Hey guys!

many many years ago i completly redid my bearings and seals, and ended up having water in some of them when i rechecked at the end of the season...

SO !

following year i paid to redo them all by a well known trailer place... was quite expensive but thought it was worth it not having water get inside the hub... ended up i still had water intrusion... so from there on, i decided i would do them myself

from time to time, i still have a few water intrusion. When taking the hub off, i always clean the spindles, make sure there is no dig or dents, make sure there are no sharp ends anywhere... same thing ON the hub. There is no rocket science when it comes to trailer hubs/bearings... inside seal, outside hub cap with a rubber on it to have acces to grease .

how much grease do you put in yours?
do you stop when the grease starts to go out from outer bearing, like in my picture?

or you stop when grease in flush to the outside hub lip?

or you stop when the hub cap is full and even with the hub cap rubber boot?
this last option is the one keeping the most water from entering the hub since it is full of grease, right?

Would the heat created from rolling on the road, make inside pressure breaking seals allowing water in?

or when dunking the trailer in the water with heat in the hub, the fact that being hot in water would cool the hub decreasing inside pressure and sucking water in at the same time? Do you let your hubs cool off before dunking to avoid this?

i would think nowadays or hope that quality seals and cap would give peace of mind of not having to have water in, right?

what are your tips annd tricks ?

I have the same type of axles. I fill the grease so the dust cup is about 75% full. I never get any significant water intrusion. Maybe a few drops or enough moisture to turn my Lucas Red & Tacky a pinkish color and really only happens in one hub that I've replaced the rear seal on a few times. Can't get it to completely seal tight and grease comes out of it and gets into my drum brake. Every Spring I pump new grease in until it pushes all the old grease out. Takes 2-3 tubes of grease total. I've had some minimal grease seepage where the dust cup mates to the hub in the past. I solved that by running a tiny amount of RTV.

Sometimes the trailer is hot when it goes in the water, but the temps on my hubs with IR gun are only around 110-120*

I did these on my myco, now they are standard on all mycos. just a pump of air in them before you dunk creates a negative pressure. there is a stainlesssleeve to put on the axle that changes the diameter for the watertight seal.
https://www.airtighthubs.com/categories/view/2

Anybody every use Genuine Bearing Buddy.....?

My Heritage trailer that we bought with our PQ had them from the factory, and we've never had that first drop of perceivable water in our bearings. The idea is that the spring loaded cap takes up any space that is created when the bearings and grease suddenly cool off when submerged, preventing contraction from sucking in water. It seems to work very well on our trailer.

Thanks. Brad.
(937)545-8991

Yes, on other trailers. They really can't be used on the type of spindles posted though

Had them on the last 3 trailers....never had a water problem with them.....i usually checked/filled them before each trip though. Buddy has them on his waverunner trailer and only checks them at the start of the season...he has never had problems either.
The only thing i do before dunking the boat is prep for like 10min minutes, unstrap the transom, get lines out, get cooler into boat, towels etc.... to give the grease some time to cool down

Last time I serviced my bearings, I polished the hubs really well so the seals wouldn't leak and I basically filled the hub with grease to eliminate as much air as possible as the grease doesn't expand and contract when heated and cooled any perceptible amount. I also use Amsoil marine grease that can handle up to 10% dilution with water. I have never had any moisture issues in the 13 years I've had the trailer.

great advice on great products ! i will look into them ! Thanks !

friend of mine has kinda oil bath tub for bearing, no grease. seems to be less maintenance too !
i wont switch my system for that but just think about that. of course if it leaks, it gets dry fast compared to grease... nothing's perfect i guess !

I've never had a spindle with the zirk fitting in the axle, only sealed caps or bearing Buddy systems....

That said, if the OP removed the zirks, added the buddy system, how would it not work as the grease would fill the buddy and the squeeze throught the outer bearing until hub is full.

It's possible it wouldn't work but the outer bearing in the pic is still just a castle nut and washer holding the bearing.

The advantage of the OP's system is that it forces the air out of the hub and forces more grease to the inside bearing.