Grease fling onto rims

[Bigbassfish]

Hey y’all, I need some help troubleshooting my trailer hubs. It is a triton single axle trailer, no brakes, and I believe it has EZ hubs or some variation. Maybe a year ago, I attempted to degrease my hubs by attaching to the zerk fitting, and attempting to pump grease until I saw clean white coming out the front. Well after what seemed like an excessive amount of pumping with nothing but dark grey coming out, I decided it was probably ok and went on to the other side, which I only gave maybe 5-10 pumps, it’s hard to remember now, but I definitely remember one being filled more than the other, although I couldn’t tell you which side is which. Well, fast forward to now and I’ve noticed one side has grease leaking from the front rubber cap, and being flung all over the hub. At first I wasn’t sure if it was new or old, so I did my best to clean the rim, jacked the trailer up to see if there was excessive play in the wheel and it was tight as could be. maybe 100 miles of towing since then, and it’s definitely new grease coming out. Is there a way for me to tell if this is just simply the side I overfilled and it’s just excess flowing out, or could I have potentially blown a seal? If I had some guidance on what to look out for, I can probably check it out tonight and get some pics if that helps. For reference I used a hand pump, and I haven’t noticed any grease coming out the back side, only the front from under the rubber cap. I don’t remember what grease is in the tube, I want to say it’s mercury 2-4C. Thanks in advance for any advice, last thing I want is to blow a hub on the highway.

[bassdge]

Likely overfilled and now the grease is being pushed back out .

[catman2]

Those EZ lube hubs are probably the worst idea to use. Why people insist on pumping grease into them regularly amazes me. If there is no grease leaking from the seals then why on earth would you add more? It didn't go anywhere. Adding more grease does more harm than good.

[mactlman]

Those EZ lube hubs are probably the worst idea to use. Why people insist on pumping grease into them regularly amazes me. If there is no grease leaking from the seals then why on earth would you add more? It didn't go anywhere. Adding more grease does more harm than good.

this!!!!! if seals are holding and dry, add nothing to them

[Bigbassfish]

Thanks for the replies…. I had just gotten the boat (first time owning anything with a trailer) and I was unsure of previous maintenance history and wanted to be on the safe side after a buddy of mine had an expensive repair blowing a hub going down the interstate. I haven’t added anything since the first time I greased them when I bought it… sounds like I should just let it ride and continue to clean up any spray mess. Is there anything I should look out for going forward or do I just assume it’s all good and simply over filled? Would it help to pull the rubber dust cap and remove the excess underneath? Definitely learned my lesson on EZ hubs, just unsure of what to do to remedy the situation or if I need to be on the lookout for a blown seal.

[MikeF]

Would it help to pull the rubber dust cap and remove the excess underneath?

Do you have a metal cap with a smaller removable rubber plug in the middle and a zerk fitting on the axle end?

[Bigbassfish]

It’s been a little bit since I’ve had a good look at it, I want to say it’s a rubber cap on the outside, and underneath that is a zerk. Not sure that I remember any sort of metal cap.

[lmoore]

If done properly, you should be able to add grease to an EZ Lube system as often as you want and not cause a leak. Very different than Bearing Buddy type. A leak with this type of system indicates an already failed component (likely the seal) or improper use. The fact you were pumping and not seeing grease come out the front tells me you had a failed or incorrectly installed seal. Replace the seal (and check/repack the bearings while you’re in there) and go fishing. If it is actually coming out the front as you expect, then something is wrong with the install on that front cap. I always leave a little room in the cap for heat expansion, and make sure the rubber cap seats properly. I don’t personally think a leak from out on the cap would cause a significant amount of grease on the wheel, but i suppose it’s possible.

[Bigbassfish]

I’m tried to get a picture this morning but I can’t figure out how to upload it within the size limits. It looks a lot like this atleast from the outside. https://www.northerntool.com/product...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I would say it’s a decent amount leaking out on the one side, and I can see one spot in particular where it’s pushing out the side of the cap. I also happened to notice the other side has a tiny bit of grease on the rim as well, like maybe half a bottle caps worth.

[Bigbassfish]

Is the rubber cap actually a seal? I was under the impression it was more so just a dust cap to keep junk out.

[Bigbassfish]

Is the seal on the inner or outer side of the hub? Is this something I could find locally or will I likely need to order online?

[MikeF]

If there is a zerk in the end of the axel, the wheel/hub needs to be rotated as you pump in new grease to grease the hub properly.

The old grease will be pushed forward to the front of the cap assembly where the rubber plug is installed and expelled out the cap..

The pressure on the seal (rear) is the same as the pressure on front.

There is no mysterious pressure build up on the rear side.

If it is leaking out the rear, the rear seal and/or wear ring has been compromised and needs to be replaced.

Good luck

[Bigbassfish]

If there is a zerk in the end of the axel, the wheel/hub needs to be rotated as you pump in new grease to grease the hub properly.

The old grease will be pushed forward to the front of the cap assembly where the rubber plug is installed and expelled out the cap..

The pressure on the seal (rear) is the same as the pressure on front.

There is no mysterious pressure build up on the rear side.

If it is leaking out the rear, the rear seal and/or wear ring has been compromised and needs to be replaced.

Good luck

Gotcha, the thing is I don’t have any grease coming out the back side(closer to the centerline of the trailer) it all appears to be coming from the front underneath the rubber cap. If I were to have blown a seal, is it more likely to be the front or the back? From what little i understand I would think the rear seal would blow before the front but clearly I don’t know much about hubs.

[MikeF]

See if this vid answers your questions.

Good Luck

[SoonerFan]

I've blown the inner seal of the hub by pushing too much grease into the zerk. I've learned to just re-pack the bearings reeeeal good and maybe pack a little extra into the middle part of the hub, just to keep the water from finding a home, and leave it along until time to service bearing again. Pop the inspection cover off from time to time and check for water intrusion. At the lake, when the boat is off the trailer, take a good look at the inside of the wheel and backside of he hub and brake rotor. If you see grease, it's time to break it all down and re-pack bearings.

As far as finding the inner seal locally.... Take the old seal to a parts store (like NAPA usually) where somebody that knows fetch'um from sic'um works and show them the seal. There is almost always an automotive equivalent to all our boat stuff. My brake pads are from a 90's era GM compact for example. I have the best luck with the plastic rimed seals that are triple lip with the spring. They are original TDE stock that I get from BPS/Cabela's. Other guys prefer the metal kind. Your results may vary as they say.

This is pretty simple stuff once you dig into it. Just a lot of work for an old guy like me. I did both hubs yesterday and and I so stove up today that I can barely move.

[Bigbassfish]

Thanks again to all for he guidance! I finally had the time this morning to look into it, it appears it could have be a super simple fix. The rubber dust caps have degraded to the point they are cracking and splitting, I pushed on the one to try and get it out and a bunch of grease squirted out of a little hole that had formed in the rubber cap. Hopefully the set I have coming from Amazon will solve the issue. The grease underneath the cap seems maybe a tan bit wet like there’s some water, but not bad at all. Should I attempt to purge it when I get the new caps for just throw them on and let it ride? I’m figuring with the trailer being 14 years old, it’s likely just age that degraded the rubber, but could that also be a sign of overheating??

[Bigbassfish]

Would there be any reason for me to remove the metal cup end that the rubber cap presses into? As far as servicing/maintaining is this ever necessary

[SoonerFan]

Would there be any reason for me to remove the metal cup end that the rubber cap presses into? As far as servicing/maintaining is this ever necessary

No, it just rides along....until it falls off for no good reason like mine did on time. BTW, I keep a couple extra rubber caps with me just in case.

[Ed R]

I’m tried to get a picture this morning but I can’t figure out how to upload it within the size limits. It looks a lot like this atleast from the outside. https://www.northerntool.com/product...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I would say it’s a decent amount leaking out on the one side, and I can see one spot in particular where it’s pushing out the side of the cap. I also happened to notice the other side has a tiny bit of grease on the rim as well, like maybe half a bottle caps worth.

If the grease is leaking between the black hub and the silver cap where they mate. You will need to knock the silver cap off, clean all the grease off the outer rim of the silver cap where it mates with the hub. Then put a thin coat of blue gasket sealer on the silver cap mating surface and knock the cap back on.

[Bigbassfish]

Spare are always a good idea, I ordered a pack of 6, so hopefully they fit. I’ll be sure to pass on an update later this week…as far as the grease that’s currently in the hubs, should I just throw the new caps on instead of continuing to mess with it? I feel like maybe I got lucky with an easy fix, I don’t want to dig myself a hole, but if there’s any chance the grease is waterlogged or something from the hole in the cap, I want to fix it right so I can trust it again.