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Old 03-10-2018, 06:50 PM   #1
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Bearings

I’m thinking of repacking and replacing my wheel bearings. Are all bearings born equal? Is one brand better than most?
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Old 03-10-2018, 07:20 PM   #2
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The bearings are not all created equal . It all depends on the type of bearing you are replacing . If it is just the normal tapered bearing , I prefer Timken . If it is a front hub assembly as used on 4x4 trucks and front wheel drive cars , I will use the OEM part.
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Old 03-11-2018, 01:20 AM   #3
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China is producing some real junk, I have had some bearings that were not ground correctly and started to fail immediately. Get the Timkens.
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Old 03-11-2018, 01:44 AM   #4
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Old 03-11-2018, 08:56 AM   #5
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Are you sure Timkins are still made in US. You may be in for a disappointment when you open that Timkin box....
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Old 03-11-2018, 09:03 AM   #6
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Are you sure Timkins are still made in US. You may be in for a disappointment when you open that Timkin box....
Mine were USA, even if they were made elsewhere they might have been made to a better standard.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:06 PM   #7
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Provided the bearings are still in good shape, there is no reason to replace them when you repack. That is money down the drain for no reason. Take apart, repack bearings, replace seals, and that is it. Simple and cheap, should be done on a yearly basis.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:42 PM   #8
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Provided the bearings are still in good shape, there is no reason to replace them when you repack. That is money down the drain for no reason. Take apart, repack bearings, replace seals, and that is it. Simple and cheap, should be done on a yearly basis.


I agree, if you have bearings that have some miles and still are good, and the experience to know what to look for, it is better to stay with the proven parts. If you see the black grease like in my photo earlier, you need to replace. In case you wonder, that black mess above was after one season with new Chinese junk that had a ridge left on the inside race caused by sloppy grinding. Four other bearings were in various states of failure caused by rough surface finish, out of tolerance angles and crappy steel. It is a crapshoot and you can test the bearings by running them and frequently checking or bite the bullet and go with known good quality. I will never do the extended road testing again and will toss out unknown quality as soon as possible.
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Old 03-11-2018, 05:47 PM   #9
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Bearings

Wheel bearings on vehicles are rarely repacked unless the grease seal is compromised. Vehicles go 10's of thousands of miles without a failure. Rv's go a lot fewer yrly miles and yet it appears the we rver's are paranoid about them possibly failing...i have never had a bearing failure on my cars/trucks in the last 40+ yrs.
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Old 03-11-2018, 05:54 PM   #10
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Greasing wheel bearings once a year is not just about the bearings. It's also checking the brakes, springs, hangers, and spring bushings. I grease my WB's yearly and usually find something that needs repair in the process. In my 6 years of full timing, I've only replaced one outer bearing that was making a growling noise when I manually spun the wheel.
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Old 03-11-2018, 06:10 PM   #11
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Wheel bearings on vehicles are rarely repacked unless the grease seal is compromised. Vehicles go 10's of thousands of miles without a failure. Rv's go a lot fewer yrly miles and yet it appears the we rver's are paranoid about them possibly failing...i have never had a bearing failure on my cars/trucks in the last 40+ yrs.
Years ago when cars utilized tapered bearings, they were serviced on a regular basis. However in the current day and age most vehicles have uni-bearings that are non serviceable.

Ignoring the uni-bearings, if you take an older truck that still had the tapered serviceable bearings, they will go many more miles and years than trailer bearings will due to regular use. Trailers tend to sit for long periods of time, bearings do better when used regularly because it keeps the grease spread around. When sitting, small amounts of condensation can get in behind the seal over time and create problems when the grease isn't uniformly spread throughout the bearings and the hubs due to being static for a long period of time.
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Old 03-11-2018, 06:13 PM   #12
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Wish they would start using oil bath bearings.
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Old 03-11-2018, 06:18 PM   #13
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Wish they would start using oil bath bearings.
I think there are conversion kits out there. Realistically this would be the way to go if you use the trailer significantly on a yearly basis. However oil would be worse than grease for sitting long periods of time.
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Old 03-11-2018, 06:30 PM   #14
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I think there are conversion kits out there. Realistically this would be the way to go if you use the trailer significantly on a yearly basis. However oil would be worse than grease for sitting long periods of time.
Ive heard that arguement before, but the jury is still out for me. Ive owned two different tandem axel boat trailers with oil bath's that was used in salt water all summer. In the fall I would drain the oil and replace and spin the wheel a few rotations then park it for 6~7 months. Never had a problem with bearings rusting. Just think it would be the ticket for a TT.
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