greasing wheel bearings - Montana Owners Club

grooving grandpa · 05-07-2008, 05:01 PM

I had my 2005 Monty wheel bearings greased. I did this also last year. I was told by the RV Repair shop, "that after 10,000 miles, you should have the wheels pulled and the hubs greased." I do very little mechanical work myself, however, that sounds like this shop is just trying to get $350 from me. I value the MOC response.

mtheo · 05-07-2008, 05:13 PM

I agree with your shop, it is alright to just grease your bearings for a couple of years, but(IMHO) I think somebody should visually check the inter working of the brakes and bearing every three or four years or after some miles.

LonnieB · 05-07-2008, 05:20 PM

350 bucks to pack the bearings on 4 wheels?? Wow, I only charge $20.00 per wheel, and check everything with the brakes too. Maybe I'm too cheap?

lwcdg · 05-07-2008, 06:37 PM

Lonnie, it's the first step in business. Location, Location, Location
Just couldn't pass it up. I guess this shows I'm really ready for a vacation, come on Friday.
Chuck

Waynem · 05-08-2008, 03:29 AM

Lonnie,
You are not cheap! Your work may be, but you are not.

Fire5er · 05-08-2008, 05:15 AM

Lonnie,
I already have them done for this year, but can I set up an appointment for let's say March 2009? Your the best price going. Look out Camping World, Lonnie is going to put you out of business!

OntMont · 05-08-2008, 05:36 AM

Your shop is right about the work, but not about the price. You should be able to get your bearings packed and brakes inspected at the same time for about half that. I get mine done at Fox RV in Middlebury, IN. Any competent garage should be able to do it, especially in a rural area where they are used to working horse and farm trailers etc. You are probably paying top dollar at an RV dealer.

One additional piece of advice, don't try to lube the bearing through the EZlube grease fitting on the hubs. You will just cause yourself more grief. Find a good shop and take it there at the required intervals.

blarkman · 05-08-2008, 09:39 AM

WOW only $20 a wheel where do we sign up, that is a very good price, considering blocking up unit pulling wheels and drums. checking magnets, packing bearings, installing new seals and adjusting brakes. Best I ever got was $125 about four years ago.
bob

Bill-N-Donna · 05-08-2008, 11:32 AM

I seen a sign at our dealership that said they did them for $160.00. I thought that was a decent price. I did have them check for me to see if they need to be greased and they pulled one wheel and said they were all right. I can’t remember but they thought the wheels may have been serviced before I bought it last year. They also indicated to me that it only needed to be repacked about every 2-3 years. I have a tendency to agree but I also think it would be good to check them each year anyway.

RKassl · 05-08-2008, 11:35 AM

Since we are on this topic, some advice please. I have my 2005 wheels repacked brakes checked every spring by my dealer. Is this too much?

Thanks

ols1932 · 05-08-2008, 11:43 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by RKassl

Since we are on this topic, some advice please. I have my 2005 wheels repacked brakes checked every spring by my dealer. Is this too much?

Thanks

No, this is not too much. Dexter recommends repacking yearly or every 12,000 miles. Personally, I have it done yearly regardless of miles. It's just plain insurance because it not only gets the bearings looked at but also the brakes and drums.

Orv

sgtpp214 · 05-08-2008, 12:12 PM

Lonnie, We will becoming through NM next March, 2009 and will certainly look your shop up. Friend of mine recommended a local shop as being reasonable. I know the owner and thought I would give him a shot at greasing the wheel bearings. Well, $358 later I think he won't get anymore of my business. I normally get it done at my Dodge dealer and cost was $189. Definitely going to look up Lonnie for $20 a wheel next spring.

grooving grandpa · 05-08-2008, 01:29 PM

Thanks for all the good info. Lonnie the next time I am in New Mexico I will be by. Did you mean $20 just for the tip.

rickfox · 05-08-2008, 05:30 PM

Sometimes the law of unintended consequences trumps having things done anyway, even when those things don't really have to be done. A good friend of mine ran into several problems shortly after having his wheel bearings repacked. On the driver side front wheel, the grease was overinserted and blew out one of the seals causing grease to get all over the brake. On the passenger side, he later found that one of the lug bolts had been stripped.

Not all RV mechanics are accomplished experts, and as a result, the more times something gets done, the higher the likely hood things will get screwed up. Oh well.

richfaa · 05-09-2008, 02:57 AM

Being that we do a lot of miles per year we have that done every year.Last year we found 3 seals(OEM) blown out and had to have all the seals and brakes replaced(Under Warranty) installed better seals and better brake Pads

skypilot · 05-09-2008, 04:22 AM

I strongly concur that the correct way is to remove the wheels and pack the bearings by hand -- on my first trailer I had the dealer grease the bearings -- the 'tech' took his pneumatic grease gun and commenced to greasing them --- you all have heard that 'pop, pop, pop' sound of those guns. Well, after about 15 or 20 pops on the same wheel I mentioned to the service writer that I thought the manual said only a small squirt or two.... Told me no - there is a lot of room in those hubs so they 'fill them up'. Well, to shorten this story -- I didn't even make it out of the lot -- no brakes. They took all 4 wheels off and the interior seals had been blown out of all four; grease all over everything in there. They replaced the entire units to include the drums for me... (I was PO'd!!!). Also refunded my money for the charge (check brakes, grease hubs - $180.00). Since then I've always ensured they pull the drums and pack them manually... I would hope they don't do the other method any more but who knows...????

Doing some reading on other forums and Dexter's web site(s) - remember reading that one of the reasons to have the bearings done each spring is that the grease does tend to settle out of the bearings over the winter. By pulling them in the spring we get the chance to inspect them for rust and other moisture damage (pitting, etc.of both the bearings and their races) that may have occurred as the units sat over the winter. Not as much of a problem for full-timers who move more frequently but could be for others.

That said - when I upgraded my axles and brakes last fall, I also had 'never-lube' hubs installed. Supposed to last 100K miles. Not going to get much testing of that done this year but we'll see how they hold up.

grooving grandpa · 05-22-2008, 07:00 AM

I just found out CW has a wheel bearing repack for President Club members for $79.95. They must have heard about Lonnie's price. When I called to set up an appointment, the tech said plus the cost of the bearings. Was that just a genetic statement? I am a week ender. Do I have to replace bearings once a year at every repack or 10K miles as needed?

HamRad · 05-22-2008, 08:31 AM

grooving grandpa,

I don't know about a "genetic" statement but unless the bearings are worn or have rust or are otherwise not serviceable you do NOT replace them. In my experience it would be rare to have to replace the bearings. It may be that CW is simply trying to sell you something.

The price they are quoting for repacking is a good one. Make sure they are not quoting for only one wheel! Also as mentioned previously by Skypilot make sure they do the actual packing by hand!

And please let us know what you find out. Is this a "special" at only one store or is it for a limited time only. I'd like to know so I can get my rig in for service!

Thanks and good luck.

HamRad

sreigle · 05-22-2008, 03:08 PM

Over time I've adjusted our schedule for wheel bearing repack and brake check to what seems to work for us. Every other year. That works out now to about 20k miles. In the off year, I'll put two squirts of grease in the zerks but just one time. Our dealer service manager harped on me many times that no more than two squirts per year even if fulltiming.

In our early fulltiming years we'd do about 20k miles per year and I had them repacked and brakes checked yearly. Usually the brakes were a bit less than half worn so I figure they're good for 30k to 40k miles.

This is what works for us but maybe if a rig sits all winter there's reason to check things out every spring?

grooving grandpa · 05-22-2008, 03:16 PM

This is the CW in San Martin, Calif. just outside of San Jose. They did say the $79.95 was for 4 wheels. I have an appointment on June 4th, 8am. Ham Rad, you might call your local CW and check to see if it at yours, but I would think it would be for all.

You may also like: