Trust me when I say that anyone can do this if you know the difference between a screwdriver and a monkey wrench. Don't pay to have this done. Save your money for baits and such.

First of all, here are the tools you will need.
A 6" long 2x4 piece of good wood.
A grease gun and standard wheel grease.
A bearing repack tool. Looks like to chinese hats on a pole.
A pair of side cutters
A pair of regular or slotted pliers.
A rubber mallet
A narrow pry bar about 14 to 16 inches long.
Cotter pins
Clean cotton shop towels. (Red or white from Costco work great)
New hub seals for the inner bearings. If you don't know the number, then wait until you remove the inner seal and then go get them. Take the cotter pin too if you need that.

Here we go.

1. Jack up the axle and place a jackstand under the right side of the axle.
2. Remove the tire. (Loosen the nuts first before you jack up the trailer)
3. Remove the bearing cover by hitting it with the rubber mallet. Hit one side then turn the hub 180 degrees and hit the other side. Repeat till it can be pulled off.
4. Clean off the grease from the axle end.
5. Remove the cotter pin by either straightening it or cutting it and then pull it out. Save it for if you have to go get another one.
6. Take the wrench and loosen the nut. Then spin it off. Lay it on a clean towel.
7. Wiggle the hub and remove the outer bearing. Put it on the towel.
8. Remove the hub and take it to a work bench. A vise is a great tool here but if you don't have one it's okay.
9. Put the straight side of the pry bar under the seal cap and pry it up. You may have to work it around the seal to break it loose. Be careful not to scratch the inner wall of the hub. You can hit the pry bar with the mallet or a ball peen hammer to get it to lift the seal out. Don't toss the seal yet.
10. Remove the inner bearing. And set it on the towel.
Pour some gas into an old metal can and put the bearings in there and slosh them around some until they get clean. Blow the gas out and let them dry.
11. After drying and cleaning with a towel you are ready to re-pack the bearings. Spin the bearings and feel for any roughness at all. If they are smooth as silk then we can proceed. If they are a little rough, get new ones.
12. Remove the top "cone" of the bearing packer and place the bearing onto the lower cone, Large end down.
13. Screw the top back down tightley onto the bearing.
14. Connect the grease gun to packer and give it a couple of pumps. If the grease comes out around the cone, it isn't tight enough. If not, then pump handle some more until the grease comes out thru the bearing cup around the roller bearings. Give one more pump when that happens.
15. Loosen top and remove the bearing and smooth the grease around the bearing until it is uniformly covered.
16. Do the same to the other bearing.
17. Set them onto the clean towel for now.
18. Clean out the hub of all old grease and make it shine. I like to use brake cleaner for this. And I use a plastic bristle large "Toothbrush" style brush to clean up the inside of the hub. Once the hub is clean, set it aside to dry.
19. Take some grease and coat the inner race area real good.
20. Put the inner bearing into place and put more grease around the outside lip of the bearing.
21. Take your 2x4 and lay it flat over the grease seal, and strike the 2x4 with the mallet until it seats cleanly and even with the hub.
22. Grease the inner race and install the outer bearing into the cup. Put a little grease on the outside of the rings of the bearing. Not much though.
23. Put the washer on, making sure the shiny scruffed side is against the bearing.
24. Screw on the nut and when it gets tight against the hub, start spinning the hub until you can't turn it anymore by hand.
25. Get the wrench and tighten the nut down till it is snug (not tight...) keep spinning the hub, and tighten and loosen the nut till you are sure the bearings are set. Keep spinning the hub to loosen up the grease.
26. Now loosen the nut and tighten by hand only.
27. Take the wrench and turn the nut (tighten) until you see the hole in the axle line up with the next notch in the nut.
28. Insert the cotter pin (long end to the front) and bend the long end of the cotter pin up and onto the end of the axle. Cut off the short end if it needs it.
29. Shoot grease into the bearing cover until it is 3/4 full. Then tap the cover into place with the rubber mallet.
30. Clean up any grease left on the hub. Clean the lugs of any grease with the brake cleaner or the gas. You don't want grease on the lugs or lug nuts.
31. Install the tire onto the hub and secure it as tight as you can.
32. Spin the tire for about 30 seconds and then wiggle the tire. You should not feel any looseness at this point.
33. Jack up the axle and remove the jackstand.Then lower the boat all the way down.
34. Tighten the lugs securely with a lug wrench. 65# of torque will do.
Now do the other side.
Congratulations you have just done a $100 repack of your trailer's bearings.




I decided to add this to the other article since it wasn't that long.

To replace the bearings and races on your trailer hubs you will need a bearing installation tool and a good size ball peen hammer. NAPA has a really nice one for a great price. You don't need a really expensive one.

Follow all the steps in the Bearing Repack thread I have on here. But when you get to the point where you repack the bearings you will stop. Now we are going to replace the bearings and races in the hubs.

1. You really need a 6" vise to do this correctly, but if you have a buddy who will hold the hub for you and a solid surface to work from, then that will work also.
2. Insert the removal tool** thru the backside of the hub and square it against the race's edge of the outer race.
3. Holding the hub tightly strike the tool solidly with the ball peen, until the race falls out.
4. Turn the hub over and do the other race, using the larger tool in your kit.
5. Clean the race area of the hub thoroughly with brake cleaner.
6. Using the insertion tool, set the inner race into the hub. (Make sure you have the race inserted correctly!)
7. Set the outer race into the hub using the smaller insertion tool in your kit.

Now just pick up on the "Repack your bearings..." where you left off with. And start packing those bearings.

**The removal tool comes in 2 or 3 sizes in your kit. Match it to the exact size of the back edge of the race, so that it removes the race with out scratching the sidewalls.

Modified by Chevy_Ranger at 1:14 PM 2/28/2010


Modified by Chevy_Ranger at 1:14 PM 2/28/2010


Modified by Chevy_Ranger at 1:16 PM 2/28/2010