Bearing buddy keeps coming off

[Chexi]

Ok great pn brain, I have had a bearing buddy come off the same wheel two days in a row on 10 mile trips. I know for sure the second time it was tapped all the way in by a pro and lubed with the grease gun special tool. Still lost it the next day. Any idea what could be causing this? I thought someone stole it the first day, but not two days in a row on the same wheel.

[Rick]

Wheel Hub Stretch

Since it's a friction fit there is a good chance that the hub itself has stretched or the one the pro put on was a smaller diameter. I think there are 2 or 3 sizes. They are made by UFP in San Marcos California just north of San Diego. Here is the link http://www.ufpnet.com/ContactUs/tabid/60/Default.aspx If you call them they can probably help.

[81nautique]

Jack your trailer up and check to see if the wheel has any wobble to it. Could be a bearing going bad or not preloaded correctly last time they were serviced and may need to be tightened a bit.

[jhiestand]

This has happened to me also, and the cause was a loose wheel. I lost two bearing buddies before I figured out what was happening. I agree with 81nautique, check the wheel for looseness.

[Chexi]

Thank you all. I will start with checking whether the wheel is loose (the easiest fix). Hopefully I will end there.

[JUST-IN-TIME]

i use blue loctite on them

[mf01]

I had the same problem about a year ago. The hub/drum was warped. I replaced it and now it stays on.

[TRST]

A temporary fix is to use a punch (with the beraing buddy installed) to create some dimples on the the lip of the hub making a tighter fit. I had to do this on a trip and it got me back home.

[mrbobolina]

Two real options. One don't get a bearing buddy. Walmart carries something that is like a bearing buddy, same concept, only a fraction wider. When you smack it on be sure to use like a piece of 2X4 on top of the buddy and whack it with a hammer nice and tight.

Option 2 replace the hub. This is actually really simple, although the hub will probably run about $150 when you include new bearings. If you go this route, I am not sure if you have to replace the bearings in pairs?

Your buddy is coming either because you are not setting it deep and even enough or your hub is just stretched.

[Chexi]

I'm going to run a few tests. When it came off the second time, I had the trailer parked (without the boat) in an area that had really bad roads. As a result, the trailer bounced quite a bit. Since the hub is probably warped a bit, I suspect that the excessive jarring caused the BB to pop out. I'm going to tape a baggie around the hub with some extra space and drive over that area again and then look at it to see if it (a) popped off, (b) came loose, or (c) still in tight. Then I will report back. Unfortunately, that won't be for like 2 weeks, since I'm going to wake camp next week.