Do I need grease or axel seals?? - Montana Owners Club

Ozzie · 07-05-2009, 09:57 AM

Gooday all...we just got back from a long pull in the warm sun and I checked my hub temps with one of those fancy guns you point and it gives you the temps.
The drivers side both hubs were in the nineties..the passenger side one was 124 and the other 134...uh-oh...
It was noticeable by hand too. Is this just low on grease, or should I get this looked at? Put some grease in and monitor? I don't know acceptable levels, but that doesn't seem right.
The warm side has a little grease mark on the camper too - very small, not like something is leaking.

Countryfolks · 07-05-2009, 10:17 AM

When was the last time the bearings were serviced [and the brakes inspected]?

Ozzie · 07-05-2009, 10:38 AM

I had them checked last year and they were fine, and I have been regularly checking for heat and they were good until this pull.
No long trips for quite a while either...too long...sigh.
Maybe yet this fall, so I want to be sure. I hate to take it to an RV shop and pay those high rates. I do have a mechanic I could barter with, but I'd probably need to find the parts.

Maybe I should put a couple squirts of grease in there to see what's up first...

Jolu · 07-05-2009, 10:43 AM

What I find when I check my temps with the gun when towing is the sunny side can run about 10 degrees hotter than on the shady side.

On Edit: I have also noticed side wind can make a difference in temps from side to side.

Countryfolks · 07-05-2009, 11:04 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Ozzie

I had them checked last year and they were fine, and I have been regularly checking for heat and they were good until this pull.
No long trips for quite a while either...too long...sigh.
Maybe yet this fall, so I want to be sure. I hate to take it to an RV shop and pay those high rates. I do have a mechanic I could barter with, but I'd probably need to find the parts.

Maybe I should put a couple squirts of grease in there to see what's up first...

We have ours done yearly. The brake springs have a habit of breaking or coming loose and I'm really not confident in the system used for the greasing. I would rather have someone knowledgeable take care of the wheel bearings.
If you do 'squirt some' take the weight off and don't over do it.

Art-n-Marge · 07-05-2009, 12:28 PM

Besides the sunny side being only slightly hotter, I would the check grease BOTH sides, if the grease gun requires more squirts on the hot side, then maybe the grease was low, but if the grease gun takes the same on both sides, then maybe you check the brakes to make sure the hot side is where they might be working harder. The cold side might be out of adjustment or not working correctly.

Besides the trailer, check the truck and see if they match the differences. The odds both TV and RV are having difficulty are slim and you don't want to become complacent that a colder temp is the better one.

On the hot side, you noticed a little grease, however, what you can't see is if the inside seal is compromised and allowing grease to escape. Also, on the cold side maybe the inside grease seals are blown and getting on the brakes and that's why the cold side is cold if the brakes aren't working.

There's a lot to check.

Just some more to think about.

8.1al · 07-05-2009, 12:29 PM

Ozzie,
Jolu makes 2 good points, if neither applies to you I would bite the bullet and have things checked as 30 degrees difference seems like a lot

noneck · 07-05-2009, 12:55 PM

I would also consider "if" just prior to your check whether you were in a situation that caused you to ride the brakes. This may just be a difference in brake shoe pressure...if temperature gets to a certain point then the grease can become liquid and ooze out.
Maybe another leg you could manage less braking to see if things look normal...

H. John Kohl · 07-05-2009, 01:02 PM

I would pull and check all four just to make sure. If you have not repacked them in a while it is worth it. Also check your brakes to make sure all four are working. It may have been brakes cause the heat and the low temp side were not working.

ARJ · 07-05-2009, 01:05 PM

You could always jack up a wheel at a time and spin the wheel by hand. There should not be a lot of drag-if there is, the brake shoes are probably adjusted too tight. Other than that, you need to pull the wheel for a look-see.

Ozzie · 07-05-2009, 01:12 PM

As usual, you guys are giving me some ideas to work off of.
It happens that the warm side was in the hot strong sun on a five hour pull, and something I don't normally do is travel with both waste and fresh water in my tanks. I know I added a bit of weight doing that.
I'm rated for the extra load, but anytime you stress things it brings out the weak points...

firetrucker · 07-05-2009, 02:04 PM

Ozzie, I was having problems with one of my bearings being a bit loose (I noticed that the tire was wearing rapidly on the inside of the tread) on my last trip to Elko. I stopped regularly to check the tread and measured the temp of the tire and the bearings on all wheels (as soon as I stopped). Bearings were all running 105 to 115, with the higher temps on the sunny side. Temps will go up if you have destroyed a bearing or have over greased it, but not for normal loads with properly lubed bearings.

If you have EZLube, don't bother to put gease in that way unless you've backed the Monty into a lake and used it as a fishing boat. With my truck doing most of the braking, I repack the bearings every two years when I check the condition of the brake linings. For most TVs, I'd recommend repacking them every year, and be careful not to fill the area behind the outer bearing with grease (too much grease can be as much of a problem as too little grease).

It's a bit of a messy job, made easier if you have one of the bearing packer tools from Harbor Freight. The most difficult part is replacing the seal, followed by jacking the trailer (which you have to do before replacing the seal, BTW). Just have lots of rubber gloves and plenty of disposable towels (not paper). Please don't forget the jackstands.

If you don't have a high rise jack, use what I call cribbing. That's layers of pairs of 4x4s, with each layer at right angles to the lower layer. It's amuch more stable way of supporting the jack.

Bob

dsprik · 07-05-2009, 03:35 PM

Bob, I like your 4x4 idea. Where exactly are you placing your jack - on the axle or the frame? Hope I am staying on topic with this question?

firetrucker · 07-05-2009, 05:42 PM

That's a good question, Dave. Considering how sensitive the axles are to misalignment, Dexter recommends jacking on the frame. One time I used a 6x6 under the U bolts holding the springs and jacked in the middle of that, but now I set the jack right next to the spring hangers where there's extra support. I tried using a 4x4 between the jack and the frame to distribute the load, but the jack sank into the wood. A piece of steel plate would distribute the load on the wood, but the number of parts starts to get out of hand.

I did keep the Monty connected to the truck, though, which made me feel a lot safer.

Bob

dsprik · 07-06-2009, 12:38 AM

Thanks, Bob! Good info.

WorkerB · 07-06-2009, 06:44 AM

Hi Bruce,
About a year ago I replaced the brake shoes and repacked the bearings all around. I adjusted the brakes per info found on the Internet. I had the same symptoms as you. High and uneven temps had me chasing all kinds of things. In my trouble shooting process I loosened each brake set one at a time and tracked the heat related problem to improperly adjusted brakes. xthread gave a class on brake adjustment in Quartzsite and since then all works as advertised. I've heard that when brakes become too loose they will also cause problems. Just one more thing you might check.
Good Luck,
John

sreigle · 07-06-2009, 02:16 PM

I would be surprised if two bearings went bad at the same time, although I suppose it could happen. It sure wouldn't hurt to check. But I think the first thing I'd check is to see if the brakes are more tightly adjusted on that side. We also notice higher temperatures on the sunny side but not that much higher. Since you are checking just after braking to a stop, I'm guessing it has to do with the brakes. I'm really curious what you find is causing this, Ozzie.

Ozzie · 07-06-2009, 03:10 PM

All of these points are certainly worth considering and I really appreciate all the input. Since I just got back from our summer vacation I have quite the backlog at work going (thankfully), so I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to dig into it.
I actually am suspecting brakes at this point although this was the first time I've noticed this much difference in heat and also no pulling symptoms.

dieselguy · 07-07-2009, 05:09 PM

I too would be leaning towards the brakes being adjusted differently or possibly a broken spring. I can definitely say it would take several pumps from a grease gun to get any meaningful grease into the bearings with the axle setup we have ... and several pumps of grease is not what anyone of knowledge would recommend ... goodbye wheel seals.

You may also like: