Lippert came through GREAT!

Golferkids

Member
WE had a bearing failure on Christmas Eve on our center axle. We reached the after hours message service, left our name and info and Michael Locke from Lippert called us back a few minutes later. He checked for nearby dealers, finding noe nearby he ok'd foing to a repair facility called Welborn Tire just a few miles up the road and talked us through how to secure the brake pad as it was hanging down. We retrieved the tire from the woods and headed up the road. After gettting to the repair facility, we called Michael back and he authorized the repairs and parts. He worked with us on the monday following to finish up the billing process and assure us Lippert was standing behind their product.
It appeared that despite the fact that we lube at the Zerk fittings every trip, the outer bearing was not recieving grease. This happens occaisionally and can only be detected by visually inspecting the bearings at least once a year. This service was actually sceduled to happen just after our return from our Christmas trip. Well now they only have to check 5 wheels!
 

caissiel

Senior Member
When I was in St Augustine this fall I was able to help 2 men that were traveling North with a Toy hauler TT trailer with 6000 Lbs axles on a 6 months old trailer. They had heat problem in 3 axles, and one axle the outside bearing had failed. They had all the tools and replaced the seals and bearings on the hub. It was a sunday and no service was open in the area except Napa. They proceeded in greasing the trailer per the directive I told then about greasing while the wheel was turning, I saw the grease pooring freely out of the outside bearing. This experience lead me to believe in the proper procedure to apply grease to the bearings.

I also had grease problems that the Supplier or Lippert improperly greased my hubs. I had to remove them and clean all 4 wheels due to the seals leaking grease in the brake area, specialy the magnets. This tells me a lot of people grease these hubs with the wheels on the ground and push the grease through the seals. In my experience in maintenance, we always greased a running equipment because the bearings always pump the grease through when turning. Bearings are designed that way and thats what makes grease on bearings so efficient and dependable.
 

Golferkids

Member
Thank you for the info! I will try to do it that way when next I lube. Do you have to raise each wheel to do this?
 

porthole

Retired
Yes you have to raise the wheel enough to turn it.

This is the proper way to do it. If you pump grease in without spinning the the hub all you are doing is pushing grease through the path of least resistance, which more likely then not will be through only part of the bearing.
Spinning the wheel will insure you are putting clean grease throughout the bearing.
 

caissiel

Senior Member
Well said porthole. And now I know it works. Through the bearing and hub and on to the smaller outboard bearing. I noticed that my hubs were not full when I removed my hubs, so the outboard bearings could not have received grease. At the speeds the hubs turn on the highway, its not bad to have the hub filled.
 

lwmcguir

Well-known member
You post is really on the money stating the need to spin the wheel and by doing that you have taken the load off it which is important in this situation. This is also a good time to grab the wheel and move it in and out to check your bearing clearance. Check the manual for the procedure but there shouldn't be much axial movement. When greasing the bearings, while slowly spinning the wheel, I watch for the grease to move forward through the front bearing. If it don't after 5-6 grease gun strokes, then you need to pull the wheel to make sure you aren't greasing the drum. You need to have a replacement seal handy as well, preferable a CR or equivalent. Also, use one of the recommended grease types to avoid any reaction by the different type of grease. We grease every 10K or every 2 years if not traveling many miles. This has worked fine for many years since the EZ lube spindles came out.
 
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