Greasy Brakes

[captchat]

We received our beautiful 2011 BH3670RL in November of 2010, and we just love it. After a year and approx 10,000 miles of travel, I figured I would check out the brake wear and bearings. The brakes have not been touched since the factory delivery, so I thought before we leave California this spring for the Heartland rally it would be a good idea to look it all over. After removing one wheel I was surprised to see the brakes soaked in bearing grease. After removing the other wheels and drums I found 3 of the 4 wheels soaked in grease. It would be my opinion that the Dexter factory shot the grease in at such a high speed that the grease shot past the seals instead of migrating slowly outboard to the outer bearings. I replaced the rear seals and totally cleaned the linings and hardware and hand packed the bearings. I don't know if these are called Never Lube axles or what they are. My paperwork does not state. I have a Zerk fitting on the tip of the axle and a hole drilled to the rear bearing. They are 7000 lb. Dexters with the EZ Flex suspension. I am not here to complain as I know these things can happen but I'm only sharing my experience to give others a heads up.

Anyone else seen this problem ? Thoughts?

 

[caissiel]

Had same problem on ours.
Caused by greasing without rotating the wheels. There are many discussions on this.
On mine seals where pushed out, had to be replaced.

Sent from my GT-S5660M using Tapatalk 2

 

[bdb2047]

Had same problem.I pulled wheels ater 6 months found 2 brake assemblies soaked and 2 just starting to leak.Called Dexter and sent pictures they sent me 2 new assemblies and 4 new seals offered to have them installed.Trailer is about same age as yours.

 

[bighorn3370]

You will want to replace the brake shoes. Once grease and oil get on the linings, you can not get it out. Erine.

 

[westxsrt10]

Our RV had two greasy backing plates first time I pulled the drums off for inspection too. I have always rotated the wheels while greasing at the zerk fitting. I replaced the seals and have a spare set ready to go.
Capt. How did you grease the inter/back bearing?

 

[westxsrt10]

You will want to replace the brake shoes. Once grease and oil get on the linings, you can not get it out. Erine.

I found that the whole brake assembly with new magnets, springs, backing plate, shoes and all was only $10 more than just the shoes. Easier to install all new assembly (4 ea. 1/2" bolts.)

 

[cookie]

Yeah, your not the only person that has seen this. As mentioned previously there are a few threads discussing the issue.
I had that happen with my Lippert axles, so Dexter is not the only one. I feel the problem is in the seals. Either they are really poor quality or they get dammaged when the drum is installed.
I know my problem was not that they were over greased. When I went to purge the grease out of the EZ Lube the only grease that came out was my grease. There previously was no grease applied through the EZ Lube.

Peace
Dave

 

[Bob&Patty]

You will need to replace the brake lining. It is by far cheaper and easier to replace the whole assembly than just to buy the brake lining. Otherwise you will not have working trailer brakes. As Dave said, I think that the person installing the drums when new....nick the seals on the hub threads and they will for sure leak when the drums and grease get hot.

 

[TeJay]

You are correct. This subject has been discussed before. My opinion has always been and it's based on 35 years of teaching and working on cars. Bearings do not have to be greased as often as the trailer manufacturers require. It is my belief that they recommend annual or 12,000 mile intervals based on boat trailers which are immersed in water periodically. Also some units don't get much usage over the years. They are moved from point A to B and set most of the time while others are moved much more often. So to cover themselves they recommend more frequent intervals than I think is necessary. That has opened up this can of worms. Many have adopted an easier way of lubricating the bearings with less work. Using a grease fitting with a hole drilled into the axle or the never lube system. This has created another problem of excessive lubrication. Some people think if one squirt is good 2,3, or more is better. Either of these systems may work well but you open yourself up to extra steps that may or may not be followed correctly. EXAMPLE: If you grease your own bearings using the zerk fitting do you raise the wheel off the ground and rotate the wheel slowly as the grease is pumped in??? It is warm enough so the grease will flow easily??? Have you switched lubricants and is the new one compatable with the old??? Was the original seal installed correctly so that grease is not leaking out and getting onto the linings???? There are lots of things that can go wrong when you add steps to the process.
All of this extra maintenance and lubrication is predicated on the belief that TT bearings need lubrication every year or every 12,000 miles. Front wheel bearings on trucks only require repacking about every 35,000 to 40,000 miles. Why are trailers different????
Here's my approach. Before we take out first trip I will replace all wheel bearings and seals with some better quality parts (non China brands). I don't believe their quality of steel and QC is up to some others. I've discussed this with others and will look for better parts when we get our new trailer. I will pack the bearings with either Mobil 1 or Amzoil synthetic bearing lub. Then correctly adjust the bearings (.002 to .003) side to side movement of tire. From the initial work I will inspect and repack bearings every 2-3 years.
Beyond the tires the next weakest link on the TT's are the bearings. I have read many horror stories concerning bearings burning up, loosing wheels, greased linings etc. within the first year after delivery. I know the units are towed from the factory to the dealers so they have to be set up reasonably well but then why the failure. I'm leaving nothing to chance. My unit will be inspected and all installation problems will be corrected before I leave town.
Just my opinion and I'm offering it to help others avoid these extra costs because of poor or excessive maintenance.
TeJay

 

[captchat]

Thanks everyone. Because of your input, I'm scheduled to take the RV in to the dealer on Wed. and have a look at them. We've got a lot of miles to get to the Gillette Rally and want everything working correctly.

 

[captchat]

Our RV had two greasy backing plates first time I pulled the drums off for inspection too. I have always rotated the wheels while greasing at the zerk fitting. I replaced the seals and have a spare set ready to go.
Capt. How did you grease the inter/back bearing?

The old fashion way I learned 50 years ago in aircraft school. Grease in the palm and force it through the race till it is packed.

 

[scotty]

The old fashion way I learned 50 years ago in aircraft school. Grease in the palm and force it through the race till it is packed.

Yep the only way I go. On my 6th Trailer and never had to repack anymore often then 3 to 4 years. I do pull the wheels and check them once a year, but have never had to repack very often.

 

[westxsrt10]

//heartlandowners.org/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by westxsrt10 //heartlandowners.org/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png
Our RV had two greasy backing plates first time I pulled the drums off for inspection too. I have always rotated the wheels while greasing at the zerk fitting. I replaced the seals and have a spare set ready to go.
Capt. How did you grease the inter/back bearing?

"The old fashion way I learned 50 years ago in aircraft school. Grease in the palm and force it through the race till it is packed."

How do you put it in your hand when it's pressed in the drum?

 

[scotty]

//heartlandowners.org/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by westxsrt10 //heartlandowners.org/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png
Our RV had two greasy backing plates first time I pulled the drums off for inspection too. I have always rotated the wheels while greasing at the zerk fitting. I replaced the seals and have a spare set ready to go.
Capt. How did you grease the inter/back bearing?

"The old fashion way I learned 50 years ago in aircraft school. Grease in the palm and force it through the race till it is packed."

How do you put it in your hand when it's pressed in the drum?

What he's referring to is the best and most effective method. Remove bearings and rear seal (best to replace rear seal with new seal), clean bearing using brake cleaner (I use spray cans), followed by washing bearing good with soap and water. Throughly dry bearing. go to the tools section of this forum, download the lippert axle manual. It has the description of how to properly pack a wheel bearing.

 

[captchat]

UPDATE:

We took photos of the brakes with all the grease on them and gave them to the dealer, which forwarded them to Dexter. We are happy to report that Dexter sent all new brakes to the dealer for us and we had them installed yesterday. Dealer said it would never have happened if we didn't have the good photos. We are six months past our first year warranty, but we do have an extended warranty. Don't know if that covered it or Dexter just took responsibility for the over-greased brakes from the factory. But anyway, we can start our trip to Gillette with brand new brakes. Let's see how well they grab now. Yay!

 

[danemayer]

Mike, we had our Dexter brake assemblies replaced last year and they barely worked coming out of the shop. Dexter's engineer had me drive around back roads for 50 miles using the brake controller on manual every mile to break in the shoes to the drums. They've worked great ever since.

 

[ChopperBill]

All four of mine were greasy. Never had brakes since we bought the trailer and I never greased it. We (indy trailer repairer) CLEANED the brakes and magnets along with the other components with aerosol brake cleaner. Set the controller to high and it will give you whip lash when you apply the pedal. Best brakes I have had on the last two Bighorns.