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Catalina 250 Specific Forum

greasing wheel bearings

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SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/26/2006 : 19:18:06

has anyone greased there trailer bearings?
I finaly figured out how to get the caps off ,
when you fill it with grease and push it on is that
what pushes the cap out ?
Or there looks like there is a grease nipple but it
has a nut on it.
I have a trailrite trailer
any help would be great thanks

Edited by - on

atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 07/26/2006 : 19:26:22

There are 2 types of grease systems.
1. Is spindle lube. The grease nipple is inside a little rubber cap. When you squirt the grease in, it flushes the old grease from the back bearing and renews all the grease in the hub.

2. Bearing Buddies. They have a nipple on top of a disk and push the towards the rear seal. The air escapes and there is only pressurized grease left.

I hope that helps.

Tom.

Edited by - on

SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 07/26/2006 : 21:43:57

thanks tom,
ya I think I have the bearing buddy,
the end extends out when it is full and goes in
with use,
but the grease fitting has a 1/2 " nut around it .
I cant get a grease gun on .
I try to take it off but the inside was spining.

I will clean the grease around the spindal
to see if there is a fitting their

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/26/2006 : 22:11:57

Sean, the zert(grease)fitting looks like it has a nut around it. You have to apply a good bit of pressure to get your grease gun tip to snap on the zert, you'll feel it snap on. That being said, I have known grease guns tips to go bad and may not allow the tip to snap on the zert. Give it a good push. Also on my Trail Rite I have the type of buddy bearings that have a blue plastic ring around the outside edge of the disk. You apply grease until the blue on the disk ring starts to be flush or just a little more than even with the outside of the buddy bearing. Some Buddy bearings don't have the blue ring, on those I usually pump grease until I see the disk start to move outward.

Edited by - on

welshoff
Captain

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USA
253 Posts

Response Posted - 07/27/2006 : 10:21:35

FYI - I had to loosen the "tip" on my grease gun in order to get on and off the grease zert. Usually you can turn the end of the grease gun tip to adjust tension. If the tip is too tight, it will cause problems when trying to pull off of the zert. I ended up pulling the whole assembly apart one day just trying to get the gun off of the zert (I don't recommned you try - what a mess). Turned out with a little twist on the grease gun tip, it releaves the spring tension and it now "snaps" on and off the zert with ease.

Don't over grease, as this can cause the "disc" in the bearing buddy to push out the end and come apart (again I don't recommend - what a mess).

Just a couple thoughts to hard (messy) lessons learned.

Edited by - welshoff on 07/27/2006 10:22:37

SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 07/27/2006 : 20:46:11

Thanks guys,

Tom I have the blue ring , and I didnt push down to hard either. So Ill try that, But when you put grease in ,the blue pops out ? or in ?
I would think it pops out.

Then you fill the cavity in the cap , with grease and tap it back in ?
How do you tap it back in ?
piece o wood on the lip next to the blue ?

all done , or should I clean the grease off the spindle nut
and put new grease on there ?

It took awile to figure out the cap pryes off,
I was tring to unscrew it .

Thanks again , 1 apart 3 to go

Edited by - on

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 07/28/2006 : 18:19:43

Sean,
With the Buddy Bearings (BB) theres no need to remove the cap to grease the bearings, that's the beauty of the BB. Here's a picture of a BB with the blue center, its blue so you can easily visually check the mount of grease in the hub. When full the blue should extend out past that round snap ring by about 1/8 of a inch.

If you've already removed the BB, you can use a piece of wood (to keep from damaging the BB) and place it over the front of the BB and lightly tap it back on the hub with a hammer. Then take your grease gun and pump grease into the zert fitting until the edge of the blue ring protrudes past the snap ring like I explained above and your done.

Here's a [url="http://www.bearingbuddy.com/faqs.htm#1"]web[/url] page that might also help.

Edited by - on

SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 07/28/2006 : 19:28:43

tom
I will take some pictures of the caps .
my grease fitting is on the inside of the cap .

It looks like the bb ,but the grease fitting is on the inside.

thanks for the sight

Edited by - on

Steve Blackburn
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
1091 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2009 : 21:25:33

OK I bought a grease gun and Mag1 Multi-Purpose Water Resitant Marine Grease grade 2. I have bearing buddies. The trailer is 10 years old. I'd like to remove the old grease and fill it up with new grease. Is that a good or bad idea, and neccessary? The spindle model as Tom shows above replaces the old with the new, but how does that work with BB?

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2009 : 22:11:22

This is part of my 'every trip' routine.

I have a type of bearing buddy where there is a spring loaded washer that retains the grease.
So prior to each trip, I pump in a couple of triggers of grease into each wheel hub, wiping off the old grease as it is forced out.

Once a year I strip the bearings down and clean the spindle and hubs then apply fresh grease.

I'm about to get the trailer serviced. New tongue jack, get the brakes checked (surge disk brakes) and probably have the system upgraded to electric.

I'm also going to have new bunk covers installed and replace the lights with LEDs.

Remember we trail the boat a minimum of 70 miles to the marina each trip, sometimes much further, so we take care of the trailer perhaps a bit obsessively.

Paul

Edited by - on

Steve Blackburn
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
1091 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2009 : 22:43:03

I have the one with the blue ring.

I see there is a washer spring in this picture. Should I attempt to remove it to extract the old grease?

Edited by - on

SEAN
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
772 Posts

Response Posted - 05/11/2009 : 15:23:15

lol...i didnt notice the thin access cap on the front ...I accually pulled the whole thing off the rim

3rd times a charm

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