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Cecilt's avatar
Cecilt
Explorer
Apr 26, 2016

Greasing EZ Lube TT axles

After having a bearing failure on my last camper when I had a shop replace and pack new bearings on my 3 year old TT I am a little skiddish about bearing failure. We sold that TT and are now in our 3rd season of using it. We have probably put 17k miles on the TT since purchased new in Sept 2013.

My axles are the EZ Lube. Keystone Outback. I had the TT inspected which is required in VA and they checked for looseness and if the wheels wobbled while they jacked up each tire off the ground. All was tight but they did not pull bearing caps(not required).

How many repack bearings regularly? Not sure why they would even dry up in a closed system of if folks just do this out of habit? My thinking is let them be. Sometimes messing around with things opens up problems down the road.

When my old one failed it was a bad job and I don't want to worry again that if I have them repacked that I won't have another failure due to poor workmanship. Should I just squirt a little grease in the fitting and call it a day? If so, what is best grease and should it just be a small squeeze of the grease gun. I know that too much grease will blow the seal and I don't want that to happen. tks
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Apr 26, 2016
    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
  • fla-gypsy's avatar
    fla-gypsy
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2016
    I have the Al-Ko Ultra-Lube axles (similar system) and I add grease according to the makers directions. I adjust the brakes annually and check for play. I have never taken apart my wheel bearings and I check the temperature frequently. I have had the trailer 11 years and never had a problem. I plan to dismantle the entire system soon and redo the brake system as they seem to have lost some performance. Annual repacking is akin to 3000 mile oil changes IMO.
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Apr 26, 2016
    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.
  • Jpatrickc's avatar
    Jpatrickc
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2016
    Every 2 years I pull the bearings and wash the grease off them so I can inspect the races and rollers. There is no way to see if a bearing is damaged and ready to fail unless all the old grease is removed. I did mine last September and found 3 of the 8 bearing showing signs of wear that would eventually cause failure. I replace the 3 bearings and repacked them by hand. I figure I am good for another 2 years.
    I have the EZ lube bearings but want to inspect the bearings.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Apr 26, 2016
    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
  • mbopp's avatar
    mbopp
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2016
    I'm half way through my 2-year clean & re-pack procedure even though I have the E-Z Lube axles. If you start mixing grease via E-Z Lube it may or may not be compatible with what's in the bearings from the factory.
    I hand pack the bearings then use the grease gun until the grease comes out the front bearing. Same grease.
  • 3oaks's avatar
    3oaks
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2016
    I remove each wheel and hub, inspect the brakes, including linings, magnets, wiring and drums. Then, I remove the grease seals, clean and inspect the bearings and repack the bearings with new grease. I follow this up with new double lip grease seals and then install the hub with the proper bearing pre-load. When it's all installed, I finish off with a brake adjustment.
    Now that's just what I do every two years. The brake adjustment, I do once a year at the start of our camping season. We put 4-6 thousand miles on our camper annually.
  • TucsonJim's avatar
    TucsonJim
    Explorer II
    Apr 26, 2016
    I put about 7-10K miles on my FW every year. Before we head out on our summer journey, I remove each wheel and hub, inspect the brakes, including linings, magnets, wiring and drums. Then, I remove the grease seals, clean and inspect the bearings and repack the bearings with new grease. I follow this up with new double lip grease seals and then install the hub with the proper bearing pre-load. When it's all installed, I finish off with a brake adjustment.

    There is NO way to understand what is physically going on behind the drum unless you (or your mechanic) physically inspect it. Yes, you can inject grease into the hub with the EZ lube, but that is a short cut I refuse to take. I want to know the condition of the critical components that are inside.

    Jim
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    Apr 26, 2016
    You are using logical thinking, and this is one time where that is a great idea.
    Truth known, there are a lot more bearing failures from improper installation than from lack of packing them now and then. You right, just a little shot of grease every 6 months-to one year, they have a good chance of lasting forever.
    Now, lets hear of all the seals popping out, and grease getting all over the brakes !!
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Apr 26, 2016
    Cecilt wrote:
    ..........
    Should I just squirt a little grease in the fitting and call it a day? If so, what is best grease and should it just be a small squeeze of the grease gun. I know that too much grease will blow the seal and I don't want that to happen. tks

    A squirt or two does nothing for correctly greasing the bearings in the EZ Lube axle. Either take it apart and grease the bearings by hand. Or follow Dexter instructions and pump enough grease into the fitting to push all the old grease out the front, replacing it with new grease. That takes a lot of grease. Too much grease does not blow out the seal. Improperly adding the grease may blow out the seal though.

    Google Dexter EZ Lube and you will find information on just how that system works, and instructions and videos on how to do it properly.

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