[Lakeside]

I bought a 2001 Mariah Jubilee 215, Spring 2010, and it rides on a prestige trailer. Concerned that the trailer wheels may need grease, I squeezed some grease into a fitting on each wheel until the grease popped out the other side. Coincidentally, after a couple of launches later, I began to hear a ringing noise coming from the trailer while towing the boat. After a short time, it got worse and I began to hear a grinding and bumping noise when I slowed down to about 10 miles an hour and when I applied my brakes. This last happened when I towed my boat to storage for the winter, and it made a loud noise when I slowed down to turn into my boat storage place... Can anyone tell me what the problem is with my boat trailer? I'm not mechanically inclined, but I do want to know what the issue is so I can get it fixed. Any advice would be much appreciated... Thanks!

[IowaWing]

Sounds like you pumped too much grease into the hub and blew out the seal on the wheel hub.

The displaced seal allowed water to get inside the hub the next time you launched. The noises you heard were the sound of the bearings starting to disintegrate due to their rusting from the water intrusion. They have now gone bad. To confirm that they are bad, block the wheels on the opposite side from those you want to check. Raise the wheel you want to check off the ground with a jack under the axle. Spin the wheel by hand and you should not hear any noise. If you hear noise, or the wheel flops around,or you can't turn the wheel, you have confirmed that you need new wheel bearings.

Do not tow the trailer anywhere! If you do, those bad bearings will totally fail and you will cause further damage to the hub and axle shaft. You need to locate a mechanic who will make "House Calls" or find a mechanical friend to help you replace the bearings and seals.

They may not all be bad but should all be checked for a displaced seal and water intrusion.

[ttownmatt]

I totaly agree with IowaWing. Been there done that.

[Lakeside]

I appreciate the helpful advise very much. I will definetely do that.
Thanks,
Lakeside

[skiater]

I agree that is sounds like an issue with the bearings or possibly the brakes.

However, on my prestige trailer I have pumped grease into the grease nipple until it came out on the opposite side, the surelube hubs are designed to be lubricated this way.
If you look in the supplemental manuals there is a prestige package which shows a detail of the surelube hubs.
Pumping grease into the fitting should not have caused the seal to fail, unless perhaps the grease inside the hub was solidified.

Let us know what the mechanic finds.
Skiater

[Lakeside]

It turned out the noise was coming from a broken break adjuster. He changed this part and added new bearing buddies, packed them, and the problem was solved.

[IowaWing]

Great news. Thanks for the update.