Greasing EZ Lube TT axles

fj12ryder wrote:

dougrainer wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

dougrainer wrote:
You have a lot of misconceptions about bearings.
1. They do not dry up. What happens is they heat up and the grease deteriorates from the roller surfaces.
2. You repack to force OUT the old worn grease and push in NEW grease
3. You need to repack bearings once a year.
4. Unless you have the new style Dexter bearing lube system, injecting grease thru an EZ lube does not adequately get to the roller bearing surfaces. You NEED to get rid of the old grease.
5. Inspecting (pulling) once a year and repacking is GOOD insurance from failure miles from home. Doug

A lot of those "misconceptions about bearings" are listed above.

"Need to repack bearings once a year"??!! Not gonna happen.

Please state what is wrong with my post. Doug

1. The grease doesn't deteriorate from the roller surfaces, grease won't stay on the rollers, because there simply isn't clearance to allow grease between the bearing surfaces. The oil suspended in the grease does most of the actual lubrication for the bearing surfaces. Provided you keep dirt and water out and avoid the high temps necessary to melt the grease, grease lasts a very, very long time.

2. You don't force out old grease with repacking. Done properly you clean out the old grease so you're regreasing a clean bearing.

3. That's just silly to do it every year. How often do you repack the bearings on your car/truck?

4. From the diagram it would appear that adding grease to the front zerk will adequately supply grease to both front and rear bearings. In many cases, too much grease can cause excessive heat buildup. However I cannot say that you're wrong because I've only had my toyhauler 5 years and haven't had the wheels apart to check.

5.You're correct, but whether it's really necessary is debatable. Probably pulling wheels apart to check things out is a good idea, but doing it every year? Not my idea of a good time so I'll give it a pass.

Sorry, I disagree with your response. GREASE does deteriorate. You ought to see the 1 year old Bearings and grease we replace due to Cheap Grease used by the axle builders. These bearings are replaced UNDER warranty after we send detailed pics as they will not replace just on our word alone. We also use a GOOD hi temp bearing grease. There are different grades of bearing grease and the Axle makers use the cheapest they can find. WE include a Warranty Forever with every NEW RV we sell. For towables you must every year, have the bearings/brakes inspected and repacked if necessary. We average at least 1 set of bearings a week thru this program. These are basically 1 year old Towables with less than 5000 miles on them, and the Bearings are damaged and the Grease is/was inadequate. Please read my lastb post on packing bearings. YES, you could clean them out and install new grease, but packing bearings CORRECTLY will push out the old grease and get NEW grease inside. IF you take time to watch the EZ lube or Dexter lube Video, it will show how done PROPERLY the old grease is pushed out and new grease installed. Great you have a 5 year old Trailer, and have never done the required Maintenance. YOU are the exception and it would be foolish for people to accept your way of maintaining their RV. I work on RV's every day and I see the result of failed bearing maintenance. Doug