Wheel bearing oil baths

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Hi Tom,
After driving busses for over 20 years with oil bath bearings I can't remember more then once or twice that I had a seal leak. If the outer seal leaks you can see oil streaks radiating out from the hub. The only way I know of to know if the inner seal is leaking is to actually check the oil level. Don may jump in here with his experiences and he is more knowledgable. I have oil bath's on my W-22 Workhorse gas chassis for three years now and have not had a problem with them at all.
 
Thanks Jerry. That definitely a good vote of confidence for oil baths.

When you talk about inner and outser seals I assume you're talking about seals on the same hub. Dumb question - are both seals on the same bath, so you only need to check oil from the outside? Or is there an inner and outer bath?
 
Thanks Ron. Didn't realize the Eagle had oil baths. Should have guessed since Jim's Dream has them.
 
When you talk about inner and outser seals I assume you're talking about seals on the same hub. Dumb question - are both seals on the same bath, so you only need to check oil from the outside? Or is there an inner and outer bath?


Hi Tom,
Yes, both seals are on the same bath. The outer fill plug is also a seal and as Jim mentioned, if overfilled it could cause the inner seal to leak or have the oil blow past the fill plug and leak to the outside. If that happens you would see oil streaks radiating out from the plug to the edges of the wheel. If the inner seal leaks, the only indication I know of would be if the brakes got soaked.  As I said though, leaking seals are rare and usually caused by overfilling.
 
Thanks for clarification Jerry. I might call local truck shops when we get home. I'm due for repacking, so I might as well switch to oil baths.
 
We had one inner seal leak but caught it before the oil could get to the brake pads.  That was the only problem in over 80,000 miles and have never had to add oil to either bath.
 
Thanks Ned. Were yours OEM or converted later?
 
Not a comment for or against,  But Workhorse shows both oil bath and grease pack bearings in their owner's manual

I have not seen this for MH steering wheels, but for Trailers an interesting item is the Bearing Buddy.

This is a greas pack bearing,but it's spring loaded, you fill it about 2/3 full using a grease gun and it packs it in as you drive, (note first time you might fill it full) as the greast heats and cools the spring loaded piston goes out and in.  And thus keeps the bearings packed.

I used them on both of my trailers, very nice
 
I've had Bearing Buddies on boat trailers for years, but have never seen them on cars or motorhomes.

Meant to add that in the case of boat trailers, I assume that keeping water out has something to do with it. Also meant to ask if anyone has seen soimething similar on a coach.
 
I too have used Bearing Buddys on Boat trailers and I have them on one now.  They are to help keep water out of the bearings.  I have never seen them used on any other kind of trailer.  They seem to work great for their intended purpose of keeping water out of the bearings on a boat trailer.
 
Ron

I just got done appending a question to my prior message and, when it posted, you had just answered it. You must be telepathic  ;D
 
John, even better for trailers, is the axle with a zerk on the end.  The grease goes through the axle to the the inter bearing and flows back through the bearings to exit around the outer bearing. Thus you can "repack" just by using the grease gun, when the new grease comes out you are done.  Don't know what they are called, but my boat trailer has them.
 
caltex said:
John, even better for trailers, is the axle with a zerk on the end.  The grease goes through the axle to the the inter bearing and flows back through the bearings to exit around the outer bearing. Thus you can "repack" just by using the grease gun, when the new grease comes out you are done.  Don't know what they are called, but my boat trailer has them.
Click to expand...

Well.. That's a good description of a bearing buddy Caltex.  I used them on both my trailers

The more I read this thread the more I think oil bath may be the way to go at the first repack

And for those who say "Bearing Buddies beat repacking"  Oh yes, that they do, why I bought them
 
John, I didn't think that was what I was discribing.  The Bearing Buddys are replacement dust caps with a Zerk that allow a person to get grease into the wheel bearing without disassembling them.  It utilizes a spring loaded cap to provide pressure to help keep water out of the bearings. You still have to disamble the bearings to repack them.

What I described was a Zerk in the end of the axle itself, passing grease through the axle to the bearings.
Dexter is one brand name, I am sure there are others. This site has a diagram of the axle.

http://www.dexteraxle.com/e_z_lube_system
 
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