HF trailer grease seals

[kiacker]

OK, I'm going to qualify this post with I will NEVER buy a HF trailer ever again! I have learned my lesson! I searched the forum for an answer to my question, but didn't find one.

Last year I built my teardrop on the HF 1740 lb nonfolding 4x8 trailer. Since I had noticed a wobble in the driver side trailer tire at the end of last season, I decided to pull the hubs and check the bearings last week. When I pulled the hubs, I found that the bearings were a little worn. I decided to replace the cheap HF ones with some better quality bearings from Napa. That was no problem. The problem came in finding replacement grease seals. I tried every auto store including Napa but no one could help me. One old timer recommended I contact Harbor Freight so I did. Their "technical support" told me they had the seals for my trailer and could send some right out. I thought "wow, am I lucky!" I should have began wondering then about what they were sending me cuz each seal cost $1.00!

These are the seals they sent:



They are made out of hard rubber/plastic with a pliable ring of rubber in the center ring that goes around the axle shaft. Can you actually use this on a hub? Can one really trust it wouldn't deform with heat? These are nothing like the seals I have. The seals I removed are metal with a soft rubber ring.

The other thing - the seal numbers don't match. My seals were labeled 31-52-7. These rubber things are labeled 30-52-10. Can I use a 30-52-10? (The axle measured 31.4 mm OD. Hub 52.2 mm ID. Hub depth - 8mm.) Fortunately, I was really carefully in taking the hub apart so I was able to put the old seals back in, but now I'm wondering how to find the right seals? And not hard plastic things! I'm hoping that with the repacking I'll have a few thousand miles to go before repacking. But what if a seal fails in that time?????

Any advice (other than get a better trailer!)? Thanks in advance!

[bobhenry]

Please tell me you have not thrown away the original seal. Go to the yellow pages and find a BEARING house. They handle industrial as well as automotive bearings and seals. They are available you just need to know where to look. Are you sure your wobble is not a tire problem I have just been there (see Harbor freight tire warranty thread). The plys let go in the tire. They need #60 of air pressure bet you arn't there.
These little trailers are allright they just don't give us all the facts up front.

[kiacker]

No, I kept the original seals and just reused them when I replaced the bearings. A bearing house, huh? We do have one of those around - will have to check it out.

Yep, I read about your tire problem. It got me looking into different tires for my teardrop. My wobbly tire appears to be a warped or bent rim, not the hub like I was worried about. My trailer has 5.30x12 tires which the local HF store doesn't carry. Go figure!
Thanks for the help Bob!
Lisa

[bobhenry]

Grabbed a 4.80 x 12 with rim at Wallyworld for $53.00 ALREADY mounted. The rim was almost an exact match. Right next to it was a 5.30 x 12 for $57.00 also on the rim .They also have just the tires mine was $38.00 I didn't look at the 5.30 x 12 tire only. I still bet your problem is the tire. DID YOU HAVE YOUR #60 PSI IN IT? I bet not !

If the seals are removed by dragging it out with the rear bearing there is usually little damage to it and it should be reuseable . There is no need to replace them each time. Inspect the inside wiper ring. (The soft rubber area that wipes the spindle). If there are no cuts or tears and the seal will still set flat. You can reuse it without worry.

[angib]

A bearing house, huh?

Over here, we call 'em bearing factors. I have one:
- he can measure bearings and seals by eye, to better than a millimetre accuracy, from four feet away;
- he measures with a vernier caliper to prove his eyesight is as good as he claims it to be;
- he memorizes part numbers 16 digits long;
- he's as grumpy as can be, always complains (and alwas has the right part);
- all purchases come with a compulsory 5-minute lecture about how these things aren't made like they used to be.

I believe all of these are all indicators that mine is a real expert. If you find someone helpful and pleasant, walk away - their skills are suspect.....

Andrew

[bobhenry]

I can go ya one better. The last truck engine I had rebuilt I took the short block and heads to the machine shop of an old boy in his very late 60's maybe early 70's. He was all but totally blind and had a seeing eye assistant. ( A very nice industrious young man who was learning from a master and understood it was a gift) . Old Charlie barehanded reached into each cylinder of this very tired old V8 and called out the wear. He felt one cylinder was more than 30 over and asked his assistant to mic it it was 31 + over. Without hesitation he said " Oh it will just leave a shadow nothing to worry about. He was right I drove that truck 13 years.

Sometimes there is no substitute for experience!

[Arne]

Take the seal to a bearing place. I think (operative word here) the seals are 7mm wide.

Bearings and seals are standard just about world wide. You should have no problem finding them.. I bought new bearings and seals for my h/f 1800# trailer about 5 miles from me, just as a precaution.. never used them yet.

My h/f bearings had a standard timken number on them. The trailer was made in Ukraine.

[rhow]

Lisa

I've bought bearings and seals for boat trailers here in the past.

STANDARD BEARINGS
2350 Hubbell Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50317-6493
Phone: (515) 309-8900
Fax: (515) 265-8202

They are a locally owned IOWA company. They have been in business 90
years. Must be doing something right.
regards
Dick

[kiacker]

Bob - Thanks for the info on the tires! May have to check that out. Actually, I am running the tires at 60 psi since that was what the tire said. My dad beat that into my head when I was a kid and I didn't think I could run them any lighter. He was a stickler for tire care! I suspect it's the rim because it still spun with a wobble while up in the air on jacks. The hubs spun without a wobble. I did remove the seal by the method you described only because I read on this forum that was the way to do it. (thank you to whoever posted that!) The only thing I noticed in pulling the hubs (other than outer bearings and races being worn) was some black on the axle where the rear seals sat. It was the same on both axles, so I figured it was from the wear of the wiper rings. The seals and wiper rings looked good and since I didn't have replacements, I put them back in. Good to know they'll probably be OK!

Andrew - Good one! I had one parts guy measure my seal in inches then get all ticked off with me when I told him it was a metric seal! Guess he was the expert!

Dick - thanks for the info! That was the place I was going to try next! I'll feel better just having a pair of seals on hand!

Thanks to everyone for the help! I have learned more from this forum than anywhere else! I like being able to build and tear down/replace things on my own instead of having to take it somewhere to be done!

Lisa

[bobhenry]

I will still put a $20.00 bet its a ply seperation in the tire. Mine was so distorted it was rubbing on the frame. I bett following from behind it looked like we only had one very loose lug nut on the rim the was it had to be wobbeling. We stopped in -15 below wind chill about 30 miles from home while coming back from the Brown County Shivaree. I could smell burning rubber. The wobble did cause the bearings to loosen up slightly but a good greasing and adjust the spindle nut and they are good it go. There was no scoreing or discoloration. I was sure the bearing had exploded and was set to drag it home on the hub if necessary. Turns out it was just a wobbley tire.

[angib]

I had one parts guy measure my seal in inches then get all ticked off with me....

Excellent!

For those who think Harry Dean Stanton gave one of his great performances in 'Repo Man', I think that like the 'Repo Man Code', there is also a 'Bearing Guy Code' that includes things like:

"Bearing Guy is always right and the customer is always wrong - and the customer must be reminded of this each visit"...

Andrew

[coreyjhen]

I had one parts guy measure my seal in inches then get all ticked off with me....

Excellent!

For those who think Harry Dean Stanton gave one of his great performances in 'Repo Man', I think that like the 'Repo Man Code', there is also a 'Bearing Guy Code' that includes things like:

"Bearing Guy is always right and the customer is always wrong - and the customer must be reminded of this each visit"...

Andrew

...and that the customer has sub-Neanderthal intelligence...

[starwars]

They are made out of hard rubber/plastic with a pliable ring of rubber in the center ring that goes around the axle shaft. Can you actually use this on a hub? Can one really trust it wouldn't deform with heat?

What heat?? I don't know if you are just commenting or not, but there is no "heat" on a properly installed trailer hub.