Installing hubs on EZ-Lube for the first time.......

[Vintage465]

Has anyone installed a "dry" set of hubs on an EZ-lube axle? And when I say dry, I don't mean with dry bearings. I mean a hub that has freshly greased bearings, new seal, properly tightened with a cotter pin. Since I'm not certain about every aspect of these, I'm not sure about what the hub should be like on the way in. Should I pack the void in the center of the hub with grease? Does it need to be full so when the grease is pumped in from the front of the axle it pushes the grease to the outer bearing? What I've seen online so far isn't real helpful. I'm installing new EZ-lubes axles on my daughters horse trailer. Thinking I need a pile of grease.

Thanks

[Crabbypatty]

The EZ Lubes were really designed for boat trailers to give a pump or two to rid any water seepage but they have matriculated into rv's etc. New to me our Sunnybrook, I pulled the wheels and repacked the bearings. The hubs were full of grease and it took a roll of paper towels to clean them up. In speacking with my auto parts guy he said that youve always packed your bearings and they have been fine, so why fill the hubs with extra grease that can attract dirt etc?. Made sense to me. Im guessing that they have 2000 miles onthem thus far and I check them after each run. The hubs are as cool as the tires. Ill never pump grease into the ez lubes and may swap them out for plain dust caps. I also bought 4 Goodyear Marathon Endurance tires and they have been good for us so far.

Hope it helps Happy Trails

[Ralph_Cramden]

ScottG wrote:
Since your doing it right and packing them by hand,

So........... everyone who uses the EZ lube feature is doing it "wrong"?

Got it!

[Learjet]

Timken recommends the hub half full, they caution against filling it all the way because it will run hotter.

[fj12ryder]

If you've gone over all the sealing areas of the new parts, you should be fine using the EZ Lube fittings.

Now whether you really need to use them is another matter. Properly lubed bearings don't really need more grease added unless you're putting on huge yearly mileage. If you're putting on 15,000-20,000 miles per year you may need to add some grease after a couple years. Consider when was the last time you added grease to the wheel bearings in your car or truck.

[raroberts]

I agreed with Scottg. Don’t use the EZ part of the hub. It’s too easy to over or under grease. I know from experience.

[Vintage465]

When I got my Creek Side I was pretty skeptical about the EZ Lube set up. I put about 15000 miles on it and figured I better pack the wheels. But just for kicks, I pulled out the grease gun and gave it about 8 pumps............and just like the instructions said, grease started to come out from behind the nut and washer. I feel pretty confident the whole shebang is getting greased. Ultimately you answered my question.....hub must be full of grease.

Thanks

[ScottG]

Since your doing it right and packing them by hand, there's no need to fill the void. One voc. tech teacher I knew said the hub would run hotter if you did fill it.
Otherwise the hub and spindle are no different than those without EZ lubes.
If you plan on using the EZ's (I wouldn't...) then yes, the center has to be full before grease will travel though to the front bearings. Your right, it takes a ton of grease.