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What happens in Febuary when you forget to grease them in may. Attachment 229659Attachment 229660Attachment 229661 Yes, that is correct, I got to buy a new axel too! I dont mean to sound ungrateful, I did make it back the 106 miles from Sardis without knowing I had a problem. Look at that nut, not much left holding the wheel on, thank You Lord!
Man, that's ugly! Glad it was only an axle that got damaged.
Now I'm headed out to the shop to give mine a shot of grease.
Dennis - Please do, I don't want a break down going to the lake
My brother has tons of farm machinery, and every day before starting work, he'll say "Check the oil, check the fuel, check the transmission oil, thump the tires, clean the windows, and most of all, grease the zerks. And woe to the person who misses just one of the multitude of zerks on the balers, rakes, trailers, fluffers, tractors, lifts, or ten-packs.
New axle to be here tomorrow. .
I had boats all my life
1st axle I ever messed up
Just greased mine, thanks.
It's painful when your boat is sitting idle on a beautiful day. Blew a seal on an oil bath system last year on my Ranger Trail. When I slowed down to make a turn the smoke was boiling off the spindle. Luckily I made it home and into the shop before it laid down. I will say after calling Ranger the same day and express shipping I had not only 1 spindle but 2 along with new hubs, rotors, and brake pads in 2 days. New hubs are vortex grease hubs and glad to be without the oil bath which was original. After just 21/2 hours had both sides changed out and back on the road. I am sure that I'm not the only one that dislikes down time......Ranger
I ordered the axle, hubs, u-bolts and bearings from from boattrailerparts.com. They made it easy by assuring the parts would work together and ordering from the same place. All together it was 286.00$ with free shipping. Ordered Monday morning, arrived Thurs evening. Took 2 hours to remove and replace. Was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't more difficult.
Now you got me thinking. I guess I had better go check my 4 trailers and pump them full
I went with dexter hubs also
How often do you need to grease the hubs? I greased mine about 3 years ago, buy only probably use my boat/trailer 2-3 times per year bc the wife and I had some kids a few years ago.
Supposed to be here tomorrow
Ups willing
Spoon33,
That would, in part, depend on how old your boat is and how much it has been used. If it's been around a while, it would be a good idea to jack it up, pull the bearings, and take a look. Repack them while you are there. It's super easy. If your boat is pretty new, just feel the hubs next time you hook up and drive awhile, getting gas or at your destination. If they are warm, you might put some grease in them. When I took my 10 year old boat to florida, I changed the bearings before I left, took a spare hub and bearings with me, and every fuel stop I checked for heat at the hubs. I also keep a small grease gun and cartridges in the boat. I had to add grease in Florida and when I got back. Made three trips down there on the same bearings I replaced before the first trip.
I would say that if you can't remember the last time you checked them it would be a good idea to do it now. Stranded on the side of the road with a problem as simple as a wheel bearing, you'll feel like a moron. You gotta check 'em. They are submersed in water, then sit for a while. Not nice for a part built to move.
I miss spokeQuote:
Originally Posted by Machine
Dexter axle and vortex hubs
Bought my boat new may in 2013. Forgot to grease hubs last spring during my yearly oil change. I use my boat on average once at week, well cough, I go at least once a week. Also, now that I think about it, I am usually running a pretty good distance every time I go. My last trip to Oologah, I was thinking that it was a short trip because it was only an hour and fifteen minutes. So I went ahead and scheduled "check grease" reminders into my smart phones calendar every 2 months from here to eternity. (Hey was that what that movie was about, bearings?)
Chris, wheel bearings--that is exactly what the movie was about! I had to chuckle out loud at that one!
Vortex hubs rock. Allows you to grease bearings by a grease zerk and it pushes old grease out.
I worry about mine. Every boat I've owned required regular greasing but I was told by the local shop that the 2004 Ranger I have now doesn't need that regular maintenance. Maybe you guys can fill me in on whether or not he is right???
Before retiring, I went to a bearing failure analysis training session. I asked about the sealed "lubed for life" bearings that one company sold. The company rep said that they were confident that their seals were so good they could offer that. In the real world where I worked, those bearings failed on occasion. The rep called that the life span of the bearing. When the bearing fails, its reached its lifetime.Quote:
Originally Posted by Achiro
That answer left a lot of us scratching our heads, but in the ranger axle case, I'll bet they are relying on the seals to be good enough that constant relubing isn't necessary. If you look at most of the cheap boat axle seals, they are just a single lip designed to keep water out. Pay a little more and get double lip seals. Don't know what Ranger has came up with, but it sounds interesting.
My Toyota Tacoma has 329,000 miles on the front wheel bearings that have never been removed or regreased since it was bought brand new in 1995, and you can be assured its been in water over the hubs.
New axle and hubs came in
Vortex hubs have Chinese bearings....
I'm straight up Temkin man...
Did you go get some temkins and replace the others? I would have, keep the Chinese for a backup.Quote:
Originally Posted by Machine
Have not made my mind upQuote:
Originally Posted by Redge
Timken bearings closed their US facility.
They are manufactured in several different countries though. China being one of them.
Got axle installed tonight and LOVED the vortex hubs
Heavy duty easy to grease smooth installation.
But as I spun the tire I found it has a separated section in it.
W I B D....
now a new tire
Replaced it's mate duck season. ..
Not impressed with maxxis trailer tires
Locations shows on 12/13/15 40 plants or service centers open in US.
Timken Co. - Lincolnton Bearing Plant in Iron Station, NC, US | ELM Analytics This plant is 30 miles from my house and it is still open and running full blast.
That's good to hear. I was on another forum where this very subject was being discussed. The OP said the Timken plant in his town was shutting down. Guess I should have done some fact checking.Quote:
Originally Posted by brucec