Grease caps, dust caps, and bearing protectors have to be installed right to avoid losing them. Fortunately, unlike a car, trailer hubs come apart extremely easily, and this job isn’t too bad. The trailer’s hub assemblies come apart to do this. This means repacking trailer wheel bearings. There's no such thing as too much grease for bearings! You would not pack grease in the hub otherwise and not in the drum since the brakes would not be able to grab with grease in the hub. If you have any sort of trailer, whether it’s a large car hauler, a boat trailer, or a small 4×8, the wheel bearings should periodically be greased. Estimate does not include taxes and fees. Labor costs are estimated between $140 and $178 while parts are priced between $18 and $20. The average cost for a wheel bearing service is between $158 and $198. If the wheel spins freely and quietly, proceed with repacking the bearings.Īlso to know, how much does it cost to replace trailer bearings? Support the trailer with jack stands and then spin the wheel and listen to the trailer bearings.
With Bearing Buddy® installed, how often do I need to repack my bearings? We don't recommend inspecting your bearings more frequently than once every 5 years, provided you properly maintain the grease level in the hubs, and your bearings and seals are in new condition when you install genuine Bearing Buddy®.įurthermore, how do you repack bearings on a trailer? First, loosen the lug nuts on one wheel and raise the side of the trailer with a jack. Some servicers will provide these optionally during break tune-ups others do not.Īlso know, how often should you repack trailer bearings? Also, affordable bearing-packing tools are available for people who want less mess.How Much Does It Cost to Repack a Wheel Bearing? In a car, it will cost between $100 and $400 on average to have your bearings checked, repacked, or changed professionally (depending on your location and mechanic). Our focus is on repacking instead of replacing (which requires using punches and drifts to extricate and reinstall the bearing races). Niedrich used to do this until he noticed that the grease remained in the cap until the next bearing service.
Fine-tune the nut if necessary to align its closest recesses with the cotter pin hole, or lock the nut in position with the existing tanged washer or cage-style retainer. Then back off the nut a turn, retighten it (to about 50 ft-lb if you have a torque wrench) while spinning the drum, then back the nut off 1/4 turn.
(However, bearing-service kits that include seal-pullers and drifts in varying sizes are available for serious home mechanics.) To ensure we weren’t missing any subtleties, Conejo Vacation Trailer owner Mike Niedrich demonstrated how to repack trailer bearings based on nearly 30 years’ experience. The job doesn’t require any special skills or tools. The second step would be to remove the dust. Trailer owners who do their own routine maintenance know that bearing service can be done in less time than it takes to make an appointment, drive to an RV shop and either wait for the trailer or make a return trip. Doing It Yourself The first step to repacking your wheel bearings would be to remove the wheel via the lug nuts. It’s the proverbial squeaky wheel syndrome. Unnatural sounds that vary depending on speed often indicate that the bearings need attention. The dust cap with rubber plug is for a Super Lube axle (cotter pins and Super Lube grease fittings not shown).īearings normally whine before they grind and ultimately fail.
These are Lippert Components’ 3,500-pound replacement parts. Regardless, grease seals should always be replaced. Murphy’s dictate: If you buy replacement parts before tearing into the axle, the existing bearings will be fine.