Grease Wheel Bearings?

[SparkyD]

We have a 2017 Road Warrior 425 we picked up in May. Everything is great, just want to stay on top of preventative maintenance. Should I be pulling the covers off the wheels and greasing the bearings? Exactly what grease would I use, and how often? I see a video on Youtube where the guy is pumping grease in for several minutes, which seems excessive. I always thought you just give it 1-2 pumps, so that excess doesn't attract dirt and grime.

This is my first rig, thanks in advance for the info.

 

[rhodies1]

We have a 2017 Road Warrior 425 we picked up in May. Everything is great, just want to stay on top of preventative maintenance. Should I be pulling the covers off the wheels and greasing the bearings? Exactly what grease would I use, and how often? I see a video on Youtube where the guy is pumping grease in for several minutes, which seems excessive. I always thought you just give it 1-2 pumps, so that excess doesn't attract dirt and grime.

This is my first rig, thanks in advance for the info.

Your manual will list a number of greases from various oil companies,if you are going to pull the wheels and grease the bearings,clean them properly and use one of the listed greases.ALL grease are NOT compatible and you should not mix grease.
I worked for 35 years for Shell Oil in lubricants,so I have knowledge in this matter,I personally use Shell Gadus V220 S 3 . It is red in color and one of the approved grease by Dexter/Lippert.

 

[sengli]

If your axles are dexter, go to their website and they have recommendations for the grease. Also you mentioned, one or two pumps. Honestly I would not recommend you rely on the external grease zerks, as your main method of greasing and maintaining the bearings. Depending on your mileage, you really need to pull the hubs apart, inspect clean and manually re-pack those bearings. And while they are apart you can inspect and or replace the inner grease seal, and your brake pads. Most people re-pack them yearly. It is a pain, but losing a bearing along side the road will be even more of an PITA.

As a matter of fact my dealer on my first rig, used those zerks and blew grease past the inner seals and coated my brakes with grease. I didnt realize the issue, till I pulled them apart to adjust the brakes...which of course didnt seem to work!

 

[JohnD]

Most people re-pack them yearly. It is a pain, but losing a bearing along side the road will be even more of an PITA.

I can attest to that as we had a wheel bearing blowout in Phoenix last year with our previous Heartland trailer . . .

And yes, it was a major PITA!

 

[rxbristol]

I use CV-2 grease:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053O9FQS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Jim.Allison]

We have a 2017 Road Warrior 425 we picked up in May. Everything is great, just want to stay on top of preventative maintenance. Should I be pulling the covers off the wheels and greasing the bearings? Exactly what grease would I use, and how often? I see a video on Youtube where the guy is pumping grease in for several minutes, which seems excessive. I always thought you just give it 1-2 pumps, so that excess doesn't attract dirt and grime.

This is my first rig, thanks in advance for the info.

On new rigs the hub may not be full of grease, so if you are using the EZ lube feature, it may take several strokes of the grease gun to fill that hub. I use the EZ Lube feature, and I have never had a problem with it, and I do not fear it. The first time I lubed the hub I followed Dexters instructions and lifted the wheel. While rotating the wheel I pumped in the grease. One hub was stubborn because the hub was empty. The rest lubed as expected. Once the hubs are full it only takes a few strokes before every trip to move fresh grease through the hub. A pistol grip grease gun with a flexible hose works best for me.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...k=Search_N0727_5225652_573&pt=N0727&ppt=C0139

My advice is to use the EZ Lube if you have it, and use one of these greases.

http://dexteraxle.com/i/u/6149609/f/22.5-27.5K_Service_Manual/Wheel_Bearings.pdf

I use the Conoco Multiplex Red. NLGI 2 GC, It is an Extreme Pressure (EP) Wheel bearing grease. It is bright red which is important because you will be able to see the difference between old grease and new grease as it exits the EZ Lube devise. Multiplex Red is on the list.



Green and blue are usually for boat trailers, and red is for other applications, such as our trailers. BTW I bought a case of cartridges on Amazon for hardly nothing.

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As a matter of fact my dealer on my first rig, used those zerks and blew grease past the inner seals and coated my brakes with grease. I didnt realize the issue, till I pulled them apart to adjust the brakes...which of course didnt seem to work!

Did your dealer use a pneumatic lube machine?