15 Oct How Often Should You Check Your Oil Hub ?

Have you looked at them lately? Are they covered by a nice chrome cap? Oil hubs can easily be forgotten, but they can also tell you that you may have a wheel seal leaking or a possible bearing failure in the making. I myself am guilty of not always doing a walkaround before hitting the road, but not doing so could lead to trouble.

When the oil hubs are left unchecked and oil loss is happening, heat will replace the area where the oil once was, bearing damage will start and lead to axle damage, leading to the hub and wheel coming loose and falling off at road speed or causing a most likely fire or both.

When checking your oil hubs, rotate the plug while pulling or pushing to avoid doing damage to the looking glass. If the plug is hard, replace it with a new one. If the glass is sun-damaged, cracking or discolored badly replace it with a new one. Sometimes the hub gasket may be leaking due to debris left behind from the previous removal, remove, clean area and install a new gasket and tighten the oil hub down.

Always carry an extra quart or two with you, it’s better to have than not. If you’ve had the wheel off, stop within the first ten miles and recheck the fluid level and look at the inside of the tire for signs of fresh oil leaks. An improper bearing preload can fail as early as 15 miles.

So just keep in mind to check the oil hubs on your truck and trailer often as possible, such as while fueling or shutting down for the day or before starting the day.