Dexter EZ lube wheel bearings

[shovelhead86]

I have read the Dexter manual about lubing their ez lube system and it says that the old grease is supposed to come out of a port somewhere. I pumped in 3/4 tube of rease and don't see any yet. Any help or should i just pull the drum and do it that way. this is a new rig and I am told that the factory does not put much grease in.

[K0LCB]

Originally Posted by shovelhead86

I have read the Dexter manual about lubing their ez lube system and it says that the old grease is supposed to come out of a port somewhere. I pumped in 3/4 tube of rease and don't see any yet. Any help or should i just pull the drum and do it that way. this is a new rig and I am told that the factory does not put much grease in.

I believe if you fill the hub with grease you will have too much grease and run a chance of blowing a grease seal, greasing your brakes. JMHO

[WaltBennett]

Originally Posted by K0LCB

I believe if you fill the hub with grease you will have too much grease and run a chance of blowing a grease seal, greasing your brakes. JMHO

IF you were rotating your wheel, grease should have been coming back out around where you were pumping it in. If you weren't rotating your wheel, you may have blown a seal.

On the other hand, there's been reports of not enough grease in brand new hubs. First time I greased ours I used up about 3/4 of a tube to get clean grease coming back out. Now I only use about 1/4 to 1/2 a tube.

[Azstuds]

Will disc brakes be affected by ez lube grease procedure?

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by Azstuds

Will disc brakes be affected by ez lube grease procedure?

Yes. If the seal is breached by grease, it could contaminate the pads

[prndl]

Originally Posted by Dave W

Yes. If the seal is breached by grease, it could contaminate the pads

But you will be able to SEE the seal and if any grease has slipped past.

I grease mine with a pneumatic gun at 60psi with a couple of pulses at a time while turning the wheel and have no problems.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by prndl

But you will be able to SEE the seal and if any grease has slipped past.

I grease mine with a pneumatic gun at 60psi with a couple of pulses at a time while turning the wheel and have no problems.

Yes, true but that's NOT what the poster asked.

[prndl]

The old grease is supposed to come out around the grease nipple when you remove the rubber cap. If you put in 3/4 tube and have nothing to show for it you probably have grease in your brake drum now. Have you been turning the wheel while putting in the grease?

[BB_TX]

Here is a good video to help understand the EZ Lube. The grease will come out around the tip of your grease gun. If the factory did not fill the hub it could take 3/4 tube before grease starts coming out. Wheel should be turning constantly while you pump.

http://www.dexteraxle.com/resources/...-z-lube-system

[dieselguy]

Ya'll know my opinion of the "not so EZ lube", but if ya really want to put your faith in it ... so be it. Yes, I know a handful of you on the MOC swear by it, but the majority of users swear at it. Ask any RV tech. Two questions for those of you that swear by the EZ lube ...
question #1 ... if it's such a whizz bang deal, why does Dexter not fill the cavity to start with at their factory? Do they not have faith in their own product?
#2 ... why is it a good idea to push the contaminated used grease out of the rear bearing, mix it with grease in the hub between the bearings, then pump that mix on in to the front bearing?
shovelhead86 ... just in this instance, I'd pull the wheel and check for grease in the drum area. It takes the patience of Jobe, a lot of turning the tire, and preferably warm weather to make this work right. 3/4 of a tube is quite a bit of grease in a small cavity that the spindle takes up most of the room.

[rohrmann]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

Ya'll know my opinion of the "not so EZ lube", but if ya really want to put your faith in it ... so be it. Yes, I know a handful of you on the MOC swear by it, but the majority of users swear at it. Ask any RV tech. Two questions for those of you that swear by the EZ lube ...
question #1 ... if it's such a whizz bang deal, why does Dexter not fill the cavity to start with at their factory? Do they not have faith in their own product?
#2 ... why is it a good idea to push the contaminated used grease out of the rear bearing, mix it with grease in the hub between the bearings, then pump that mix on in to the front bearing?
shovelhead86 ... just in this instance, I'd pull the wheel and check for grease in the drum area. It takes the patience of Jobe, a lot of turning the tire, and preferably warm weather to make this work right. 3/4 of a tube is quite a bit of grease in a small cavity that the spindle takes up most of the room.

And just think, if you like this method of greasing the bearings, in order to do it again the next time, you will have to pump at least that much grease again to push the old grease completely through the hub, past the outer bearing, until the new grease has fully replaced the old grease. All this is assuming the seals haven't failed, and you are confident that the brakes are good. The time it takes to jack up the wheels and spin them while pumping grease could have easily been spent greasing the bearings the old fashioned way, inspecting the brakes and installing new seals, and having the satisfaction knowing you have safe brakes and well greased and adjusted bearings.

[BB_TX]

You know, a lot of those who “swear at them”, when pushed, admit they never actually tried them.

[bseebeck]

It took me a tube per axle. Seemed to work like the video.

[dieselguy]

Several of the owners that "swear it them" (EZ lube hubs) are the ones I've talked to during a visit to a dealership. They are pretty PO'd about the bill for new brakes. No answers to my questions yet ... Plus I have a 3rd question ... how long does it take for you to jack up 4 separate wheels, spin, and get your greasing done to your satisfaction?

[rohrmann]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

Several of the owners that "swear it them" (EZ lube hubs) are the ones I've talked to during a visit to a dealership. They are pretty PO'd about the bill for new brakes. No answers to my questions yet ... Plus I have a 3rd question ... how long does it take for you to jack up 4 separate wheels, spin, and get your greasing done to your satisfaction?

We have the 6 point hydraulic leveling system, so it was only a simple push of a button to get the rig off the ground. Our rig was about 6 months old, and we had about 6,000 miles on it, so, not knowing any different, I proceeded to lube the bearings, following the instructions in the Dexter manual to the letter, and yes, it took almost a full tube for each position. Maybe another six months later, decided to check the brakes, as they just didn't seem to be working very well. When I removed the drums, two were totally greased and one was partly greased, with only one dry. It cost about $300 for new backing plate brake assemblies, another $100 to have the drums turned, several 100 mile round trips getting parts and getting the drums turned, plus other minor expenses to complete the job. Well over $500 to do the job, not counting my labor. I decided right then that I could repack the bearings annually for well over the next ten years for less than that one job cost me, and would not have marginal brakes due to grease contamination. I call the E-Z-Lube system the E-Z-Lube brake greasing system, because I have had this experience with it. It only takes a pound container of the best grease, four new seals, some solvent and rags and maybe a couple hours to do the actual work after getting the wheels off, then some time for clean-up and putting things away.

[Dave W]

I do it the old fashioned way and have since --- well as long as I've owned a towed trailer.

There are a couple reasons, well actually more. The first is that it takes at least a full tube of four buck/tube grease to lube those bearing and fill the hub initially. Then if you really want to do it right, you still need to pump at least a half tube of grease back in there every time you get the urge. That discolored grease that you see oozing around the spindle nut washer (yes, the washer, not the Zerk) is only from that outer bearing. You can only guess where that cruddy stuff from the inner bearing goes. Yep, it mixes with the new and helps keep that hub filled plus adds a bit of unsprung weight.

Then there is that seal. It really is not a very good part and the land that it rides on plus the land behind it are pretty small for what they need to do to prevent fouling the brake shoes and magnet surfaces. Take a look at the attached photo. This is a brand new spindle on a 6K axle. Larger are virtually identical and you will see the seal surfaces - the last one before the forging flaw ith the grease hole just in front of that surface. Not noch height to restain a seal - lesss ten .0625 (1/16").

Repacking wheel bearings (and inspecting brakes) is NOT a nice clean project. It does take some time and can be expensive if you are not a DIYer - but still better then sitting along an interstate in West Overshoe on a Saturday evening with a smoking hub.

Your choice on how you want to lube bearings. But as always, the above is only my opinion though based on my many yeras and many miles hauling an RV. I have even gone to the (minor) cost of plugging the wheel's hub caps hole with a part from etrailer.

[uhftx]

Dave
I agree with you, I have never gone the route of just adding grease. Any contaminants will end up at the exit or pushed toward the back of the inner bearing.
Three pumps on the grease gun (full size) is actually almost too much.
The cavity is generally empty when new. MFR costs.
Manually palm grease the old traditionally way. IT is not a boat launch in the water.
Grease seals are cheap. But if you over do it. It ends up on the brake drums and shoes. This causes sticking (just the opposite of lubing) And internal heat to the drums and shoes. IF let go long enough. it will destroy the hub and bearings from heat. Shoes are shot without even damage to the drums but they are overheated also and should be replaced. The spindles are part of the axle. Now you need new Axles as well as drums and shoes provided you haven't overheated the magnets also. So a hundred dollar DIY job has now turned into a 8K job for replacement parts to make it right again.

Nothing can be better than removing the old grease and replacing it with new. It is like adding more oil to an engine to an overflow and expecting the old oil to be removed while adding more new oil.

Originally Posted by Dave W

I do it the old fashioned way and have since --- well as long as I've owned a towed trailer.

There are a couple reasons, well actually more. The first is that it takes at least a full tube of four buck/tube grease to lube those bearing and fill the hub initially. Then if you really want to do it right, you still need to pump at least a half tube of grease back in there every time you get the urge. That discolored grease that you see oozing around the spindle nut washer (yes, the washer, not the Zerk) is only from that outer bearing. You can only guess where that cruddy stuff from the inner bearing goes. Yep, it mixes with the new and helps keep that hub filled plus adds a bit of unsprung weight.

Then there is that seal. It really is not a very good part and the land that it rides on plus the land behind it are pretty small for what they need to do to prevent fouling the brake shoes and magnet surfaces. Take a look at the attached photo. This is a brand new spindle on a 6K axle. Larger are virtually identical and you will see the seal surfaces - the last one before the forging flaw ith the grease hole just in front of that surface. Not noch height to restain a seal - lesss ten .0625 (1/16").

Repacking wheel bearings (and inspecting brakes) is NOT a nice clean project. It does take some time and can be expensive if you are not a DIYer - but still better then sitting along an interstate in West Overshoe on a Saturday evening with a smoking hub.

Your choice on how you want to lube bearings. But as always, the above is only my opinion though based on my many yeras and many miles hauling an RV. I have even gone to the (minor) cost of plugging the wheel's hub caps hole with a part from etrailer.

[footz1941]

Why did you get the drums turned after only 6 k miles and the brakes were well greased

[Michael and Kay]

I completely agree. I only used ez lube once and grease my brake shoes great. I am in process of ordering new brakes. I will always repack bearings old fashion way from now on. That way I know what I have and where the grease is.
Thanks for information. Michael

[1retired06]

Have always serviced my hubs the old fashioned way, a bit messy but not that hard. Do not want to lose a bearing, race, spindle, or brake ever.