Vortex hub leaking

[jdlong49]

I have a 2015 Trailstar duel axle with Vortex hubs. One started leaking grease/oil yesterday, just found it . From what I understand of the Vortex hubs its all sealed and self-contained, so there's no way to add grease? Once they leak, are they shot and have to be replaced immediately? Does anyone know how to find the model number for the hub and how difficult are they to replace? Can anyone work on these or only certain places? I've got a 250 mile tow coming up in 2 days, I've got to get this situation resolved quick! Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Nailbender8]

Replacing one takes all of five minutes. You can overnight ship one from trailerparts.com

[jdlong49]

I took the grease cap off an this is what I find. I’m assuming a bad seal? Can this be repaired at a local shop or is this a full hub replacement? I can’t find much info on these vortex hubs. Even the owners manual just tells how to add/change grease(right after saying you shouldn’t have to) and doesn’t say anything about assessing if the bearings are ok. If I pump in new grease and flush all the old out, how do I know the bearings aren’t toast? There’s no play in the hub, not hearing any grinding.

[Nailbender8]

Call trailer parts.com , I'm not 100% sure but you may be able to purchase replace just the outer seal? When you pulled off the cap, was it really easy to remove the cap? I ask this because that o-ring has to be compressed to be sealed. It is clear that it was not, that grease needs to be 100% replaced. if your cap was really easy to remove, it is possible that it was never tightened properly to begin with, if that is the case, perhaps you could flush all of the old grease out with new Lucas Marine grease and then put the cap off to the proper tightness. Especially due to the fact that there is no play in the hub and you are not hearing any grinding. But if you did want to completely replace them, they are in my opinion very inexpensive and are super easy to remove and replace. Like I said in my earlier post, I replaced my old hubs with the Vortex hubs and it did not take me 5 minutes per side. That was over a year ago and many miles ran down the road.

[jdlong49]

It will be replaced next week but I gotta tow in 2 days. I know what happens if I pull that hub, something will go wrong. The part will get lost in shipping or something will break or come apart when I'm installing the new one. If replacing the grease gets me there and back I can take all the time I need with it next week. When it comes to fixing things myself, I always make them worse. If it can go wrong, it will.

[jdlong49]

Yes, the cap was not only easy to remove it was really loose. It had a good bit of side to side play in it. The other 3 are rock solid and super tight

[BMCD]

Grease it up u will be fine for another trip.

[1stindoor]

Had it happen to my old boat. Pump it full of grease, and make sure your cap is properly fitted and sealed. You should be fine. When I had it happen I had to run several wraps of electrical tape (it was all I had) around the hub to keep it from leaking and I towed it over a hundred miles without any damage.

[Lkmbjb502]

I had a similar issue last year - with a leaking Vortex hub - every situation is different but I made it 400+ miles home without an issue (I stopped several times to check hub temps as it was a 98 degree day) - I ordered a new one from Amazon had it the next day. Initially I was pissed that a Vortex had failed after "only" 3-4 years and probably 50-60k miles - but once I pulled it off, I found about 8 feet of old mono wrapped around the axle stub that had eating the inner seal. I replaced it and bought another one for my travel box - I wouldn't want to but changing one on the side of the road would not be a huge deal.

Good luck.

-Jonathan

[jdlong49]

Thanks, guys. I’ll get the grease changed out and take the gun with me in case I need to top it off for the return trip.