I smelled something weird when I got home from the lake. The outside of my wheel had slung grease all over it. I had recently repacked and put new seals on the hub. It is a drum brake hub. I pulled the cap and the grease had an obvious look of water intrusion, so I pulled the hub off the axle. That ruined the rear seal, but, it wasn't bad prior to pulling. There was no grease leaking behind the hub. My question is.....Is the bearing/trailer buddy bad and leaking water thru, did I have the nut to tight on the assembly and the bearings got hot and liquefied the grease, or could the brake shoes have been a little to tight and heated the hub and liquefied the grease. I have never had this happen. Every time I've pulled a hub and the grease looked like this, the rear seal was blown and the entire brake hub was full of burnt grease. Help please. Thanks,

Bass N Beer

Water got in and rear seal was not only new, but appeared fine.

what do you have on the front of the hub? Dust cover? Bearing buddy? Was the dust cover/bearing buddy still there when you found this? If it was still on I don't know of anywhere that grease can come out of a hub on the outside edge.

Trailer buddy on the front. As said, grease was slung all on the front side of the tire and wheel. No grease slung on the backside. I'm going to get new seals and a new trailer buddy as I think the one I have is just old and possibly failed.

Outside is usually the buddy, inside the seal.

O rings go out after awhile. Some of them you can take apart and change out the o-ring.