Help... a bearing buddy keeps falling off

[Todd in NY]

I use marine grade grease, the thick blue stuff. The brand of "bearing buddy" that fell off was the Atwood brand. So I tried the Reese brand, also at wally world, and the Reese went on much tighter. The Reese also has the small relief hole in the side of it... the Atwood does not. I just towed my boat for a 3 hour round trip yesterday and the Reese never even started to loosen up. The strange part is that I still have the Atwoods on the other 3 hubs and they've never loosened up once after I put them on. So my guess is the hub that the Atwood fell off of must have been damaged just enough in the past that it needed the tighter fitting Reese. So far, the problem has been solved, so thanks for all the tips and information!

Les, how long do you suggest to let the bearings cool off? We usually take nearly 30 minutes setting the boat up before we launch.

[Sk8man]

That is sure plenty of time Todd   I usually just get everything ready to roll put the rods in , unhitch the straps get the lines ready  put the motor up etc. and I think that allows enough time  especially if it isn't a long trip to the launch. Basically it is to keep them from contracting too quickly from hot to cold. I have the bearing buddies and have had the same bearings and buddies in for 14 years now. I had them checked  at the marina this Spring and the mechanic said they were fine still after he disassembled them so my thinking is that whatever I'm doing it must be working   and I'm superstitious so I won't change it anyway

[Todd in NY]

Les, I think superstition and fishing go hand in hand.

[Sk8man]

  Me too