Can Oil Bath Trailer Hub Easily be Converted to Grease

Published 08/02/2019

Question:

Not paying attention, I filled a oil bath hub with bearing grease. There is a zerk in the hub. Do I need to remove the bearings and clean out the bearing or is there a way to convert it to a regular hub. This is on a snowmobile trailer so the load isn’t that high.

asked by: Travis

Expert Reply:

It's totally fine to replace the oil in an oil bath hub with grease without changing anything else. The bearings will be properly lubricated and the seals will work just fine. I actually prefer grease to oil bath hubs mainly because if for some reason the seal of the hub goes out an oil bath hub is immediately done since all of the lubrication drains and by the time you notice the bearings have gotten way too hot, whereas with grease (since it's not a liquid) you can normally get home easily in the event of a seal going out.

expert reply by: Jameson C