Bearing buddy problem

[bryce600rr]

recently i switched my hubs from oil to grease.. i am using the stainless bearing buddies.. i took a couple trip to the lake with no problems at all.. hubs never got hot at all.. on my last trip (this past weekend) when i got to the ramp i noticed that i was missing one of the bearing buddies.. it could have been that i didnt get it all the way on but i dont think that is what it was. is there anything else that could have caused it to come off? i never had that problem with the oil filled caps.. the BB was tight and the new one is tight also.. i dont know if this could be caused from too much grease.. i am new to the grease hubs, i have always had oil filled hubs.. any help is apperciated!!

[CatFan]

First thing to check when losing BBs is the bearing play. Loose bearings will throw them off more than anything else. People use Loctite and dimple the BB with a punch to help them stay on, but make sure you aren't hiding the real problem before you do so.

[Nikon Man]

First thing to check when losing BBs is the bearing play. Loose bearings will throw them off more than anything else. People use Loctite and dimple the BB with a punch to help them stay on, but make sure you aren't hiding the real problem before you do so.

What he said and a little more. Followed a buddy home from Carrolton Ky to Cincinnati OH and in the span of less than 1 hour on I-71 he slung all 4 of his bearing buddies off the axles (serious road construction). The roads looked like a left over from a mine field excerise, pot holes every 6 feet it seemed like. Loose fit doesn't help as the cast hub heats up and the diameter grows the grip factor is reduced. After seeing that happen in front of me, I got home and mod'd mine. I drilled and tapped the cast hubs for 10-32 set screws, I dimpled the bearing buddies for the set screw to nest in. Applied loctite #242 to the set screws and haven't had any issues to date and that been at least 3 years of use on some pretty crappy roads.

[bryce600rr]

i replaced all the bearings when i changed over to grease.. how do i make sure the bearings are not loose? i tightened them to where i could get the castle nut and cotter pin back through the hole in the axle. or am i way off here!!

[CatFan]

i replaced all the bearings when i changed over to grease.. how do i make sure the bearings are not loose? i tightened them to where i could get the castle nut and cotter pin back through the hole in the axle. or am i way off here!!

If the bearings and/or races were new, you should have overtightened them to preload them, then backed off to put the pin in. Otherwise, I tighten the castle nut with my fingers until the wheel starts to bind a little, then back off the nut to the first set of notches before that point. Grab the tire and try to rock it. If everything is right, you should go from too tight to too loose in three notches, with the middle one being just right.

[bryce600rr]

hopefully problem solved guys!! i checked the bearings to see if they were loose and sure enough the bearings in that wheel i was having problems with was very loose.. i tightened them up. actually check all four wheels and i had to tighten two of them.. the one that the BB fell off was way worse then the other one.. so hopefully this fixed the problem.. thanks for the help..

[CatFan]

Good deal