Greasing Wheel Bearings

[bennettommyd]

Couldn't find any threads for greasing the wheel bearings. I know about the wet bolts, but I have read in other forums different advice for greasing the wheel bearings. Some say pump till grease comes out the weep hole and some say just 4 or 5 pumps only. What's the correct way? Don't want to blow out a seal in the back.

[H. John Kohl]

I believe most people, myself included, recommend pulling the drum or disk, inspect the bearings, clean bearings, repack the bearings and add grease to the cavity and install. Of course while you are doing that you should inspect your brakes.
Good luck.

[pineranch]

One should be careful about stating torque values since not all u-bolts are created equally.
Mike

[Tom S.]

As John H. Kohl indicated, many here do advocate repacking bearings by hand. I guess I'm one of the loners who use the easy lube system. If you decide to use it, the first time you have to pump it until grease comes out the front, and trust me, it will be a lot more than 4 or 5 pumps. More like 40 or 50, because you have to fill the void between the two bearings (front and rear). After that, only a few pumps are needed.

[Slufoot733]

IMHO....forget that EZ Lub system. Way too many folks have ended up blowing out the grease seal and pumping their brakes full of grease. This results in 1. no brakes!, and 2. having to replace all the affected brake shoes, magnets and possibly the drums. It happened to me and the grease was applied by the service shop! Repacking the bearings by hand insures no grease on the brake shows and allows a full inspection of the brake drums, shoes, magnates and bearing. Yes, inspect the bearings by thoroughly cleaning all the old grease off of them. Look for chips, gladding, cracks, etc. If you're satisfied they're good repack them with the proper grease and reinstall. Now you know everything is good to go. Using the EZ Lub simply loads the entire spindle and bearings with grease (not to mention possibly the entire brake drum) without knowing if there are any defects. Not a good situation out on the road. Yes, there's a lot more work involved but to me it's worth every minute. If you are not able to perform this service yourself then go to a qualified service center and pay to have it done. Just my thoughts.

[dieselguy]

I'm with the vast majority that thinks the so called EZ lube spindles are worthless. There are a couple of guys on the MOC with unlimited patience that have made the design work, but even they never know 100% if any has squirted past the rear seal while trying to coax it out the front bearing. Even worse ... when they repack, they have to do the meticulus process of jacking each wheel up, spinning, and slowly pumping all over again. Do yourself a favor ... pull the drums and repack by hand as your travels require. Go ahead and pump 2 or 3 strokes at the beginning and end your traveling season ... it'll give you peace of mind, but that's about all it'll give you.

[thekennys]

? assume i wish to take off the drum and repack myself, as i would be on the road
what spare parts to have on hand, tools, seals, brake pads ... can they be gotten at a auto parts store
mikey

[BB_TX]

Like Tom, I do use the EZ lube system. BUT. If you do use it, follow the directions on the Dexter web site. Pump slowly with the wheel continously turning while you are pumping. The grease flows thru a port to an area behind the rear bearing. Then it flows thru that bearing and into the cavity between the bearing. When the cavity is full, it will flow thru the outer bearing and out the front hole around the grease zerk. The wheel needs to be turning for the grease to flow easily thru the bearings.
And it does take a lot of grease to get it all the way to the outer bearing. 4 or 5 pumps will not get grease to the outer bearing. You can see a cut away diagram on the Dexter web site to understand that fact.
cut away view
Works fine for me.
But there have been many reports of grease getting past the seals and onto the brakes. I would guess that is from over zealous pumping and/or not turning the wheel. But that is simply my guess.

[Dixiedawg]

While at the 2011 MOC rally in Goshen Dexter replaced our two axles due to uneven tire wear. One of the drums removed by the Dexter technician was full of grease, and the brakes were saturated with grease. Mind you our trailer was one year old and I never put a grease gun to the zirk fittings on the wheels. I asked the technician for his recommendation concerning greasing the wheel bearings. His recommendation was to manually repack the wheel bearing annually assuming you tow it more than 5K per year, but never go longer than two years without repacking in order to check the brakes as previously discussed.

[Fire5er]

Here are several videos on how to repack bearings:
http://www.etrailer.com/tv-repack_tr..._bearings.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=HsCH1d6R7J0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo0U_...eature=related

The last one shows how to lubricate using the Dexter E-Z Lube Axle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...W1kK8oWkc&NR=1

[dieselguy]

Mike: You'll need a jack, socket to fit lug nuts, torque wrench, water pump pliers, large screw driver for popping out wheel seal, smaller screw driver to pop off the spindle nut retaining clip, diagonal cutters if you have the older style cotter pin holding the spindle nut on, rubber mallet for removing the dust cover and reinstalling, solvent (or suitable alternative) and brush for washing out the bearings, wheel bearing grease, rags, small piece of 2X4 (or seal installer)for assistance in installing the new wheel seal (lip points toward grease). If you go the brake shoe route at this time, you'll need something in the line of brake cleaner, a cheap 3 piece brake tool set or a stout set of pliers, a screw driver, and some fashion of a small pry bar. This all assumes that you are familiar with repacking wheel bearings, adjusting the spindle nut correctly, and know the basics of brake shoe replacement and what wear items to look for. As for the wheel seals and brake shoes ... about any trailer parts house will carry them. I doubt if you'll find these items at any auto parts store as in O'Reilly's, Autozone, Advanced Auto, etc.

[Art-n-Marge]

pineranch, was your post meant for another topic? I agree that one must check with someone (manufacturer/Lippert/service manager) to ensure the correct torque is applied to their rig's U-bolts (I use 65-70 which works just fine), but this topic is about wheel bearings.

I'm like Tom S. and actually use the EZ-Lube fitting, but after 3 years I repacked manually. I haven't done it since because we don't travel anywhere as often or as far when we first got our Monty. I don't have many miles on my rig, but don't ask me how little because it's been a long time since I calculated it.

[thekennys]

dieselguy
thanks for the info, need to check on ez lube but also i was never good at peaking through the little hole to check on brake pads so a manual repack is called for
Tom thanks for the topic as i need things like this to wake me up from just hanging out and getting bored
mikey

[jwedell]

Art-n-Marge,
The comment by pineranch was in responce to my post to also check the tork on the U-bolts while the tires were off the rig. I suggested 75 ft lbs which should have been 70 ft lbs max. I should have not made that suggestion and I appreciate the correction by pineranch and have deleated my post so as not to confuse other MOC members. I apologize for any confusion. John

[illapah]

Fresh grease every once in awhile is good I guess. I have heard that underway and rotating, the grease actually turns liquid (not a bad thing), that is one reason one finds so much in the void between the bearings. If not extreme dusty use and not used underwater (boat launching, for instance) the grease should last a long time. As far as I know, it doesn't evaporate.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by illapah

Fresh grease every once in awhile is good I guess. I have heard that underway and rotating, the grease actually turns liquid (not a bad thing), that is one reason one finds so much in the void between the bearings. If not extreme dusty use and not used underwater (boat launching, for instance) the grease should last a long time. As far as I know, it doesn't evaporate.

Grease should not liquefy unless your bearings have overheated. It will thin a bit however and you may even notice a small amount of oil separation, unless you use a synthetic grease.

[danandbetty]

Fire5er. Thanks for the post with the video clips. I especially like the one from Bug Smacker.com that shows lubing the Dexter easy lube hubs. Very informative. IMHO this is how to do the bearing lube for that type of hub if your goal is to simply lube the bearings.

Brake inspection is an additional task that can be done in conjunction with bearing lube but bearing lube can be done without the brake inspection. I say this because sometimes lubing bearings is postponed too long because it is thought that break inspection and adjustment is a daunting task that can wait a little longer.

The good news is that people can do whatever they want whenever they want to. They also get to reap the rewards or consequences of those choices.

[old turbo]

If you are going to replace the bearings try etrailer.com they have a great site for parts that you need by axle weight.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

Grease should not liquefy unless your bearings have overheated. It will thin a bit however and you may even notice a small amount of oil separation, unless you use a synthetic grease.

It's been my experience that too often the grease used for the wheel bearings is not rated for high temperature. If you're packing them yourself, make sure the grease you use says it's for high temperature use.

I still advocate checking the bearings at least once a year -- just to be safe. Too many times people neglect these things and run into trouble. I used to pack them myself but find that now, because of my age, I leave it to the professionals. This way I know it's done and done right.

Orv

[Tom S.]

Orv, you are 100% correct. Just like not all oil is created equal, neither is all grease. Years ago, before synthetic grease hit the market, I used to use long fiber wheel bearing grease for any wheel bearings I repacked. This was normally for cars, before they started sealing the wheel bearings, but it worked good for trailers too. Today, I use the synthetic grease for many of the same reasons I use synthetic oil, the main ones being it withstands higher temps and doesn't lose viscosity as the heat increases.