Dexter EZ Lube ISSUE RESLOVED bad gun

[Colo_Native]

Well tried to lube my EZ Lube axle bearings and the grease would not come out so I removed the hubs and checked and the grease flows into the hub without the bearings there but will not come through with the hub on anybody have this happen or know what's happening.

RESLOVED bad grease gun from Harbor Freight

[Luke_Porter]

Likes to tow wrote:
To all of you still using the EZ Lube feature on your axle be aware of the issues with this system!! If you have been pumping away with your grease gun and nothing comes out there is the possibility that the rear seal has blown out and your are lubing your brake shoes and magnet assemblies. I highly recommend you pull your brake drums and inspect for grease on the brakes~!!! There are significant amounts of opinions on using the easy lube system but most experienced Rv'ers will only hand pack the bearings. Easy Lube is wonderful for boat trailers that get submerged in water but useless on any trailer with brake actuators operating on the highway. Do a search on this and other forums about this issue and you will find an overwhelming number of people have had major issues with grease on their brakes. Look at the Grand Design owners forum and see the issue with Lippert and the massive replacement of complete brake assemblies due to grease getting past the seal.

I agree with this guy. If you do fill the whole thing with grease and down the road you pull it off and clean out all of the grease---I doubt you will pump grease in again.

[Tvov]

Thanks for the update!

[Likes_to_tow]

RinconVTR wrote:

Likes to tow wrote:
To all of you still using the EZ Lube feature on your axle be aware of the issues with this system!! If you have been pumping away with your grease gun and nothing comes out there is the possibility that the rear seal has blown out and your are lubing your brake shoes and magnet assemblies. I highly recommend you pull your brake drums and inspect for grease on the brakes~!!! There are significant amounts of opinions on using the easy lube system but most experienced Rv'ers will only hand pack the bearings. Easy Lube is wonderful for boat trailers that get submerged in water but useless on any trailer with brake actuators operating on the highway. Do a search on this and other forums about this issue and you will find an overwhelming number of people have had major issues with grease on their brakes. Look at the Grand Design owners forum and see the issue with Lippert and the massive replacement of complete brake assemblies due to grease getting past the seal.

Uh, you may have read some posts on the GD forum but clearly not all of them because you're missing THE most important fact.

The problems with leaking axle seals from the OEM have ZERO...I state again...ZERO relation to the EZlube system.

The EZlube zerks are not touched at the factory!


Do a test the day you opt to repack your bearings manually. Before you pull the hubs, try to force grease into the hub via EZlube zerk as fast and hard as you can. Try to blow that seal. You wont.

It takes significant pressure to blow out an axle seal with a grease gun. And if it leaks any grease, well then it would leak (or is leaking) under normal use and its good you are replacing it!

I did not mean to place blame on the Grand Design problem with EZ Lube system. It was only to show what can happen when you get grease on your brakes, however that may happen. Grand Design/Lippert problem was caused by bad thin grease with low dropping point, bad seals or the process of assembly.......who knows for sure, they have claimed many theories.

I had the EZ lube system on my 2nd 5th wheel(Crossroads Cruiser) which I had purchased from an individual after he owned it two years. His statement to me was "I greased the bearings several times using a grease gun, never pulled the drums." My inspection, after realizing I had very little braking ability, was the brake clusters (shoes and magnets) were completely saturated with grease!!!

[garyp4951]

azdryheat wrote:
Frankly, I see no reason to fill up the hub with grease. Too easy to blow grease past the inner seal and contaminate the hub and brake linings. I too have the EZ lube axles but I don't pump in the grease. I grease the bearings, re-install them, and nothing more.

X2, I see no reason to put a tube of grease on two bearings except in marine use. You need to inspect your bearings, and races, and this can only be done by cleaning , and re packing.

[RinconVTR]

Likes to tow wrote:
To all of you still using the EZ Lube feature on your axle be aware of the issues with this system!! If you have been pumping away with your grease gun and nothing comes out there is the possibility that the rear seal has blown out and your are lubing your brake shoes and magnet assemblies. I highly recommend you pull your brake drums and inspect for grease on the brakes~!!! There are significant amounts of opinions on using the easy lube system but most experienced Rv'ers will only hand pack the bearings. Easy Lube is wonderful for boat trailers that get submerged in water but useless on any trailer with brake actuators operating on the highway. Do a search on this and other forums about this issue and you will find an overwhelming number of people have had major issues with grease on their brakes. Look at the Grand Design owners forum and see the issue with Lippert and the massive replacement of complete brake assemblies due to grease getting past the seal.

Uh, you may have read some posts on the GD forum but clearly not all of them because you're missing THE most important fact.

The problems with leaking axle seals from the OEM have ZERO...I state again...ZERO relation to the EZlube system.

The EZlube zerks are not touched at the factory!


Do a test the day you opt to repack your bearings manually. Before you pull the hubs, try to force grease into the hub via EZlube zerk as fast and hard as you can. Try to blow that seal. You wont.

It takes significant pressure to blow out an axle seal with a grease gun. And if it leaks any grease, well then it would leak (or is leaking) under normal use and its good you are replacing it!

[thomas201]

If you pack the bearings, pack the hollow hub, fill the hollow cavity on the rim and start pumping till you see the grease come out, all yourself. Then install the tire and rim I like the system. A few pumps and the grease starts moving. If it is new, or somebody else does it, who knows?

[Tvov]

Colo Native wrote:

MFL wrote:

Colo Native wrote:
It will not go in with the hub in place but if I take it off it will flow through the hole, but it doesn't fill the cavity with the bearings in place

Are you using too thick, not recommended grease? Are you raising the wheel slightly, and turning it a little as you pump grease? I needed 50 strokes of the lever before grease started to move through the front bearing, when starting with an empty hub.

Even a hand operated gun, will push the grease out at some point, even if it has to move through the seal onto the brakes.

A couple tips, put the grease gun in the sun a bit, before use. The grease flows through warm bearings better than cold.

Jerry

Done all of the above. Using approved grease, 5 minutes of pumping and nothing took hub off and no grease, but it comes through the holes in the axle spindle

So... you are not finding any fresh grease? Then it sounds like something is wrong with your grease gun. As previously said, sounds like the grease gun is not developing enough pressure to push the grease to where it is supposed to go. One simple check: is the grease gun top screwed on tightly? I've had what sounds like similar issues, and found that I had not screwed the grease gun back together tightly after putting in a new tube. The grease, which gets everywhere, was making it difficult to tighten the gun correctly.

Also, it is possible you have an air pocket in the tube of grease... but usually those work themselves out. Trying replacing the tube of grease with another one.

Having said that... you shouldn't need too much pressure to grease correctly, or grease seals can get blown out. If your grease gun is fine, then maybe something is blocking where the grease is supposed to go.

If you are already taking the hub off, you could manually grease the bearings.

I have EZlube bearings, and they've worked great with no brake issues.

[Likes_to_tow]

To all of you still using the EZ Lube feature on your axle be aware of the issues with this system!! If you have been pumping away with your grease gun and nothing comes out there is the possibility that the rear seal has blown out and your are lubing your brake shoes and magnet assemblies. I highly recommend you pull your brake drums and inspect for grease on the brakes~!!! There are significant amounts of opinions on using the easy lube system but most experienced Rv'ers will only hand pack the bearings. Easy Lube is wonderful for boat trailers that get submerged in water but useless on any trailer with brake actuators operating on the highway. Do a search on this and other forums about this issue and you will find an overwhelming number of people have had major issues with grease on their brakes. Look at the Grand Design owners forum and see the issue with Lippert and the massive replacement of complete brake assemblies due to grease getting past the seal.

[Cummins12V98]

I have EZ lube on my Motorcycle trailer and 5er. The system is great IMHO.

[azdryheat]

Frankly, I see no reason to fill up the hub with grease. Too easy to blow grease past the inner seal and contaminate the hub and brake linings. I too have the EZ lube axles but I don't pump in the grease. I grease the bearings, re-install them, and nothing more.

[MFL]

May have to try a different grease gun, sounds like yours is not building much pressure. The hole in spindle is between rear bearing and seal. It should still come through hole, but maybe no pressure to push through bearing. Never heard of this happening, but a faulty gun may be the cause.

Jerry

[RinconVTR]

My only thought its the axle seal is covering the port (there is typically only one exit port) where grease exits the axle. But if you are pumping and pumping...then where is the grease going? If the port were blocked, you would not be able to pump so freely. Try another grease gun?

[Colo_Native]

MFL wrote:

Colo Native wrote:
It will not go in with the hub in place but if I take it off it will flow through the hole, but it doesn't fill the cavity with the bearings in place

Are you using too thick, not recommended grease? Are you raising the wheel slightly, and turning it a little as you pump grease? I needed 50 strokes of the lever before grease started to move through the front bearing, when starting with an empty hub.

Even a hand operated gun, will push the grease out at some point, even if it has to move through the seal onto the brakes.

A couple tips, put the grease gun in the sun a bit, before use. The grease flows through warm bearings better than cold.

Jerry

Done all of the above. Using approved grease, 5 minutes of pumping and nothing took hub off and no grease, but it comes through the holes in the axle spindle

[MFL]

Colo Native wrote:
It will not go in with the hub in place but if I take it off it will flow through the hole, but it doesn't fill the cavity with the bearings in place

Are you using too thick, not recommended grease? Are you raising the wheel slightly, and turning it a little as you pump grease? I needed 50 strokes of the lever before grease started to move through the front bearing, when starting with an empty hub.

Even a hand operated gun, will push the grease out at some point, even if it has to move through the seal onto the brakes.

A couple tips, put the grease gun in the sun a bit, before use. The grease flows through warm bearings better than cold.

Jerry