Packing the wheel bearings

Nice suggestion, Rich. I've always used a rubber mallet, but I'll remember the "socket trick".

- Jack

When I bought my hi-lo, 2011, it had NO dust caps on the wheels .I purchased 4 at the same time I bought the extra bearing/etc. Brakes had never been hooked up to function, so new.

I now have over 20k miles on the repack, and will not worry on the next trip either.
I have been doing this for over 50 years. Not brain surgery. I don't have a repack tool, but is a great tool.
I was quoted $250 for all 4 wheels repacked. I barely was able to control my laughter.
Remember, I am cheap!

From Champion Trailers website "Whenever you install new hubs or new bearings and races into an old hub, you should pre-load the bearings. Pre-loading the bearings assures that the races in the hubs are 100% in place against their machined stop points and keeps the hub from wobbling after a few miles" This "wobble" is what I'm talking about. There should be NO wobble whatsoever. And one more thing before I fill my coffee cup and walk the dog: Never worry about starting an argument on this kind of forum. These are the kinds of things we're here for; to learn from other people and their experiences. And if we are arguing then loser buys the beer so everybody wins.....

I'm On the Same Page, Buddy

notanlines said:

From Champion Trailers website "Whenever you install new hubs or new bearings and races into an old hub, you should pre-load the bearings. Pre-loading the bearings assures that the races in the hubs are 100% in place against their machined stop points and keeps the hub from wobbling after a few miles" This "wobble" is what I'm talking about. There should be NO wobble whatsoever. And one more thing before I fill my coffee cup and walk the dog: Never worry about starting an argument on this kind of forum. These are the kinds of things we're here for; to learn from other people and their experiences. And if we are arguing then loser buys the beer so everybody wins.....

Click to expand...

Jim, I'm sure your comment was directed at me. And, I was not worried, but some people see disagreement in a forum as a reason to come unglued. I try to make it clear to everyone that a discussion is not a fight.

From your post, the undesired wobble would be visible as the wheel is rotating during use. And, to beat a dead horse, I was talking about just a tiny bit of "play" that you can feel if you put your hands on the tire on each side (with the trailer jacked up) and then alternately push and pull on each side.

The seating of the bearings using a torque wrench if possible is clearly an important step, and I do it exactly as the directions that were posted specify.

I also think it would be very easy for someone who is new to this procedure to think that the retaining nut should be tightened more than "finger tight", in the final step, which would not be good.

It seems to me we're both saying the same thing, although initially in different ways.

- Jack

You are both saying the same thing. Some people rely on feel, while others rely on a torque wrench. In the end the result is that the bearings snug up and are preloaded. In any case, this has nothing to do with new bearings on old hubs, old bearings, old hubs, etc. This should always be done.

The step that Jim was not clear about was that after tightening the nut to the preload torque, 50 ft lb for the Dexter axle, you then back off the preload torque without turning the wheel. Then tighten the nut finger tight, then back off the nut to the first locking position and lock it in place with whichever of the 3 locking methods your axle uses. The main thing to understand is that you do not leave that preload torque on the nut or you will destroy the bearing and race. If you are going to pack your own bearings and brake adjustments, you should have a copy of the operation and maintenance manual for the axle thats on your HiLo. I am not sure how many different axles HiLo used thru the years. You should be able to go online and download the manual. I have both the Dexter and AL-KO manuals and the proceduers are basically the same.