Are you just packing them or do you have the Bearing Buddies fitted?

Yes I run bearing buddies.

I plan on cleaning out the hubs/bearing - then re packing with new grease and re fitting my bearing buddies.

Snowkiwi - Should I not use petrol? just wipe clean or use different solvent? I planned on cleaning them in petrol, wiping them dry, re greasing then replacing and packing. Any tip would be appreciated.

Best grease..
Evinrude triple guard bearing grease.. the red stuff
The triple guard blue is for steering , motor etc.
 
Far superior to most other afte market greases..
Thru I dont know if other brands.. yamaha , merc etc also have specialist marine greases.

Make sure the seals are marine, submersible seals.. not std car seal.. espec used in conjunction with bearing buddies

As to washing re using...personally I would re place.... espec if Chinese made.. and if replace dont use Chinese..

But if budget was tight at the time.. would wash out with carb cleaner, or kero, rinse with meths and allow to dry.. dont leave long...re pack.
I would be checking the bearings frequently for rumble and play.

And rem bearing buddies need to be pumped up.. pressurised to work right

The issue with marine bearings/ axles, is the hubs warm up towing to the ramp.. then drop them into clod water.. they cool, the grease cavity has a low pressure vacuum, sucks water in. 
Pressurised B buddies and heavier marine seal in the back prevent this.

I just wonder how many of us have B buddies, but do not have the grease gun filled with quality marine specialised BEARING grease?

Warm .. just warm, body warm a glass filled with water. Put a card over the top.. cool it to room temp.. surprising just how long that takes... and turn upside down.
 Works on a 20L bucket to
The low pressure created by only a few degrees is enough to hold the card and weight of the water in place
Never underestimate the the force of pressure...even very small differences.
You have quite a mass of stub axle, and a lot of that is insulated in a cavity with grease.. then there is the mass of the hub around it.
 It will cool down that fast????
 just warm up , just a stub axle on bench...and just see how long it actually takes to cool down.. uninsulated in a layer of grease..

Also consider the water temp.. not the air temp that you have not got down to of that either.

Yes
 after a while the pressure eventually leaks out.. and thats why they have a grease nipple.. to re pump up with grease gun.

 They are a maintenance item (like most things with a grease nipple..
not a new bearings/ grease and forget item

MikeAqua wrote: Steps wrote: Warm .. just warm, body warm a glass filled with water. Put a card over the top.. cool it to room temp.. surprising just how long that takes... Water and glass are slow to dissipate/absorb heat.  Metals are very fast. Based on doing a few roadside hub changes it doesn't seem to take long for a bearing to cool to ambient temp. Anyhow, whatever I'm doing works.  I've never had issues with my buddy-less bearings.

If not having problems doing something right - I imagine the kind of towing and way you launch would have a big effect - ie a long tow not 2 mins down road (30-40km plus on highway?) so bearings nice and warm, then charge up to ramp dunk in nice and deep....

Might I suggest that if your bearings are getting warm they're flooked. Unless it's dissipated heat from the brakes. 

We are not talking hot... warm.
Yes good bearing get warm.. in a surprisingly short distance.
Anyone actually towed then pulled a wheel off to feel outer hub.. or pull the cap feel the castle nut?
 No?

 Hot you have a brake/ bearing issue.

 When we launch, 30 min open road 70/ 90 kmh to ramp.
Swing around, line up approx 30/45 sec to remove tie downs, motor flag, lift motor off the travel support.. back down the ramp... Truck and trailer being parked up within 2 1/2 mins of getting to the ramp.
Bung done at trailer pre check before leaving home.
 Rods gear stowed , 1st packet bait and burly in pot.. all at home
 Rods/ traces, gear prepped at one of several spots not far from ramp.. you would be surprised where the 1st fish often gets landed.

Why the need for marine grease, when the grease dosent get wet. And if it does get wet, you are fooked anyway.

How many actually open up hubs on a regular basis to replace bearings at a WoT on boats?
How many actually check their bearing.. or know how to?.. or get regular 6 month WoFs.. dont do it any more cause everytime a bearing fails?
 Why do boat trailers, in particular tend to stuff bearings at very low mileage.. when those VERY SAME bearings (diff rear seals) will do a 100K miles (160km) on a car?

BB certainly increased the life on our bearings...then regular grease gun maintenance..(not exactly hard work, effort or time involved)...start lasting for yrs..  and still going.

To save maybe a few dollars on 10yr plus supply on cheap grease....the cost of BBs over decades, and very little effort to keep pumped up...and far shorter bear life.
 Really?
When was the last time you jacked up the wheels and checked or play and rumble?.. in the last 3 to 6 months? No?

I used to carry a small grease gun in the boat. When I stopped after a long tow I would make sure that the BB springs were fully extended by adding (or not) the required amount of grease before I put the boat in the water. Takes just a minute to do if required and I never replaced another bearing after doing that. What I like about the BB's is that the spring is a visual indicator of where your grease level is at. If it goes down top it up and life stays simple.

Steps wrote: We are not talking hot... warm. Yes good bearing get warm.. in a surprisingly short distance. Anyone actually towed then pulled a wheel off to feel outer hub.. or pull the cap feel the castle nut?  No?

As per earlier post: Yes. A couple of times on the road side with my old trailer (it had issues) when highway towing. 

They cool down fast to ambient temperature, by the time I got the jack out and pulled the hub, the bearings were always at air temperature, which where I go boating is 5 degrees either side of water temperature.