If you opt for the gasoline, make sure to take safety precautions and keep away from open flame. Clean And InspectĪ parts washer makes cleaning much easier, but if you don't have one, you can improvise with an old wash pan and half a gallon of parts-cleaning fluid or gasoline. Keep plenty of rags handy to catch loose globs of grease that may fall out as you remove the hub assembly from the axle. Remove the castle nut and washer, then remove the outer bearing. If it's been bent too many times, replace it with a new one.
A cotter pin keeps the castle nut from loosening bend it out straight and remove it with pliers. You should hear nothing as the hub spins if you hear grinding, scratching, or rattling noises, or if the hub moves excessively on the axle shaft, you probably have bearing problems. If you use a plastic mallet instead of a hammer, you won't mar or dent the protector.Īfter you remove the protector/cap, rotate the hub slowly as you listen closely for irregular noises. Bearing protectors have no lip to pry under, so you'll have to carefully tap the outer diameter of the protector as you rotate the hub. Dust cap pliers can help with this process. A dust cap has a small lip that can be pried off by carefully using a flat-bladed screwdriver lightly tap the screwdriver blade under the lip with the hammer, rotating the hub as you pry off the cap. The dust cap or bearing protector must come off first. Remove the lug nuts and the wheel, exposing the hub assembly. Jack the trailer up until the wheel can spin freely. Before raising the trailer, loosen the lug nuts. A jackstand is also needed to secure the trailer in the raised position and ensure that it won't come crashing down. Jack up the trailer's axle, one side at a time, to service the wheel bearings. That's a lot neater and quicker than filling your palm with a blob of grease and wiping it into the bearing cage. The packer allows you to capture a wheel bearing between its two plastic disks and pack it with grease using a grease gun. Without one, you'll have to pack the bearings by hand. A tub of wheel bearing grease and a $20 bearing packer (available at any auto-parts store) will make filling the bearings with grease an easier job - and much easier to clean up. Be sure to bring your hub dust cap with you when you head to the trailer-parts store there are a few sizes, so be sure you buy the correct model. If your trailer lacks bearing protectors and you want them, buy them now. You may also need a large pair of pliers (water-pump pliers, or as they're sometimes called, Channel Locks) if the large nut holding the hub on has been tightened too much. If your wheels have bearing protectors installed, you'll need a grease gun with Zerk end fitting, which feeds lubricant into a bearing that's under pressure. The tools needed are few and simple: pliers (side-cutting pliers work well when removing stubborn cotter pins) a lug wrench to fit the lug nuts on your trailer a jack a jackstand a hammer a large, flat-bladed screwdriver and a six-inch length of scrap 2x4. But even for first-timers, an afternoon is all it takes. A bearing grease packer, available for about $20 at auto-parts stores or online, can make this task a little less messy.