Re: Bearing Buddies

hlg@pacbell.net
Sun, 5 Sep 1999 11:17:02 -0700


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West Wight Potter Website at URL
http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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Ken-

The very old Bearing Buddy instructions (29-32 years) pasted on my trailer
say to inject grease until just a "flash of grease" appears at the rim of
the Bearing Buddy disk. If you miss that, it will probably come out the
back of the wheel through the seal, which you don't want to happen. I
adopted the method of pumping in just enough to push the disk out to near
its limit, which compresses the spring, maintaining the intended pressure
in the hub. The instructions also say to inject the grease just before
launching, and no grease is needed if the disk can be moved with a
screwdriver, indicating that the spring is already compressed by the grease
pressure.

I've just replaced my old axle and its Bearing Buddies with a Spindle-Lube
axle from Champion Trailer. It remains to be seen how that will compare
with Bearing Buddies over the long haul. Supposedly periodic repacking will
be unnecessary since the spindle is designed like a bearing packing tool. I
inject grease in a fitting in the end of the spindle. The grease flows
through both bearings from the inside to outside, filling the hub and
forcing the old grease through the outer bearing. I'm also forming the
habit of touching the hubs immediately after a trip to see if they are
heating up, and I'm changing from 5.70 x 8 tires/wheels to 530 x 12, which
will reduce the rotation speed. As a point of reference, my new hubs, with
new bearings, feel just slightly warm after a long drive.

The argument that sailboats don't need Bearing Buddies sounds reasonable to
me. That would seem especially true with a tilt-up trailer since the hubs
don't have to be submerged. The double lip seal on the inside and the
rubber plug in my hub cap on the outside should provide enough resistance
against sloshing and occasional shallow immersion. We shall see.

By the way, is it really necessary to lift a wheel off the ground when
adding grease? I hope not.

Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA

>OK, so I'm getting ready to pull my potter the 300 miles to Seattle from
>Eugene.....thinking aboutj prepping the trailer. I figured to lift each
>wheel off the ground, shoot some grease in until a little oozed out the
>buddy.....? Any tips on how to lubricate the bearings without blowing the
>seals???? I appreciate any advice!
>
>Ken Silverman, soon to be on the North End of Lake Washington, sailing
>from Kenmore Aviation, home to seaplanes and several p-15's....
>
>On Sat, 4 Sep 1999 BdeMent@aol.com wrote:
>
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>> West Wight Potter Website at URL
>> http://www.lesbois.com/wwpotter/
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>> In a message dated 9/4/99 9:32:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
>> dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us writes:
>>
>> << Can you get more information as to *why* the mechanics blame the BB's?
>> >>
>> Simple: excessive grease pressure not only compresses the (bearing buddies)
>> BB spring and 'oozes' out the little hole in the front, it also pushes the
>> rear seal out of shape and splatters grease over the inside of the wheel.
>> Grease on the inside of the wheel should be a dead give away that the seals
>> are shot. The BB's per se are NOT the problem. It's an operator problem
>> with the grease gun...
>>
>> Bill de Ment P-15 'Sukoshi', Eagle Idaho
>>