On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 18:41:04 -0500, "Fred" wrote:

I bought a used boat and trailer, and before towing I noticed that the
bearings needed grease. I bought the blue grease. On the label it said not
to mix with other grease. Not knowing what kind of grease was used before,
I added the blue. What kind of damage may be caused, and what do you
recommend I do? Thanks
Fred,
The bases of many greases are not compatible with other greases
and can cause a breakdown of the lubricating qualities and premature
failure. You should remove the hubs and flush out all the grease with
a good solvent and re-grease with your choice of wheel bearing grease.
You can take this opportunity to inspect the bearings for pending
failure (look closely for signs of brinnelling or corrosion) but you
can not always see signs that a bearing is close to failing so I would
agree with Harry and replace with good quality (not Chinese) bearings
- NTN-Bower-Timken. This will at least let you know you are starting
out with new, quality bearings which will last you for years if
properly maintained. The cost is minimal compared to shearing a
spindle and spending several hours on Sunday afternoon on the side of
the road guarding your boat while someone tries to round up a new
spindle, bearings, seals and someone to weld the new spindle on etc.
Good luck and let us know if you have any other questions.