Grease gun/ grease recommendations

[Peter2516]

For EZ lube axle, what brand do you use for the wheel bearing grease.
Thank you -Peter

[Grit_dog]

Both camps here.
There is merit to “doing it wrong” and blowing out the seals.
There is merit to disassembly and inspection.
And there is nothing wrong with adding some grease thru an easy lube or bearing buddy IF you know what you’re doing and understand.

Grease? I’m not generally a “this oil, grease , lube is the best” fanboy but I typically use Lucas red n tacky for basically all applications. Bearings, u joints, front end parts etc.

Seems to last the longest. But anecdotal evidence only, I only grease our old commercial mowers once a year. They get used weekly for a couple hours from Apr to Oct. Just homeowner use keeping up 5 acres.
If those blade and spindle bearings survive then it’s good grease.

[bpounds]

Problem with that ^ theory is that there is a rubber boot built into the hub cover cap that expands to relieve any pressure. On hot runs I see those boots bulged outward and cold they are pulled inward.

[Vintage465]

My experience and thoughts. I figured I'd try the EZ lube as I can think of nothing much nicer than super easy wheel bearing greasing. Also figured most issues people has was 'cause they did it wrong. I did it right and got grease in my brakes. I think what happens is since the hub is full of grease when it gets hot, pressure builds in the hub and grease is forced past the seal. Say you only do week end camping....30 miles to the beach or hills. I think you could "Dexter" it all you want. I think for those of us who bomb down Hwy 40 in the heat of the summer day at 65 mph the likely hood of getting grease in your brakes is far greater. I will be manually greasing mine from now on as we do a fair amount of 8hr a day towing.

[Mr_Faster]

I was an RV service manager for many years. I may be a little old school but I prefer hand or injector packing verses pumping grease through a zerk fitting. I've seen to many hubs over filled with grease, seal blown out and bearings overheated. Just remember it's the path of least resistance. you may be pumping in grease but it might not be going where you want it to. That being said, some grease is better than no grease...lol

My recommendation to my customers is to pull the hub, clean and inspect the spindle, bearings, and brakes if equiped. replace anything that is suspect. If bearings are to be changed. I recommend using Timken or equivalent high quality REM polished bearings. Hand or injector pack the bearings with Daylube or Microlon wheel bearing grease. And ALWAYS replace the seal. Do this yearly. Kits available at negearpolish.com It makes a big difference.

[deltabravo]

MFL wrote:
As mentioned, a used trailer should be checked/packed soon after purchase.

I have two cargo trailers at the moment. The big one (8.5x20) was is a 2008 model year. I purchased in 2012. The guy I bought it from used it a LOT, for hauling race cars. I asked him if he'd ever repacked the bearings. He said he hadn't, but he pumped grease in the EZ Lube hub periodically.

When I pulled out of his driveway, I manually activated the brakes with my brake controller. I couldn't feel any braking. I kept cranking up the gain setting and ended up all the way at the highest setting where I barely felt any braking action. I knew at that moment there were issues with the brakes.

Once I had time to dig in to the brakes, I found all 4 had blown rear seals. It seems that the "path of least resistance" for the grease it to blow out the rear seal. The place on the axle where the grease exits the spindle when using the zerk, is a small hole partially covered by the inner bearing.

[MFL]

Lynnmor wrote:

trailer_newbe wrote:
I have 1,000 miles on my 2018 trailer with EZ lube Zirks. I think I’ll do it the old fashioned way the first time.

I will always service the brakes and bearings immediately with a new or used trailer. I have seen enough to not trust these things to luck.

Both good thoughts! On a new trailer, from my experience, of many types of new trailers, only one had what I considered to be a good grease pack. As mentioned, a used trailer should be checked/packed soon after purchase.

In either case, disassembly/cleaning, and then packing yourself, you'll know it is done right, and the exact grease used, especially if you plan to use the EZs in the future.

Jerry

[Huntindog]

Ride S40T wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

Peter2516 wrote:
For EZ lube axle, what brand do you use for the wheel bearing grease.
Thank you -Peter

Do not use a grease gun on your axles.
In order to use this zerk feature, and completely purge the old grease out (maybe) it would take almost 4 tubes of grease at each greasing.... And it would most likely get past the inner seals and onto the brakes.
That creates quite a mess... Just don't do it.

This is what I've read for a while...so I called Dexter and asked their tech dept. They said using the zerk is the preferred method for greasing the bearings each year.

I specifically asked them about grease getting past the rear seal. They had no concern as long as a hand pump is used.

Wonder why they recommend as the zerk as the primary method? It would be a liability for them if they recommended something that could be a safety hazard for their customers.

That said, there is no doubt the hand method provides more piece of mind and ensures all is well with the internals.

The printed manual states that annual disassembly and inspection is required maintainence. It is on page 84.

[Ride_S40T]

Huntindog wrote:

Peter2516 wrote:
For EZ lube axle, what brand do you use for the wheel bearing grease.
Thank you -Peter

Do not use a grease gun on your axles.
In order to use this zerk feature, and completely purge the old grease out (maybe) it would take almost 4 tubes of grease at each greasing.... And it would most likely get past the inner seals and onto the brakes.
That creates quite a mess... Just don't do it.

This is what I've read for a while...so I called Dexter and asked their tech dept. They said using the zerk is the preferred method for greasing the bearings each year.

I specifically asked them about grease getting past the rear seal. They had no concern as long as a hand pump is used.

Wonder why they recommend as the zerk as the primary method? It would be a liability for them if they recommended something that could be a safety hazard for their customers.

That said, there is no doubt the hand method provides more piece of mind and ensures all is well with the internals.

[trail-explorer]

trail-explorer wrote:
There's a video I need to find and post.

Here's on video

Here's another

[Lynnmor]

trailer_newbe wrote:
I have 1,000 miles on my 2018 trailer with EZ lube Zirks. I think I’ll do it the old fashioned way the first time.

I will always service the brakes and bearings immediately with a new or used trailer. I have seen enough to not trust these things to luck.

[JRscooby]

If I had a boat trailer I would pack my bearings by hand. Then I would fill the hub as well as I could by hand. (Grease in bucket is cheaper than tube). Then I would use the zerk to fill the hub. But I don't dunk the warm wheels/hubs in cold dirty water.

[dieseltruckdriv]

I am going to add my post in the "do it by hand" column.

I bought a new Arctic Fox, and I just knew that my 5er would be the one that they did correctly.

Well, Dexter sent me two new brakes. One for each side. It is a great system when it works, but there is a lot of times it doesn't. When the grease gets on your brake shoes, you don't get dependable braking any more. I didn't know it until I was coming down out of the Bighorns on US 14 on the east side (the steep one). I pulled over to let traffic pass, and I had one hub on each side that was cold.

I drove truck for 17 years, and have a lot of experience with mountain driving, so I check my tires, brakes and hubs at every stop. I believe in looking at all parts of my brake system regularly. Annually is enough for shoes and bearings in my opinion.

I spent a Saturday morning putting new backing plates with brakes on my 5er, instead of fishing. You can call me a scaredy cat, but I am not. I got bit, now I do it my way.

[trailer_newbe]

I have 1,000 miles on my 2018 trailer with EZ lube Zirks. I think I’ll do it the old fashioned way the first time.

[trail-explorer]

bpounds wrote:
Yes it will use a lot of grease the first time you do it, because the factory did not fill the voids in the hub. After the first time, it will take LESS grease than if you packed by hand. It shouldn't take more than 2 tubes the first time to do all 4 hubs. Buy 3 to be safe. Not a big expense.

There is absolutely ZERO reason to totally pack a wheel hub full of grease.

Even when following the instructions on proper EZ Lube technique, you still run the risk of blowing the grease past the inner seal once you jam the hub full of grease, then your brakes are shot.

I've seen it happen. There;s a video I need to find and post.

[ford_truck_guy]

Lynnmor wrote:

ScottG wrote:
there is no need to do them every year.

Except when using cheap, Chinese junk bearings from eTrailer and most other suppliers, then 8 months is too long.

That is 1 CRAPPY looking foreign bearing !