Rear Seal leaking on Vault System. Can I...

[st041986]

Replace the Vault cap with a bearing buddy style cap and pump in regular grease as a temp fix until I can get the proper parts to rebuild it with the Vault grease, cap, etc.

[Bob G.]

Adding grease to a bearing buddy style cap won't keep your seal from leaking. The Vault hybrid lubricant thins out when the temp rises. I'd park it until you can fix it.

[MITR185]

Yes, that is the proper temporary fix. I talkedto UFP and they recommended Lucas Red N’ Tacky grease, until you can fix properly. The vaults will still hold plenty of grease with a blown seal, I’ve gone 100’s of miles while waiting for parts. Just clean the wheel and kerp an eye on the grease coming out. Also check the temp with your hand. Even with a leak, it shouldn’t run hot especially with an idler.
-Matt

[Tromanoski]

I agree with Bob G. i would park it until the parts come in. I would not be willing to risk ruining my hub/spindle, or trailer, or worse boat and trailer for a few fishing trips while I was waiting for parts. I had a bearing failure while going down the interstate and it ruined the hub and spindle. I was lucky the wheel stayed on until I got the boat off the road. $900 dollars later not counting the cost of the flatbed to haul my boat to the repair shop, I was back on the road.

[avalanche03]

The only difference in the Vault system and the bearing buddy style system us to he Vault hub and Vault grease. I also talked directly to a UFP engineer when I had a leaky seal 300 miles from home. Standard repair is to replace the Vault hub with bearing buddy style and fill with Lucas Red. You can run it for as long as you want until you have time to replace the seal and add the UFP grease and Vault hub.

[Bob G.]

The only difference in the Vault system and the bearing buddy style system us to he Vault hub and Vault grease. I also talked directly to a UFP engineer when I had a leaky seal 300 miles from home. Standard repair is to replace the Vault hub with bearing buddy style and fill with Lucas Red. You can run it for as long as you want until you have time to replace the seal and add the UFP grease and Vault hub.

Assuming the standard repair is to replace the Vault bearing protector with a bearing buddy style protector and not the whole hub and add regular grease, why have Vault hubs in the first place? I had oil bath hubs and they would have been great if they were not prone to leaking with the oil being displaced by water. I converted them to grease.

[st041986]

My parts showed up yesterday so I plan on getting things repaired today after work. Just in time too because I have a tournament the next two weekends and a trout fishing trip about 200 miles away the weekend after that.

The warranty process was easy to deal with. They sent me the kits to do both hubs. Since Vaults are meant to last a long time, would you keep the second set as a backup or just go ahead and replace the other side even though it's not leaking yet? The proactive part of me says to just do both sides and start fresh, but everything also says to just wait until grease starts leaking to mess with them.

[DaveTTN]

If it’s not broke don’t fix it.