Bearing Maintenance Urgency?

[whp4262]

How does one know if they have EZ Lube?


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Look for a grease zerk on the end of the axle at the wheel. If you have center caps there should be a little cap that you can remove.


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[MagnoliaTom]

If you have EZ lube, raise the wheel, pull the wheel in and out, checking for thrust movement. You might be able to detect a little but there should not be an excessive amount of endplay. look around the wheel and back side of the brake assembly for unusual signs of leakage.

While rotating the wheel shoot some grease into the hub with a manual grease gun until is come out the front of the hub. This is not a difficult task but doing it will save you plenty of money and frustration.

Here is a link to the approved greases for the Dexter axles.

http://www.dexteraxle.com/i/u/6149609/f/Service_Resources/Bearing_Lubrication_Chart.pdf

Here is a link to the type and style of a grease gun for the application

http://www.alemite.com/catalog/details.aspx?identifier=guns_professional

The 555E is what you want. This is just an example, you can buy different brands, but with this spec, NAPA would be an excellent source. To find one.

Here is a link to a YouTube video produced by Dexter outlining the procedure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT0RKDGgDm8

Save yourself some money, and shoot some proper lube into the system. Read the PDf concerning the wheel bearing grease, because not all wheel bearing grease is compatible with other grease.

Go to lowes and buy a southwire hand held infrared temperature device. Every Time you stop, immediately take a reading.

Good luck!!!

Jim

Would a grease gun with a 6000 psi rating work? Or do you need the 7500 psi one the push all the old grease out?

 

[theroes]

Taking mine in next week to get done at a local RV place(seven O's). They are running a Spring special for $175 for both axles.

 

[JohnD]

How does one know if they have EZ Lube?


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They look like this:



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[Jim.Allison]

A 6000 lb rating will do, even a 5000 will work. If you don't have one, the 7500 pistol grip, with a flexible hose is what I was trying to point out. It seems like a lot of pressure but it really is not, it takes quite a bit to force grease through a zerk at a rate that will accomplish the job.

Jim

Would a grease gun with a 6000 psi rating work? Or do you need the 7500 psi one the push all the old grease out?

 

[Jim.Allison]

Count me as one that likes it, and use it.

You have it on your BC but not too many like it or use it.

 

[NWILSON]

A 6000 lb rating will do, even a 5000 will work. If you don't have one, the 7500 pistol grip, with a flexible hose is what I was trying to point out. It seems like a lot of pressure but it really is not, it takes quite a bit to force grease through a zerk at a rate that will accomplish the job.

They are measured in Pounds per Square Inch but the stream of grease coming out of the zerk is very small...let's say 1/16". If you called the stream square that would mean (16X16) streams in a square inch so each stream would be 7500 divided by 256 or 29 lbs of pressure on the stream of grease. That pressure only occurs when max effort is required to move the grease (something is blocking the flow). That's why the grease gun's listed pressure is so high

 

[JanAndBill]

I've posted about this before but for those who didn't see it. The first time I pulled the hubs on our BH with EZ Lube hubs, I found no grease in the center of the hub, it was confined to the bearings with nothing but a void in the middle. On the EZ Lube the spindle is drilled with a hole behind the rear bearing in front of the seal. When you pump grease into the zerk in the end of the spindle, it has to travel through the spindle, through the rear bearing, into the center of the hub, then on to and through the front bearing. With the center void empty it takes a lot of pumping to get grease to the outer bearing. When I hand packed the bearings, I filled the center void, so that it only takes a few pumps on the grease gun to see grease ease out of the front bearing now. Frankly though I'm not sure that I like the way this works, because by using the grease gun, in theory I'm still only forcing the grease that I hand packed in the void out into the outer bearing. If there is any accumulated moisture or other contamination in that grease, I just forced it into the outer bearing. Hand packing is still the best way of maintaining the bearings.

 

[justafordguy]

Hey Bill,
Sounds like you do all of your own maintenance like I do (professional/shadetree mechanic for almost 40 years). I agree that hand packing the bearings yourself is by far the best way to make the bearings last. One thing I was wondering is will doing maintenance yourself meet the warranty requirments or are you required to have a certified RV shop do it?

 

[jnbhobe]

I have always hand packed the bearings myself and will continue to do it that way. I am out of warranty but I think if you have proof of the purchase of seals and maybe grease you would have all you would need if that ever came up.

 

[justafordguy]

I know what the dealer will say if I call them and ask. I wonder what the best way to get the real answer would be?

 

[danemayer]

Warranty coverage on the axles, including brakes and bearings, is provided by Dexter or Lippert. Warranty terms and conditions are spelled out in their limited warranty statements and as with any warranty statement, cannot be modified by what any individual may tell you. In the case of Dexter, the warranty statement does require that maintenance be performed but is silent on who may perform it.

Here's a link to the Dexter Warranty.

The axles or suspensions must have been installed and maintained in accordance with good industry practice and any specific Dexter Axle recommendations....

 

[caissiel]

No one other then me touches my equipment. While on Florida I had my standard transaxle flushed out and I told the service to put my type of oil. They told me they only put Toyota oil. But my car is 6 years old and has 200k miles. If I want it to last I will have to flush it myself.

 

[JohnD]

I know what the dealer will say if I call them and ask. I wonder what the best way to get the real answer would be?

One thing to consider for warranty coverage (if you are interested in keeping it intact, that is) . . .

Just because one says they know how to do something doesn't mean that they really do know how to do it!

And any manufacturer or extended warranty company will most likely not cover you for something that went wrong under warranty if you did maintanence or fixed it yourself.

Especially if it is a major warranty issue!

 

[Jim.Allison]

.0031 square inches. is way different than 1/16 X 1/16, 322 psi is probably more like it. But that is at the zerk. The pistol grip only moves about 80-90 grams of grease per stroke thus their pressure rating. The viscosity of the grease varies widely so 322 psi does not factor in the fluid temps/viscosity.

They are measured in Pounds per Square Inch but the stream of grease coming out of the zerk is very small...let's say 1/16". If you called the stream square that would mean (16X16) streams in a square inch so each stream would be 7500 divided by 256 or 29 lbs of pressure on the stream of grease. That pressure only occurs when max effort is required to move the grease (something is blocking the flow). That's why the grease gun's listed pressure is so high

 

[Nabo]

Eric - after what happened to the traveling Talleys, I would definitely have them re-packed. In their case, it ended up in big bucks.

 

[Birchwood]

It will cost you around $200 and a half day at the RV shop.Have it done before you leave as they are due for servicing.
I think the urgency level is HIGH!

 

[JanAndBill]

Hey Bill,
Sounds like you do all of your own maintenance like I do (professional/shadetree mechanic for almost 40 years). I agree that hand packing the bearings yourself is by far the best way to make the bearings last. One thing I was wondering is will doing maintenance yourself meet the warranty requirments or are you required to have a certified RV shop do it?

First learned at my father's side 40 years ago, then over the years as the owner of a trucking company. Thankfully we grew fast enough that I could have a shop and hire our own mechanics to do the repair work, but I still stayed abreast of changing technology. I have found that regardless of if I do the work of not, just knowing how gives me an advantage in dealing with dealers/shops/mechanics/etc and also helps me choose the right service location for the repair.

 

[Jim.Allison]

I'm just curious what is the difference between the bearings and lubrication in a sealed for life bearing versus the properly lubricated EZ lube hub? Do they use special bearings and magic grease?

And why would you not have to change a lifetime lube bearing set every year, or 10,000 miles?

Are we just reacting to what Dexter is dictating to maintain a warrantee? Or a practical lube schedule?

IMHO, the lube schedule is unreasonable, impractical, unnecessary, and very expensive, and serves to scare and mislead those that are unfamiliar with bearing and lubrication to the point that they would spend $200 on an annual basis only having operated the bearings for 2000 miles.

2000 miles at 45 miles per hour would equal only 44 hours of operation. Hardly enough time to oxidize or corrupt the lubricant, certainly not to the point that the old grease could not be purged from the system, and normal operations resumed.----Just Saying



I don't think that laboratory test would support the need for annual, or 10,000 mi hand pack of 7000 lb trailer hubs, notwithstanding special circumstances that may be involved in special applications such as mountain driving where hubs may become excessively hot, or in the case of boat launching.

 

[MCTalley]

Eric - after what happened to the traveling Talleys, I would definitely have them re-packed. In their case, it ended up in big bucks.

True. Like tens of thousands of dollars. Oh, wait, that's because we traded trailers.

Seriously, though, the first bearing required roadside rebuild ($700 in parts, labor and mileage) and subsequently a new axle installed (another $600 in parts, labor and mileage). Note the word mileage twice. Murphy had us break down 70 miles from any place with parts, requiring $1.00 to $1.50 a mile charge to go get parts (twice).

Note that the cause of our first bearing failure was about 99% likely my fault. I re-lubed my bearings in spring 2014 and bent the hub covers prying them off. This left one of them apparently loose enough to have fallen off inside the wheel hub cover. Had I at least occasionally popped the center cap off the wheel's hub cover, I would have noticed the hub's center cap rolling around inside allowing the grease to evacuate the outer bearing and could have corrected the problem right away.