Bearing buddies.....missing!

J

jswingle13

New Member
Jul 25, 2011
40
SW Michigan
Boat Info
'89 180 BR
Engines
4.3 Mercruiser
I rebuilt the hubs on my trailer...bearings, seals and reinstalled the bearing buddies. First trip I got home and realized my passenger side BB was missing. I put a dust cap on it so I could take the boat for a test run and when I got to the ramp noticed the cap was missing! By the time I got home the second BB was missing! I felt the hubs and they were cool thinking it had something to do with heat. When putting the hubs on I went finger tight and made sure everything was seated and backed off to the nearest slot. Any ideas why I'm Laing them? Thanks for any input!


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Finger tight may not have been enough. Tight... To the point there is no rocking or clicking, then back off. You want it just tight enough that there is no rocking.
 
If you're sure the buddy was tapped on all the way... Did you hit any big bumps or potholes?
 
Pretty sure.... They were a pain to get out and they seemed to take some force to tap in so I was sure they were secure ( obviously not though). I did hit a few small bumps and went over some rough train tracks slowly. It's only about 10 miles to the launch so I drove my route a couple times looking for the parts and couldn't locate them. This short of distance to have issues I must have done something wrong. I'm going to start by checking the castle nut...my only guess at this point is that I must not of got it as tight as I thought or wasn't seated all the way.


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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?qdmyll
 
How old were they? After a couple times being removed and reinstalled they get loose. Some guys I know replace them every time they repack their bearings. There not expensive, I get em at Wal Mart. Sure does make a giant mess with that grease flinging everywhere huh?
 
i have to use a small piece of 2x4 lumber and a rubber mallet to drive my BB's into the hub until they seat properly...if you do not have to use a similar method and amount of force to seat your BB's you may have the wrong size buddies or they need to be replaced....as was said earlier if you have removed and installed them several times it may be possible that they will not fit 'tight' in the hub any longer....

cliff
 
Not sure how old they are....I'm guessing original equipment. I did use a 2x4 and hammer to reseat them....they were really tight coming out so I probably loosened them up quite a bit. Gonna put some new ones in but don't want to lose another pair. Thanks for all the input!
 
With new ones you should be good to go.
 
Has anyone heard of flipping the seals when using BB? My uncle said they need to be flipped otherwise it builds up pressure and pops them off?
 
Flipping the seals??? Do you mean flipping it 180*? Is your uncle known as the "wild one" in the family? No, never heard of that. Don't do it. That's not the reason. What might happen, though, is you'll let water in.
 
When you overpressure the bearing buddy it vents out. That's why you get a grease mess when you pump them up too much.
 
Sounded strange to me....I thought that's what the purpose of the little hole was to release pressure. I'll leave it the way it is and install the new BB. I did check the wiggle in the tires and everything seems normal.
 
No "wiggle", right?

When you pump grease in... just double checking on some things...

-- only pump till the spring plate moves a little bit - don't fully compress the spring.
-- in most cases, only add grease a few times a season. NOT every time you trailer.
 
Thanks... I think I did put I little too much in the first time. There is very little wiggle.. I tightened the nut till there was none and backed off just till I could stick the the pin in. Is this incorrect to do?
 
Lazy Daze said:
No "wiggle", right?
Click to expand...


Dennis is right....there should be no 'wiggle' in the wheel/tire assembly if the wheel bearings are adjusted properly....my practice is to spin the wheel/tire by hand and while it is spinning 'SLIGHTLY' overtighten the spindle nut to the point there is obvious drag on the wheel/tire...this will insure the bearing is fully seated in the hub and the spinning of the wheel/tire will prevent galling of the bearing.......then back off the spindle nut slowly until you just start to feel a slight 'wiggle' in the tire/wheel when you grab it at 9:00 and 3:00 and try to shake it....then retighten the spindle nut to the point the 'wiggle' goes away...

cliff
 
Wheel bearings also wear in a little. Tighten until they are snug and then back off. No wiggle at all. Spin them after the tire and wheel is mounted. They should spin freely and not stop quickly. If they make any noise that is not constant and smooth, tighten or loosen the castle nut as needed.

A tip for installing bearing buddys or any other press fit items. Place the to be installed part in the freezer for several hours. This will shrink the material enough to ease the install. Be aware of condensation and make sure all is dry before pressing into service. You will be surprised how much .0001 of an inch is when you can either bang away or use a few good controlled hits with a dead blow hammer.
 
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