Don't forget those wheel bearings!!!!

[Tarpon4me]

There is nothing worse than getting stuck on the side of the highway because a wheel bearing is fried, or better yet the wheel locking up all together and causing a wreck, potentially destroying your truck and your boat, and god only knows what else.

I know myself, after each trip to the water, the first thing I do when I get back is grease those bearings. Greasing the bearings does two things:
1. Pushes the water out of the bearings
2. Pushes out the old grease out and lubricates the bearings with fresh grease

Also, every year, I tear down my hubs, completely wipe down the bearings, visually inspect them for burrs or worn places, hand pack them with heavy grease and re-install them; rather they need it or not.

My Center console weighs over 3000 pounds, and if I lost a tire or seared a bearing to the axle, i'd be screwed. It only takes 10 minutes a side to rebuild a hub and only 2 minutes to grease them after each trip.

And don't forget to change the gear oil in the foot of your motor either!

A little preventative maintanence goes along way, it might just save your boats life. [cool]
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[davetclown]

that goes with out saying,

that is as important as putting gas in the tank when it gets low.

thanks for the spring reminder, that should give us anglers who need to kill a rainy day or sunny one depending on where your boat is parked.
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[tomc]

some good advise,i aways carry a hand pump grease gun,after i unload,then load my boat i give them a shot of grease,very cheap insurance,after traveling,the wheel bearing get warm,sometimes hot depending on distance,speed you travel,when you back into the water,the hub will suck water in,because of the temp differenceyou would be suprise how much water get pushed out when you do this.i also picked up a spare hub,complete and ready to go,i keep it behind the seat of my truck in a couple of pastic shopping bags nothing worse than being stuck on the side of the road.



while checking bearings,if its not smooth and shiny,replace them,even one small rust pit will destroy a bearing,also look at the race,the other side of the bearing in the hub,make sure thats smooth and shiny,if not replace,this will need a little effort,a long punch and hammer,also if either the bearing or race has a blued color,this means it got hot at one time,replace because the "basket"which holds the bearing in will streach and fall apart
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[Tarpon4me]

Man, you wouldn't believe the people that don't do it. I've seen atleast a half dozen boats parked on the side of the road this past month, all doing the same thing, replacing bearings or a shredded tire.(dryrotted) It usually only takes one time though, then the regular greasing begins. [cool]
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[bkidder]

thanks a lot for the reminder! ive been getting my boat ready to go and i thought i had everything down- i completely forgot to grease the wheels. i also need to check my tire pressure. thanks for the reminders- very timely! take care, bkidder
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Good advice. But, a lot of folks ignore that stuff until disaster strikes. I was driving behind a boat trailer once when one of the wheels started to smoke and then burst into flames. Everything froze up and the boat went whipping around and almost rolled the truck towing it. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Bearings are like the line on reels. They are a low cost item a lot of us take for granted, but are really important to our success. I can't believe how many anglers spool up with cheap line and then leave it on the real until it turns to powder. [/#0000ff]
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