E-Z Lube Axles

I know this thread is about the E-Z Lube system. My only experience is with a similar product on AL-KO axles, which has since been bought out by Dexter. Northwood Manufacturing has been using them and our '13 trailer along with many others had brakes covered with grease from seal failures. Myself and many others never added grease via the zerk and Northwood claim the axle and hubs were assembled and greased at the AL-KO plant next to their factory. I could tell I had lost some breaking power and decided to do a complete tear down seal replacement and hand pack earlier this year with less than 7,500 miles on our trailer. 3 of the 4 wheels had seal failures with brakes covered in grease. AL-KO may had some bad installers at their factory we will never know. But I picked our trailer up 5 miles down the road from the factory and I know I never added grease. Maybe they used bad seals. But for what it is worth I plan to manually inspect my wheels myself every 2 years and do a repack myself.

Good luck to all of you, a bearing failure on the road would be no fun.

CKNSLS wrote:

peirek wrote:
So interesting answer on the Dexter FAQ site. Take it for what it is worth.

E-Z LUBE - What is the E-Z Lube option?
The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional.

Many of us are under the opinion the 12 months-12,000 miles is a CYA statement. Especially under a low use situation.

I would concur with the CYA. The interesting point, in my opinion, is the statement the E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application. No where else have I heard this.

peirek wrote:
So interesting answer on the Dexter FAQ site. Take it for what it is worth.

E-Z LUBE - What is the E-Z Lube option?
The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional.

Many of us are under the opinion the 12 months-12,000 miles is a CYA statement. Especially under a low use situation.

So interesting answer on the Dexter FAQ site. Take it for what it is worth.

E-Z LUBE - What is the E-Z Lube option?
The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional.

I have to admit that i did learn something out of all of this.

Beware, there are hand pack police lurking out there. :W

Puddles wrote:

Ron3rd wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
You aren't missing anything Ron3rd, like I said on page one, the EZ-Lubes save me time and money. Some get it, some don't.

Not calling anybody out, but all I see from the diagram on the system is a narrow hole in the center where grease flows, I don't see any hub to fill with grease. Maybe there are different types and folks confuse the two. The instructions that I got from Dexter are like the video but I have not touched the hubs yet to see how it works.

You need to look closer... the grease comes out between the back bearing and the grease seal. Grease must travel thru the back bearing, fill up the hub center and then go thru the front bearing to lubricate it... all without blowing the grease seal. Personal experience... seal failure and lubing the brakes makes me a forever hand pack guy. :)

Ditto for me on the seal failure. Full wheel pull for inspection and hand packing this year. After lubing via zerks the past two years, 3 of 4 (2 really bad) brake assemblies were very well greased....... Was it operator error? Can't say for sure but hand pumping and wheel rotation was executed. BUT, the bearings were in great shape! Back to hand packing for me. And yes they were Dexter double seals.

I think it might be critical to pump the grease when the wheels and temps outside are warm to allow the new grease to flow a little better. Think about how much pressure is used to push the grease forward to the outer bearing and NOT past the seals which are operating upon friction to achieve a positive seal.

bevandgwen wrote:
I have a 30 Ft Jayco Eagle Superlight27.5 RKS, 2008, with 3500 lb axles replaced after two years due to failure of the axles ( bending as they are underrated ). Just had the 5000 lb new axles checked and right side of the two EZ-Lube axles had grease all through the brake backing plates. $700 job to replace parts. I have used the same RV dealer for all trailer work since new. I believe they blew the seals by not rotating while greasing, or using a power greaser rather than a hand gun, or didn't know how they had to be greased. I will never buy a trailer with EZ Lube. Better to go standard method and have them checked. Not impressed with Jayco after $10,000 warranty work on a $30,000 fifth wheel.

Not impressed with Jayco or Dexter? I wonder how many 5er makers out there that don't use Dexter axles.

SteveB wrote:
$700 for what? I think you got ripped off. All new backing plates with shoes and magnets are $200 USD for all 4. New seals are $10 USD all 4. Prices from Etrailer.com where I purchased all my parts a couple of months ago. Only a few cans of brake clean are needed to clean the drum. I know things are a bit more expensive in Canada but that's way high. You can treat EZ-Lube axles just like standard axles. Don't let anyone pump grease into them. I think its a colossal waste of grease anyway because you have to fill up the entire cavity between the bearings. Here's to hoping you have better luck in the future with your camper. Problems like that are NO FUN especially when you expect someone to be doing a proper job.

There is such a thing as labor costs if you don't do it yourself. Also, dealers mark up parts as well. It would be interesting to see an invoice.

$700 for what? I think you got ripped off. All new backing plates with shoes and magnets are $200 USD for all 4. New seals are $10 USD all 4. Prices from Etrailer.com where I purchased all my parts a couple of months ago. Only a few cans of brake clean are needed to clean the drum. I know things are a bit more expensive in Canada but that's way high. You can treat EZ-Lube axles just like standard axles. Don't let anyone pump grease into them. I think its a colossal waste of grease anyway because you have to fill up the entire cavity between the bearings. Here's to hoping you have better luck in the future with your camper. Problems like that are NO FUN especially when you expect someone to be doing a proper job.

I have a 30 Ft Jayco Eagle Superlight27.5 RKS, 2008, with 3500 lb axles replaced after two years due to failure of the axles ( bending as they are underrated ). Just had the 5000 lb new axles checked and right side of the two EZ-Lube axles had grease all through the brake backing plates. $700 job to replace parts. I have used the same RV dealer for all trailer work since new. I believe they blew the seals by not rotating while greasing, or using a power greaser rather than a hand gun, or didn't know how they had to be greased. I will never buy a trailer with EZ Lube. Better to go standard method and have them checked. Not impressed with Jayco after $10,000 warranty work on a $30,000 fifth wheel.