Spare bearings

Recently repacked my trailer bearings and replaced grease seals. One of the bearings had a bit of wear on them and a tiny bit of "blueing". Nothing drastic by any means and the bearings still moved freely and smothly, but something I'll likely replace the next time I repack them. My biggest fear is running down the road and having a bearing seize up on me. Do any of you guys keep a set of grease packed bearings in your boat for such an emergency? If so, do you just keep the pair of bearings on board or do you also keep the races handy? i guess my question is if the bearings do seize up can you just replace the bearings to get you home/to the ramp or would the reaces also need replaced? Obviously everything would be replaced once home. I can see something like this ruining my day REAL fast!!

Replace them now before you go anywhere. Worrying about those bearings will wear you out. Get peace of mind by having it done and over with. And bearing buddies is a must. When I was in the auto repair business we would replace any discolored bearings. Also, if the old bearing get hot enough it can weld the race to the spindle or axle housing.(been there)(3hrs before getting it out with crude tools on side of road) Just my $.02 Good Luck!!!

Here is the bearing in question. It has a bit of corrosion on the back end where it sits up against the grease seal. You can see a bit of discoloration on the bearings also. Need replaced? If so, should I also replace the races while I'm at it?

Either way, I think I'm going to just get an entire hub assembly to keep in my truck in the event of a bearing failure. That way I can just swap hubs on the side of the road and can take care of the dirty work of bearing/race replacement when I get home.

At first glance they don't look bad, but I saw some rust and some ruff places on the bearing, so I would replace them. Better to be safe than sorry. Again my $.02.

[url=https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?p=366281#p366281 said:

BigTerp » Today, 13:47[/url]"] Need replaced? If so, should I also replace the races while I'm at it?

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Yes to both.

How's the spindle look?

Spindle looked fine, IIRC. Went ahead and ordered 4 sets of Timken bearings and races. Done with the Chinese crap!! Hoping to have them in by the weekend so I can get everything swapped out. I'll keep 2 or so of the good old bearings in my truck for emergencies. Probably eventually get an entire hub assembly to keep on hand, just in case.

So next question is.........any tips/tricks to getting the old races out and new races installed without any special tools?

[url=https://forum.tinboats.net/viewtopic.php?p=366339#p366339 said:

BigTerp » Tue Sep 16, 2014 9:06 am[/url]"]So next question is.........any tips/tricks to getting the old races out and new races installed without any special tools?

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BFH.

I'm not what your cutoff point is for "special tool" category but a die grinder makes short work of removing races. If that's not available I resort to the BFH mentioned above and a good heavy steel punch for removing old races and a brass drift punch for installing the new races. I think that's about as "basic" as you want to go when replacing bearings/races.

BFH is right. But if you're able to get the old races out with damaging them, you can install the new race with old race. Just get the new race started in the hub and tap it down to where it is flush with hub, and then lay the old race on top of the new race and tap on the old race till the new race bottoms out all the way around. Then just tap the old race out with your punch or chisel. Easy! Be careful with grease seal, get in straight.

Thanks!! I've cleaned and repacked bearings and replaced grease seals before. Never did the full job of replacing the races though. Kind of has me intimidated.

If in any doubt about bearings, races, seals, REPLACE THEM. You will wish you did if they fail as you are going down the road. They can destroy your axle, boat and even your tow vehicle if they cause you to have an accident.

To get the races off on some hubs there is a small opening or openings on the race seat that you can get a punch to knock the race out of the hub. on others there may be just a small lip of the race to get a punch on. Just remember to drive it out as straight as you can to keep it from binding from being driven at an angle too much. Drive them back in straight also. Drive them all the the way to the race seat all the way around the race. You want them square with the hub.

Youtube actually has several good videos on replacing bearings and races. If you've never done or seen the process done before, it would probably help to watch a few videos to get a better idea of how to remove/install the races.

If you do decide to keep some of your "good" old bearing/race sets for spares, be sure not to mix them up. Keep the race and bearing that were paired together in the hub.

Otherwise, they will not last,

I just replaced bearings, races, and grease seals. As mentioned above replace them in sets, all new for peace of mind. The bearing and race will wear in together so you don't want to mix old and new parts. Knock the races out with a hammer and punch as straight as possible. I tried the install with the old races and did not want to get it stuck and possibly damage the hub or new race knocking it out again. So I took the old races and held them to the bench grinder with a pair of leather gloves and slowly turned it about 5 turns or so. When I used them to tap in the new ones they turned freely and slid right out without any effort or force. Keep that old set you ground in case you do them again, just don't get them mixed up with the new ones.

If your worried about a spare I would buy a new hub and keep it in the truck somewhere away from moisture that it would be subject to in the boat. Would be a much simpler swap on the side of the road if need be with less tools.

Just keep them greased and check the hub temp after a long trip with your hand to verify both are about the same temp. Put your hand close to feel for heat and then tap it, just to be safe in case it is hot. Don't want a nasty burn in case one is bad. I have always done this and just replaced everything after 12 years. Everything was good except right seal was leaking and the grease was a little thin.

Make sure you buy and use the double lip seals that's designed for boat trailers.

Thanks for all the help. Got new Timken bearings and races installed yesterday. Not to bad of a job once I got the hang of it. Well worth the piece of mind I'll have this winter while running the trailer in the wee hours of the morning to go duck hunting. Used a water heater element socket to install the new races. Once I got over my fear of dinging the new races up, everything went together nice and quick.

dhoganjr said:

If your worried about a spare I would buy a new hub and keep it in the truck somewhere away from moisture ...

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Seal your spare hub in a vacuum pack bag. No more worries about moisture or dirt :wink: .

Genuine Timken bearings and races, spotless clean hubs and spindles, double lip seals, and Bearing Buddies...formula for trouble free towing.

Driving out the original races with a punch is fine. New ones should, ideally, be pressed in straight, on a press.

Use a good premium grease. Keep a gun full of the exact same grease handy for the bearing buddies. Don't mix greases.

You will not need to keep spare bearings in your travel box. They'll just rust and get dirty anyway.