Troubleshooting Bearing Buddy Bearing Protectors Leaking Grease On Wheels and Tires

Question:

I lost one of the dome type axel hub caps on the rear axle of my tandem axle hauling trailer. So I replaced all 4 with bearing buddy type hubs. I filled the hubs with axle grease till grease started to come out of the whole on the side of each bearing buddy hub assembly. However I have grease coming out of the rear axle bearing buddy and spewing all over the wheel and tire on both sides but worse on the side that originally lost the dome type hub cap. Why would the grease come out like this?

asked by: John P

Expert Reply:

I cannot really tell by the picture due to the grease on the bearing buddy, but it looks like you have one that has auto-check like the Bearing Buddy # BB1980A-SS.

This auto-check gives the grease a place to go instead of blowing out the rear grease seal when pressure gets too high, or too much grease is used.

I would clean off the wheels/bearing buddies really well and check them after a short drive to see if they still leak or if it stopped. More than likely they just had a bit too much grease and were just expelling the excess.

If for some reason they keep leaking grease I just let me know.

expert reply by: Samuel C