Changed the oil in a milky hub today. I used Valvoline Racing 20w-50. Am I ok or do I need to fins straight 50w?
Changed the oil in a milky hub today. I used Valvoline Racing 20w-50. Am I ok or do I need to fins straight 50w?
Straight 50 is what it calls for, I would think 20-50 might to a little thin.
I ditched the straight 50 for Lucas Hub Oil.
Like it much better.
Mike
2019 Ranger 520L w/ 250HO ETEC G2
2011 Tracker 175TXW w/ 75HO ETEC
Advanced Auto 50W less than $7. Cheap. Never a hub failure.
https://m.advanceautoparts.com/p/val...v235/8020450-P
Bought a quart of 50W about 8 years ago. I change my oil every year. It is never Milky but I change it anyway. If it's Milky you are getting moisture in somehow. Might want to get new inner seals and install them. Lots of videos on how to change it.
Per the Ranger Trailer Department...the oil can turn milky with just one drop of water, which you can get through condensation by backing warm hubs into cold lake water. Milky looking oil is providing sufficient unless the oil becomes chunky, like curdled milk. But, if you winterize your boat, you might want to change the milky oil each fall. If the oil is not milky looking, changing it is just a waste of time and money.Originally Posted by dartag1829
"The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments
x2 on the Lucas hub oil
2004 Ranger 521vx Yamaha 250 SHO
Went with Lucas Hub oil. Interesting side note. So I drained it very well and then added the new oil. I burped it multiple times and added oil slowly. I even jacked the axle up and down about three times to make sure all air could escape. Filled it to the very top and then decided to let it sit overnight before I tightened down the set screw. Went out this morning to check, and the oil level had dropped and I was surprised at how much more oil I was able to squirt in--at least a full tablespoon. When I checked last night, I could see no air bubbles through the sight-glass and I would have sworn it was as full as could be.
Maybe not a bad idea to let them sit for a while after refilling to make sure all the air slowly works its way out.
The oil bath hubs provide constant lubrication and do something that greased hubs don't which is gravity displacement of wear material. It falls to the bottom of the hub. Grease suspends the wear material and continues to cycle it thru the bearings. While it may be a bit OCD I always drain my hubs after a run so the oil is hot. I also move the trailer around so I have an incline for the hub to drain completely. Once the oil is drained I spray a little brake cleaner on the bottom edge of the bearing and flush the wear material out that will collect there and then re-fill with 50W. Not a fan of other oils with additives that hinder this process or have claims of "additional sealing" capabilities as the only way it could enhance the sealing is to introduce a compound that would cause rubber to expand. The system wasn't designed to support that.
Being retired I fish 3+ times per week so the trailer get some run time. The oil is cheap and the process is quick/easy. I advocate changing the oil 2-3 times per year to remove the wear material and save yourself some possible grief with seal/wear sleeve replacement, bearing/race wear, or a roadside failure. Simliar PM used by DOD on many of the large oil bath hubs used on the equipment trailers to haul the Bradley and Abrams.
Last edited by mikesxpress; 07-26-2017 at 06:30 AM.
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