Oil hub seal leak

[RedAllison]

THIS is what a rear seal leak looks like when you have the oil bath hubs vs the regular grease units. Luckily the lake was only about 30 miles from the house so I made it up and back safely today. :surprised

This first pic is 50W and water throughly mixed (who said oil and water don't mix? LOL before anyone says so, yeah I had to have the locking lugnuts removed lastyear when I realized I couldn't find the "key". Just haven't replaced em yet!)

This second pic is what the inspection window on the hub reveals when contaminated oil is present! Note also the fluid level is low. There should be no "bubble" or liquid line in there if the lube is filled too the proper level.

The third pic is what a properly sealed and functioning hub will look like, the oil darkens with use but it otherwise clean and the seals are working by keeping the water out and the oil in!

 

[RedAllison]

Here is the link too the UFP factory site for the pdf file of the "Gold" system: http://www.ufpnet.com/Portals/0/PDFs/Trailer Buddy GOLD Axle Maintenance.pdf

And so I'm off to find a rear seal and have fun yankin it all down and replacing today. :cuss
RA

 

[Lightning]

Mine has started leaking from the outer seal on both sides of the axle with the brakes. I noticed that yours is also from the axle with the brakes. I haven't had a problem with the other axle. I wonder if it may have something to do with the axle being hot from the brakes then submerging them in water.

 

[RedAllison]

Lightin I just got in from removing the WHOLE DAMNED THING! Screw the 5 year warranty as stated on their website (says 2 years on a sticker on the trailer). Anyway everything came apart fine until I had to remove the two bolts holding the brake caliper onto the axle. :cuss :cuss Ended up having to use a box end wrench and a 3# dead blow hammer to get them off. :cuss I'm freakin exhausted, good thing I only had to do that one axle.

I don't see how that brake could've heated up enough to get the assembly that hot, the pads and rotor were CAKED with grease (I assume it's 50W oil and road grime) if they could've stopped anything I'd be shocked. The rotor is awfully slick and the pads are still thick, I'm thinkin the damned thing has never worked properly on that side from the get go. Luckily I got good brakes on my Avalanche.

Naturally I had to destroy the rear/inner seal to get it out of the hub. I think since I got it all tore down this far I'm gonna go ahead and put new bearings and races in there. They look and work ok but there was a small amount of real light, scattered rust in there I guess from the water being present and the boat hasn't been moved since November so I guess it had a chance to start.

I'm gonna drain the other 3 hubs and replace the oil with some synthetic Royal Purple 50W I bought today. If they show any signs of leakage then I just might be yankin the whole system down and replacing with regular grease units. They are much nastier to work with but awfully simple in design and baring a complete failure, they'll get you home "limpin".

Glad I noticed this, I doubt that hub would've made it too Lake Fork next month (500miles each way),
RA

ps
Your cap/outer seal has dual O-rings in there. If they leak then you gotta replace the whole cap. But I wouldn't think it's anymore expensive than a regular Bearing Buddy, hell it's simpler, no springs or cups or moving parts. Could it have moved out of the hub just enough to leak instead of the O-rings leaking? If so tapping it in with a hammer should seal it back up.

 

[BigRedAlli]

How do you get the oil back in the hub? Does it have a fill plug?

I'm glad this thread came up though, it reminded me that I need to call Boatmate and get me 4 new seals since I haven't checked or repacked my bearings in a couple years.

Sorry your having problems Red...But thanks!!! :wink

 

[RedAllison]

Yeah Marty you have to remove the wheel to get too it, but there is a allen screw in the hub that you can add/drain fluid from. I noticed today once I removed the hub and cleaned it out that there is a channel cut inside that hub that drains all fluid once that screw is removed. Really a neat system, just gotta depend on the seals to keep the oil in. I also noticed on the back/inside of the spindle there is a groove cut where the seal fits into behind the inner bearing. Would be a neat feature on grease hubs as well I would think.

I hope to get another seal Monday, shouldn't take an hour to get everything back together and good to go. One thing I DO like about this oil setup is that instead of repacking and making a mess you just pull that screw out, rotate the hub so that hole is down and drains. Replace the oil and put the screw back in. Your bearings are then "repacked".

:at the bar
RA

 

[IRONBLOCK]

Hi RA, I feel your pain with the 'un-Cool' hubs. Have the same problem on my "R" boat and have had seals replaced by the dealer only to have the problem quickly return. It is not easy to fill the hub through the little fill/drain hole after you remove the allen screw. It may take an hour just to fill the 4 hubs. For what it is worth, I used an ice pick and let the 50 wt oil run down the pick (held against the open quart oil bottle mouth) to drip into the fill hole. You might want to put a pan under the hub to catch the inevitable oil spills. Also, you might need to use an RTV type sealant on the cap and screw. One of your nuts is missing too. I guess that I should have checked the link you supplied first. Good luck! Mark

 

[RedAllison]

Here is a pic of the spindle showing the seal lip groove at the rear of it. The rear most edge/lip of the seal rides inside that groove.

This pic shows the O-ring in it's groove that seals the hub cover at the front of the hub. Note also the plug hole which is where you fill and drain the oil from instead of via a zerk like with grease units.

This pic shows the machined oil valley which assures all oil drains when the plug is removed from the hub.

Yes Ironblock I used the orange Permatex sealant on the hub cover, the seal and the drain plug itself. As for filling the hub, the large "medicine droppers" that you use for babies makes filling/topping off the hubs a snap! I actually remove the bulb and use the tube like a funnel, fill the tube with lube as it sits in the drain hole and then put the bulb back over the tube and push it to force the oil quicker into the hub. Doesn't take very long that way. After I finished everything up I pulled the boat a few miles at 50mph and everything was fine. The rest of the hubs and seals are holding for now so knock on wood I hope to be ready for the haul too Fork next month. :beer: One thing that IS odd with this style setup is you don't torque the bearings down much. The UFP website recommends only "hand tight" or enough to prevent any wiggle when you grab the hub and try to move it laterally.

 

[GotMyAlly]

One of your nuts is missing too.

:gasp :embarassed

 

[RedAllison]

:gasp :embarassed

My wife took it, said if I don't quit bein so friendly too all her hottie friends she gonna getda other one to!!!

:help
RA

 

[smilinjack83]

A pump style oil can works pretty good too, for getting the oil back in the hubs. Had one leaking last fall,fixed it and now after just sitting there over winter the other three are leaking. I guess the extreme cold shrunk the outer o-rings to cause the leaks.

 

[boater777777]

I have seen enough of these night mares that I took mine apart and packed them with grease. I wish I could find some threaded buddie bearing caps to replace the plastic caps with.

 

[Tray Archer]

what do you do to get the outter cup/sightglass off?

 

[GotMyAlly]

what do you do to get the outter cup/sightglass off?

You've got to knock the protector off the wheel with a mallet and a block of wood. The sight glass comes out the back side. There's a C-clip that holds it in. Grease the o-ring around the sight glass before you put it back together.