How much grease for wheel bearings?

[IT_Burnout]

I have run into this problem more then once over the years with boat and camping trailers. Over greasing zerk fitting on wheels and pushing grease through the seals and getting grease into brakes.

I purchase wheel bearing grease in tubes for my grease gun and I am just putting in a couple pumps in maybe every 1000 miles.

Wondering how much and how often is the right amount for greasing wheel bearings? Am I putting in to little or to much? Wondering what others are doing to keep things greased up good with out over doing it.

Thanks in advance for your input.
Bob

[Huntindog]

Another EZ lube fail

Sadly, a search will turn up MANY such cases.

[Charlie_D_]

See the post by DR Quick titled "grease everywhere" in this same "Tech Issues"

[BB_TX]

Huntindog wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
My only question is this, have you honestly actually personally used the EZlube system?

I own one. I will not use it.

As I thought. Thanks.

[fj12ryder]

I have and it worked without fault.

[Huntindog]

BB_TX wrote:
My only question is this, have you honestly actually personally used the EZlube system?

I own one. I will not use it.

[BB_TX]

My only question is this, have you honestly actually personally used the EZlube system?

[Huntindog]

BB_TX wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

BB_TX wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
If you have the EZ Lube hubs, the zerk is there to purge the bearings and hub of old grease and replace it with new grease. BUT. You must do it correctly. And that means using a hand pump and pumping the grease very slowly while continuously turning the wheel. The grease is ported behind the inner bearing, then flows thru that bearing as it is turning, thru the hub, thru the outer bearing, and out the front of the hub around the zerk. That pushes all the old grease out. When you see new grease coming out the front you know all the old grease has been replaced. If you pump too hard or don't turn the wheel the pressure may push grease past the seal.

A pump or two does nothing toward getting new grease to the outer bearing. It takes a lot of grease to do it correctly.

Google ezlube for videos and how-to information if that is what you have.

Not quite correct.

Here is the facts on how this works.

The zerk feeds a hole that will attempt to grease the inner bearing. How well this will work depends on the condition of the seal/hub interface, and the skill of the person doing it.
He needs to slowly turn the wheel while steadyling pumping the grease... It is working blind as you cannot see what is really going on in there. Is the fresh grease getting evenly distributed in the bearing? Or are spots being missed/skipped? Is the seal really in good shape? or is grease seeping past it onto the brakes?
One simply cannot be sure. All seals age and leak at some point. Sometimes a brand new seal is nicked during installation... Without superman vision, one cannot know.

But the potential problems don't stop there. In order to grease the outer bearing, the grease must travel thru the inner bearing, and the hub cavity to the inside of the outer bearing. This takes a considerable amount of grease... Several tubes each time for a dual axle TT... That's right EACH TIME... The video on Dexters site is misleading. The dirty grease that they show exiting the hub is only from the outer bearing. The dirty grease from the larger inner bearing is still in there some where.... Some of it may have even made it to the inside of the outer bearing!!
Without xray vision, one cannot know exactly where it is... So one must keep pumping and pumping and pumping,, until a second section of dirty grease emerges. Even then one cannot know if all the dirty grease is purged. It is a long trip for the grease, and it probably will not travel evenly around the hub..
With all of the pumping that must be done, a compromised seal will likely fail greasing the brakes... But hey, I hear that well greased brakes never wear out.:B

So you see it is not as simple as the marketing makes it out to be.

Now knowing all of the facts, if one still wants to use this "feature" I wish them well.

Interesting description of the process. You say without xray vision you cannot see what is going on. And yet you are describing an exact grease flow thru the bearings and hub that can't be seen. Is that info from some legitimate research study on the system? Or is this your interpretation of the process? Would like to see a link to a research study if available.

Not at all. Watch the Dexter video. It shows precisely what I am describing. But notice that it says you are done when the dirty grease turns clean... But you likely are not done then. The dirty grease they show is from the outer bearing. The dirty grease from the inner bearing is still in there. The unkown is just where it is. Without Xray vision, no one can say. It could be in the cavity somewhere, or it may have reached the outer bearing... In which case the outer bearing would have old dirty grease in it.. Not to mention there is no way to see if the inner seal held perfectly, or if grease seeped past it where it will end up on the brakes....

Lots of reports of this happening.

Bottom line is it makes for a great marketing pitch, but actual performance is not a certainty.

Use it at your own risk.

And I will disagree one last time. The new grease is ported behind the inner bearing. The only way it gets to the cavity of the hub is thru that inner bearing. That means the first thing it does is push the old grease out of that bearing replacing it with new grease. And all the new grease following that continues to flow thru that bearing as it pushes all the old grease in the hub cavity out thru the outer bearing and the front of the hub. After all the old grease is pushed out the front of the hub, new grease starts to come out, as can be determined by a definite change in color. And that new grease is now passing thru the outer bearing, meaning the outer bearing ( like the inner bearing) is now filled with new grease.

Been there, done that.

Your turn. You get last word.

You are not understanding correctly.

In a perfect scenario, you start out with a brand new hub/bearings that completely filled with grease. As the miles add up. the grease in the bearings becomes worn, dirty. A slight amount from wear, but mostly from the inner and outer seals allowing some contaminents to enter.

The grease between the bearings stays pretty much clean. (I know this from years of repacking brearings. I always coat the spindle with grease just as a rust preventative, and it is always clean when I do it again) Along you come with a grease gun. The grease you pump in DOES indeed push out the dirty grease from the inner bearing (assuming all goes well with your technique, and the inner seal holds up). This new grease pushes the old inner bearing grease towards the outer bearing and it's dirty grease. That grease exits followed by some clean grease that was in the middle of the hub... You call it done, as the Dexter video does.... But the dirty grease from the inner bearing is STILL in there somewhere. It could be in the middle, or it could have made it into the outer bearing, and just hasn't exited yet. There is no way to know for sure just where it is, and if it really all moved along the hub at the same rate..
In a perfect scenario, you would look for TWO areas of dirty grease to exit.... But this is not a perfect situation. You will be hard pressed to maintain even pumping for as long as it will take, and there may be air gaps in the hub cavity as well. So the inner bearing grease stands a really good chance of not completely exiting, even if you do it perfectly.
Also, it is highly unlikely that it came from the factory with the hubs completely filled with grease. Lots of reports on this. And most report needing 3.5-4 tubes to completely fill the hubs on a dual axle TT. That means you would need to use that much grease EVERYTIME for a complete grease change....

Then there is the ever present danger of a seal failure allowing the grease to coat the brakes.
You can NEVER be sure that it did not occur. You find out when the brakes stop working.-

[crcr]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
For peace of mind, hand pack the bearings.

x2 ... I never ever use those zerks on the hubs, personally, I won't take the risk of pushing grease into the brakes, which of course, ruins all your brake pads.

[Lynnmor]

Huntindog is correct, you would need a complete exchange of grease, not just an observation of fresh grease coming out. Even after pumping tubes of grease in, there is no way to know that there may be some old remaining.

I simply clean and hand pack at each brake inspection. To call a hole drilled in an axle with a zerk stuck in it a system is just advertising hype.

[BB_TX]

Huntindog wrote:

BB_TX wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
If you have the EZ Lube hubs, the zerk is there to purge the bearings and hub of old grease and replace it with new grease. BUT. You must do it correctly. And that means using a hand pump and pumping the grease very slowly while continuously turning the wheel. The grease is ported behind the inner bearing, then flows thru that bearing as it is turning, thru the hub, thru the outer bearing, and out the front of the hub around the zerk. That pushes all the old grease out. When you see new grease coming out the front you know all the old grease has been replaced. If you pump too hard or don't turn the wheel the pressure may push grease past the seal.

A pump or two does nothing toward getting new grease to the outer bearing. It takes a lot of grease to do it correctly.

Google ezlube for videos and how-to information if that is what you have.

Not quite correct.

Here is the facts on how this works.

The zerk feeds a hole that will attempt to grease the inner bearing. How well this will work depends on the condition of the seal/hub interface, and the skill of the person doing it.
He needs to slowly turn the wheel while steadyling pumping the grease... It is working blind as you cannot see what is really going on in there. Is the fresh grease getting evenly distributed in the bearing? Or are spots being missed/skipped? Is the seal really in good shape? or is grease seeping past it onto the brakes?
One simply cannot be sure. All seals age and leak at some point. Sometimes a brand new seal is nicked during installation... Without superman vision, one cannot know.

But the potential problems don't stop there. In order to grease the outer bearing, the grease must travel thru the inner bearing, and the hub cavity to the inside of the outer bearing. This takes a considerable amount of grease... Several tubes each time for a dual axle TT... That's right EACH TIME... The video on Dexters site is misleading. The dirty grease that they show exiting the hub is only from the outer bearing. The dirty grease from the larger inner bearing is still in there some where.... Some of it may have even made it to the inside of the outer bearing!!
Without xray vision, one cannot know exactly where it is... So one must keep pumping and pumping and pumping,, until a second section of dirty grease emerges. Even then one cannot know if all the dirty grease is purged. It is a long trip for the grease, and it probably will not travel evenly around the hub..
With all of the pumping that must be done, a compromised seal will likely fail greasing the brakes... But hey, I hear that well greased brakes never wear out.:B

So you see it is not as simple as the marketing makes it out to be.

Now knowing all of the facts, if one still wants to use this "feature" I wish them well.

Interesting description of the process. You say without xray vision you cannot see what is going on. And yet you are describing an exact grease flow thru the bearings and hub that can't be seen. Is that info from some legitimate research study on the system? Or is this your interpretation of the process? Would like to see a link to a research study if available.

Not at all. Watch the Dexter video. It shows precisely what I am describing. But notice that it says you are done when the dirty grease turns clean... But you likely are not done then. The dirty grease they show is from the outer bearing. The dirty grease from the inner bearing is still in there. The unkown is just where it is. Without Xray vision, no one can say. It could be in the cavity somewhere, or it may have reached the outer bearing... In which case the outer bearing would have old dirty grease in it.. Not to mention there is no way to see if the inner seal held perfectly, or if grease seeped past it where it will end up on the brakes....

Lots of reports of this happening.

Bottom line is it makes for a great marketing pitch, but actual performance is not a certainty.

Use it at your own risk.

And I will disagree one last time. The new grease is ported behind the inner bearing. The only way it gets to the cavity of the hub is thru that inner bearing. That means the first thing it does is push the old grease out of that bearing replacing it with new grease. And all the new grease following that continues to flow thru that bearing as it pushes all the old grease in the hub cavity out thru the outer bearing and the front of the hub. After all the old grease is pushed out the front of the hub, new grease starts to come out, as can be determined by a definite change in color. And that new grease is now passing thru the outer bearing, meaning the outer bearing ( like the inner bearing) is now filled with new grease.

Been there, done that.

Your turn. You get last word.

[Charlie_D_]

BB_TX wrote:

Mandalay Parr wrote:
Over greasing a bearing will make run hot.
Best to fill the bearing 1/3 full.

EZ Lube Hubs (and bearings) are packed completely full of grease and do not run hot, even in temps well over 100 degrees. Have run at 65-70 for hours in temps of 102-105 and hubs are warm to the touch.

Neither of mine were. If they had been I would have removed all the grease and hand packed. A cartridge or 16 oz. tub of grease used correctly will last a lifetime.

[Dusty_R]

The E-Z lub bearing dust covers game out for boat trailers. Before that all wheel bearing were just packed which leaves a lot of air space in the hub.
Many years ago my father in law bought a new boat and trailer, 16' 100 hp outboard. Every time the family would go boating, mostly while camping, he would never launch the boat until they had been at the lake for a couple of hours. He always wanted the wheel bearings on the boat trailer to cool down before backing it into the water at the boat launch.
As time went on and family grew up and left home, wife and I bought that boat and trailer. One of the first things I did was to put E-Z lub type dust covers on trailer hubs. No more waiting for the bearings to cool down before launching. That is what those type bearing dust covers were made for.

Dusty

[coolbreeze01]

For peace of mind, hand pack the bearings.

[Huntindog]

BB_TX wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

BB_TX wrote:
If you have the EZ Lube hubs, the zerk is there to purge the bearings and hub of old grease and replace it with new grease. BUT. You must do it correctly. And that means using a hand pump and pumping the grease very slowly while continuously turning the wheel. The grease is ported behind the inner bearing, then flows thru that bearing as it is turning, thru the hub, thru the outer bearing, and out the front of the hub around the zerk. That pushes all the old grease out. When you see new grease coming out the front you know all the old grease has been replaced. If you pump too hard or don't turn the wheel the pressure may push grease past the seal.

A pump or two does nothing toward getting new grease to the outer bearing. It takes a lot of grease to do it correctly.

Google ezlube for videos and how-to information if that is what you have.

Not quite correct.

Here is the facts on how this works.

The zerk feeds a hole that will attempt to grease the inner bearing. How well this will work depends on the condition of the seal/hub interface, and the skill of the person doing it.
He needs to slowly turn the wheel while steadyling pumping the grease... It is working blind as you cannot see what is really going on in there. Is the fresh grease getting evenly distributed in the bearing? Or are spots being missed/skipped? Is the seal really in good shape? or is grease seeping past it onto the brakes?
One simply cannot be sure. All seals age and leak at some point. Sometimes a brand new seal is nicked during installation... Without superman vision, one cannot know.

But the potential problems don't stop there. In order to grease the outer bearing, the grease must travel thru the inner bearing, and the hub cavity to the inside of the outer bearing. This takes a considerable amount of grease... Several tubes each time for a dual axle TT... That's right EACH TIME... The video on Dexters site is misleading. The dirty grease that they show exiting the hub is only from the outer bearing. The dirty grease from the larger inner bearing is still in there some where.... Some of it may have even made it to the inside of the outer bearing!!
Without xray vision, one cannot know exactly where it is... So one must keep pumping and pumping and pumping,, until a second section of dirty grease emerges. Even then one cannot know if all the dirty grease is purged. It is a long trip for the grease, and it probably will not travel evenly around the hub..
With all of the pumping that must be done, a compromised seal will likely fail greasing the brakes... But hey, I hear that well greased brakes never wear out.:B

So you see it is not as simple as the marketing makes it out to be.

Now knowing all of the facts, if one still wants to use this "feature" I wish them well.

Interesting description of the process. You say without xray vision you cannot see what is going on. And yet you are describing an exact grease flow thru the bearings and hub that can't be seen. Is that info from some legitimate research study on the system? Or is this your interpretation of the process? Would like to see a link to a research study if available.

Not at all. Watch the Dexter video. It shows precisely what I am describing. But notice that it says you are done when the dirty grease turns clean... But you likely are not done then. The dirty grease they show is from the outer bearing. The dirty grease from the inner bearing is still in there. The unkown is just where it is. Without Xray vision, no one can say. It could be in the cavity somewhere, or it may have reached the outer bearing... In which case the outer bearing would have old dirty grease in it.. Not to mention there is no way to see if the inner seal held perfectly, or if grease seeped past it where it will end up on the brakes....

Lots of reports of this happening.

Bottom line is it makes for a great marketing pitch, but actual performance is not a certainty.

Use it at your own risk.