Grease question

js6343js6343 wrote:
Thanks all.

I think I will grease via ez lube every year. And not sweat the bearings. We will see how that goes......

Good call.

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, and I certainly can't argue with success. For those who might not understand the limitations of these systems in their various interations (and names) they all basically operate the same way to my understanding.

There is a hole drilled in the center of the spindle which allows grease to be pumped to the rear of the inner bearing in front of the seal. The theory being that as you grease, the new grease will dispace the old grease toward the outer bearing and exit out the center of the spindle. To a large degree, these systems work. Usually.

If you are only pumping a few pumps and calling it good, you are not purging much, if any, grease out through the outer bearing unless the entire hub void is filled with grease. And if you are, any dirt or swarf from the inner bearing is pushed out through the outer bearing, so you may be contaminating one good bearing with the grease from the other. If you pump too hard, you can force grease out the seal behind the inner bearing onto your brake surfaces, which is a huge no-no. So, if you pump, pump gently and keep the wheel spinning if you can.

Many here, including myself, do not depend on the operation of these greasing systems and opt for the hand method because it's hard to screw up when you can see the bearing and make sure it's properly greased and the nut is tightened optimally. From my experience using this system before going to hand greasing, each axle can take up to a full tube to fill before satisfactorily purging enough old grease to make the system marginally beneficial. And then you end up with a hub FULL of grease with no air space for the grease to go into when heat and expansion work their magic.

After three years of using the Lippert Superlube system on our trailer, I couldn't stand not knowing anymore and changed out my Chinese OEM bearings for Timkens. I will say most of the bearings showed acceptable wear, but two in particular were on their way out. They were pitted and flaking and would have likely failed that season at some point.

My system now is, since PA mandates yearly inspections which require pulling two axles down at random to check brakes and bearings, when they put them back together and send me on my way, I automatically recheck and regrease those two hubs, and grease the other two without tearing down by using the Superlube system in the inner bearing (judiciously!) and a grease needle carefully on the outer bearing. I have them pull the alternate two every year. This way I have confidence that my components are optimally maintained with the same grease, and inspected without having to do a full tear down every year. Hope this helps.

Thanks all.

I think I will grease via ez lube every year. And not sweat the bearings. We will see how that goes......

The great thing about EZ lube, your bearings will always have grease packed into the hub and your trailer brakes will never squeal. The grease will get past the rear seal and get onto the brake shoes. Last year I pulled the brake drum off to inspect and found grease had gotten on shoes. I had been using a hand pump grease gun and spun the wheels. I now only hand pack the bearings and use new seals every year. I did talk to the people at dexter axle. They said the ezlube was designed for boat trailers, (no brake shoes)to keep water out of hub. The RV industry has jumped on them as a selling point, but dexter recommends inspection once a year. If I am going to check every year I will hand pack, not use ezlube. I need the brakes to stop trailer.

I have the EZ lube, and mine is five years old now.
I jack them and lube them once a year, but have never inspected them.
I put about three thousand miles a year on them.
Each time I lube them I jack them and spin them and jack for slop. So far I have had no problems at all
At just about every gas stop, I check them for over heating, and have never had a problem

Jack l

I have EZ Lube Axles on my Outback. We full time in it.

I have kept track of every mile towed. So far, it has been almost eight years and 21,669 miles.

I have greased the bearings, once per year, following the instructions, and have had no trouble at all with the bearings.

You may have a different experience, but for reference, that has been mine.

On my 2007 Keystone Cougar, I checked the bearings for the first time at about one year. They were nearly dry! There was very little grease on the bearings, and the bearings and races were already scored with less than 1000 miles on the trailer. I replaced the bearings and grease seals, and properly packed them with grease. The second set of bearings lasted until I sold the trailer in March.

I always do an annual inspection of the bearings and brakes. Your best bet is to disassemble the hubs and visually inspect the bearings, brake linings and magnets. Don't rely on those EZ lube gadgets.

I just checked mine for the first time since buying about a year ago. 2009 in excellent shape. Brakes are good bearings are good. To grease you have to replace the inner grease seal, about $5 per wheel. For $6 a wheel more I got a full kit. All new bearings, races, and seals under $50. For an extra $25 I voted for KNOWING they are good.

I have Ultralube axles (same thing by ALKO) and I have greased them about every other year, I feel the wheels for heat regularly and have never taken them apart. It's been 8.5 years now. Pulling bearings apart annually is akin to the 3k oil change. Some makers will never give up the annual inspection due to liability reasons but there is no good reason to pull those apart every year IMO. I know they are greased, they have given no indication of a problem, and I don't intend to pull them apart until I have a good reason to, like rebuilding the brake system which is also working well. I don't put a bunch of miles on my TT each year and I have no reason to take them apart yet. If I were putting 10k on them every year I would do it more but I'm not putting more than 1-2k miles every year because I am blessed to have great camping spots all around.

I inspect once a year, regrease then. I believe my bearings are original and look fine. I don't have the EZ lube hubs.
I always thought it strange for the axle manufacturers to put the EZ lube hubs on, then want you to inspect the bearings once a year. Since you have to degrease to inspect, you have to grease em up to put back in. CYA, I guess.