings get submerged.

 

Respectfully submitted with all the bearing buddy fans on the board. Bearing buddies are UGLY on a motorcycle trailer even WITH a rubber cap on them. Not only that, they stick out beyond some wheels and are vulnerable to being hit and knocked off the hub. (If you have wheel covers on the wheels then appearance of the axle cap is not important of course.)

 

I use a bearing buddy as a tool to PACK the bearings, but then I take it off and replace the original hub cap. (Not to be confused with a wheel cover!)

 

The bearings are now fully packed with grease and look decent too.

 

I dont pretend to be an expert on trailers, but this works for me:

 

After you get the axle nut (sometimes called a castlenut) back on, purposely overtighten it, rotate the wheel, loosen it, then repeat a couple of times, to make sure the bearings are seated properly. Then when you do the final torqueing, make sure the wheel will spin freely when the nut is rotated back and forth when the cotterpin is installed.

 

I have seen them mis-torqued many times. You want as little side-to-side freeplay as possible, but the wheel must spin freely. When your done, grab the wheel and give it a good hard spin...it should spin freely for a while...if it stops after 1 or 2 or 3 turns the nut is too tight. If the nut is left too tight, then the bearing will heat up rapidly when on the road and probably fail.

 

During your road test...after about 5 to 10 miles, retorque the nut again, then after 100 miles, do it again. After any wheel bearing service, during the first 200 miles or so, at every gas stop, reach down and feel the hub to make sure its not too hot. Warm is OK...hot is NOT OK. There may be just a tad bit of grease evident around the seals or cap...a tiny amount is nothing to worry about...The seal will expand slightly and seal it up. After that, the bearings should be OK for the season, but checking things is STILL a good idea at least once or twice a day during a trip.

 

Have fun!

[Sideoftheroad]

I called an Indianapolis bearing place. Not sure about the cheapest but 2 seals + shipping = $14.42 shipped to my door. They said should be at my door by Thursday. I gave them dimensions 30x52x10mm.

 

Also was reading the Harbour Freight manual and it said to fill the dust cap w/ grease. Is this necessary?

[Guest tx2sturgis]

 

Also was reading the Harbour Freight manual and it said to fill the dust cap w/ grease. Is this necessary?

 

If you pack the bearings properly, and torque them properly, you dont need to fill the cap with grease...but I think they (HF) have the idea that IF the bearings were not properly torqued, and the bearing got so hot that the grease liquified, then you would have some reserve grease in the hub. This is a guess....

 

But you know, it wont hurt anything either, assuming the interior of the dust cap is kept free of dirt and debris.

[Sideoftheroad]

What do you guys think about the total price for 2 seals and shipping. Seems high to me, but could be right in the ballpark for what others have had to pay.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

What do you guys think about the total price for 2 seals and shipping. Seems high to me, but could be right in the ballpark for what others have had to pay.

 

The shipping they are paying is probably a few dollars...figure handling, a few dollars...Seems about right....dont get too wound up about a few dollars...under your intended use, they will probably last the life of the trailer.

[Sideoftheroad]

agree. Couple bucks over no problem. 10+ overcharged for an item like this, yeah will feel a little jipped. But I do think also even being a few dollars over, it helps the economy.

 

Just my opinion, nothing will jump start the economy more than spend, spend, spend.

[Sideoftheroad]

...

Edited July 12, 2010 by Sideoftheroad

[casabroker]

Good luck on the seals. I just put 1300+ plus on my hf trailer and the seals i just used are from napa. Do not use the ones that are black and look like the pic on this post they don't fit tight enough they will work loose. Sorry don't have the part # but napa will mike the one you bring in.

[Gray Ghost]

The part numbers for national are 30205 for the bearings and 223255 for the seal.

[davecb]

To remove the inner seal, use a brass drift pin to slowly punch it out. Make sure that it is on the outer race of the bearing. Do not just tap on one side. Slowly rotate the drift pin around the bearing to get the seal out about the same distance as you go around it. Repack both bearings. Fill the hub with grease,, install, and put grease in the end cap. Grease heats up and melts as it gets hot. Filling the hub and and end cap help stop all the hot grease from going into the empty hub....