Has anyone used oil bath hubs on a TT?

Gdetrailer wrote:

Trackrig wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

Trackrig wrote:

Bill

This ought to be good..

Another unneeded "fix" for a vaporware "problem".

Grease them CORRECTLY in the first place and there is no "need" for oil bath..

I personally would not wish an oil bath bearing on anyone.. Checking the BRAKES periodically would be one heck of a mess..

Truckers CAN check their brakes without removing the drums..

Yes the truckers can and I own a tractor and lowboy. I've had better luck with oil bath bearing over the years than I've had with greased bearings.

The Nodwell in my signature (it may not show on this posting) was changed to oil bath hubs with Stemco seals many years ago and I no longer have bearing going bad on it. The Nodwell manual calls for greasing the original set up every eight hours with about 30 strokes of a grease gun. Even that didn't keep the bearing in good condition....

Bill

30 strokes in 8hrs?

That is overgreasing and hence the failures.

Overgreasing is just as bad as not packing the bearings correctly.

In a nutshell 30 strokes every 8 hrs is pushing out the old and putting new in.. That old grease must go somewhere, usually blowing out the rear seal..

Then there is the added bonus of no place for the grease to expand and contract from cold to hot then back to cold.. So when it gets hot the grease pushes out past the seals and when it cools it creates a vacuum which pulls moist air (or water in the case of rain) into the bearings.. The result is RUSTY bearings.

I would recommend you read Dexter axles information on how to properly repack and set the bearings..

See page 52 of THIS LINK bearing adjustment procedures are on page 56.. and yes, I know, there is a section about optional oil bath which may be available on larger axles..

Obviously you've never been around a Nodwell have you? The grease seals on the back side of the hub are reversed to purposely allow the grease to flow out while flushing the water and dirt out through the bearing. Generally you stop pumping when you sea clean grease or no more dirty grease flowing out of the back of the hub. It's impossible to over grease a Nodwell hub.

Bill