Ultrulube system

[gojodo]

I have a 2007 Montana 3075 which has the Ultrulube system for greasing the wheel bearings. I have never used it in the four years we have owned the Montana. Each year I have asked my RV Dealer to inspect the wheels and repack them as necessary, but each time they have told me I didn't need anything done. Recently I scheduled the current annual inspection and asked them about the wheels, they said they would pump grease into the system but would not be responsible if they blew out the seals. This seems very strange. Does anyone have any advice as to whether or not I should use this Ultulube system or not? Should I just tell them to pull the wheels and repack the bearings? The manual states that I should be able to just pump grease into the grease jerk until I get dirty grease coming out. That seems simple, but I wanted to ask the group before I go get my grease gun. Thanks. John

[8.1al]

John,
This has been discussed before and I'm not sure a consensus was ever reached, but I'm with your dealer, don't pump grease in there. Steve Reigles told just one pump by his dealer and that has worked for him. I have tried doing it according to Dexter and was very careful and still ended up with grease on the brakes so now I hand pack the bearings.

[Tom S.]

Charlie is right - it's been discussed and cussed. The design of the hub is that you pump grease in the fitting, which travels inside the hub to the rear. It comes out the rear behind the rear bearing, forcing it's way through the bearing. From there, it makes it's way through the hub to the back of the front bearing and forces it's way through that bearing. There are some issues and concerns people had. One was blowing out the rear axle seal (the only seal you have with this system) and having grease leak out into the brakes. The other issue is this system is shipped with the bearings greased but no grease in the hub between them. From first hand experience, I can tell you that it will take 50 (or more) pumps on a hand held grease gun to fill the cavity between the two bearings. Once it's filled, any subsequent greasing should only take a couple pumps before you see grease being pushed out the front bearing.

For a picture of how this works, go here: http://www.dexteraxle.com/e_z_lube_system

While we're on the subject, remember when I said there is only one seal, the one at the rear bearing? This is true. At the outside of the hub you have a round rubber boot, about the size of a old silver dollar. That boot is the only thing keeping dirt, water and other 'stuff' from getting inside and contaminating your grease. For some reason, these things crack and I've had to replace all of mine at least once. Keep an eye on them and at the first sign they are cracked, replace them!

[camper4]

I have had those hubs on two Montanas. The first one I very carefully pumped grease in the fitting until I had clean grease coming out. 3 out of 4 wheels had grease come out the other side. I found out because I lost a lot of breaking power and upon inspection, I found out it was the hub grease.
Nice as that system sounds in reality it does not seem to work.
Now I hand pack, or have the dealer hand pack. It's not worth the worry or the cost of brakes.

[PapaBeav]

When I first got ours I would put a pump or two in once in awhile and wound up getting grease on the pads and had to replace the brakes. So now I will just hand pack them every two years.

[garyka]

You'll find all kinds of good advice on this topic on the forum,the only advice I can give you is to take your Monty to someone else,if he can't stand behind a grease job I hate to think what his other work would be like.

[Slufoot733]

In my opinion FORGET THOSE STUPID EASY LUB SYSTEMS! Either pay someone to do it right, or do it yourself. I have even removed the Zerks fittings on mine and replaced them with little screw in caps. Pumping grease into your bearings can easily blow out the rear seal as mentioned above. This happened to me (done by the dealer no less) and I nearly lost the whole rig because it wouldn't stop. Also, how do the bearings get inspected for damage if they are not removed, cleaned and looked at? For peace of mind, do it the old fashion way. It's worth it every time.

[Art-n-Marge]

I wish they had thought out the EZ-lube system before they fully implemented. The biggest weakness is the rear seal. I use a hand pump grease gun and use it slooowwwwly to prevent blowing out the rear seal. If you grease regularly just one or two pumps should do it. If you remove the wheels to check brakes, then repack the seals to "fill them up" then a couple squirts seems to work. I think the big concern is the big, strong fast grease distribution systems that can blow out the rear seal. It's sheer stupidity and greediness this was not done right. They really need something more heavy duty for trailers.

[gojodo]

Thanks for all your advice and suggestions. I finally had them hand repacked. The mechanic said the grease that was in there was green and broken down. I assume this means I should have done this much earlier. I am glad we have now done it as we will ride with more confidence that the system is properly maintained. John