Would you repack these bearings?

[zbrown5]

I just bought a 2003 Cobalt trailer (Heritage with 4 disc brakes) that has bearing buddies. The seals are fine and its full of grease. No growling, wheels turn smooth. Would you totally pull apart and re-pack or just keep full of grease?

 

[ahicks]

I'd repack prior to pulling any long distances, if for no other reason than to give me a starting point for a regular maintenance schedule.

 

[robert graham]

A good way to check condition of bearings is to jack up each side and spin each wheel by hand while feeling and listening for any sounds coming from the bearings....If they're good, smooth and quiet then maybe pump a bit of grease in each one and go with it as is...of course there could be no harm in disassembly and repacked if you have the spare time

 

[mike_i]

I'll agree with both posts above.

 

[Scott Danforth]

with any new to you purchase

do all the maintenance on the trailer, motor, drive and boat... i mean all of it

on the trailer, service the brakes, bearings and surge head coupler
on the motor do a complete fluid change, all filters, inspect the exhaust manifolds, and if you have a mercruiser, inspect the flappers. also, plugs, cap, wires, and rotor
on the drive, pull it, do a bellows inspection, gimble bearing inspection, u-joint inspection, alignment, gear oil change and replace your raw water impeller (in the drive or on the motor)

 

[Sprig]

No way to tell the condition of them without inspecting. Pull the bearings , inspect and if ok repack them.

 

[Stinnett21]

All of the above is correct however let me chime in. Do you know anything about the history? How many hours are on it? Was it trailered? Was is docked? What are your intentions for the future? Do you see yourself trailering long distances? All of this comes into play. If they're smooth now and all you're going to do is pull it 20 miles per season, go with it. It all depends on intentions and how much you're willing to absorb adversity should it happen on the road at 11:30 pm on a Sunday night. Personelly I boat a lot by myself and trailer. I don't want to be that person who left the boat on the side of I-75 sitting there for 3 days while the cops put stickers on it. Hubs are a time consuming mess to deal with but man is it good peace of mind!

 

[dingbat]

Accessing bearing condition without visual inspection is tricky without adequate knowledge and experience.

If you know what your doing go for it.

Having said that, its not rocket science. A quick look at the grease and an assessment of the end play will tell you if you need to tear it down or not.

Either way, make sure you use a good, high temp brake grease with those disc brakes.

Need to grease the caliper slides every other year or so as well.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I'd clean and repack if everything looks good. If any of the bearings or grease looks compromised, just replace them.

What do you have to lose, other than an hour or two of work and the cost of replacement seals? If you repack, you know for sure they're OK. Beats sitting on the side of the road with fried bearings...