Am I doing this right?

[55'Fleetwin7.5]

I removed the dust cap on a trailer I bought and the bearings had been neglected. There was a bit of water and not much grease left. No wonder they made a rubbing sound... I had never changed bearings so I could use some advice. I removed the wheel from the axle and pounded out the seats that the old bearings were in. When I tried to drive in the new ones, they stopped about 3/16ths short of the ridge where the old ones were... I tried tapping in a circle all around, but I was hitting pretty hard... Is that ok? Is that far enough? what should I do... both sides of the hub stopped in about the same place... I have not tried the other wheel yet. Please let me know. Thanks, Tom

 

[rndn]

Re: Am I doing this right?

Tom, they should go in all the way. If needed, I have without the grease seal installed, put the old bearing into the new outer race and installed them onto the shaft. I tightend the nut while turning the wheel until the new outer races were seated. Then take out the old bearing, lube the new ones, install new bearings and then grease seal.

 

[Rusty Boater]

Re: Am I doing this right?

What you are refering to is called a race. That must be seated. The most common problem is the race is not driving into the hub square. Invest in a race and seal driver kit. The best $30 i ever spent. Also a local machine shop will could also press them for you however that will be close to the cost of a driver kit.

NEVER MIX BEARINGS AND RACES. They are matched. This will cause premature failure. (Probably on a rainy night in the middle of nowhere after a fun yet exhausting day on the lake)

 

[DRIFTER_016]

Re: Am I doing this right?

I use a 2X4 and the old races to drive in the new races.
Invert the old race so that the races are thin edge to thin edge, place the 2X4 on top of old race and drive it in, remove old race (using punch or screw driver) or go and purchase a race and seal driver kit. (I'm cheap )

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Am I doing this right?

I use an old set of races which I have ground off a bit from the outer surface so they don't get stuck on hubs where the race is pressed in beyond flush. On the more common sizes, I've welded permanent handles to some.