Re-pack or replace wheel bearings?

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by jeffba

So EZ Lube and repacking bearings are a weight loss program

It sure worked for me but I have a shop area of 2 acres to supervise results in a lot of walking.

The outfit that was way over budget was the result of "no management" they were purchasing from sources that were way over priced. I still do their purchasing from home.

The 2 new trailers I had the guys repack the wheel bearings on were stock trailers with Dexter axels under them.

Phil P

[jjoseph67]

I was told by a reliable mechanic that you should repack bearings on Montana every 10,000 miles. If they have the buddy bearings do not over grease or you will get grease on your brakes and ruin them.

[bou0146]

Had my bearings done after second trip with my 2018 3810MS. As I suspected bearings were not packed properly when axles manufactured and one was damaged. Repack immediately after purchase or make it part of the deal.

[Chasnracin]

Where do you get new seals for the Montana's? Thanks.

[RRman]

I was just coming up on 2 years and about 12K miles since the last Service Center Repack and I heard a "Pop" and saw side skirting flapping.
VERY Surprised it wasn't just a Michelin XPS Rib, but the entire WHEEL and HUB went flying off into the woods. Shredded the Plastic Fender and tore much side skirt. Mobile RV Service aided us on the side of I-59 in about 3 Hours total time and replaced the Hub and put my Spare on. Showed me how to repack and "adjust", so when I got home I pulled all my other wheels/hubs and all were well packed and in good shape. Installed new Bearings and repacked them.
Will check their condition and repack this Fall, and also install new brakes. Not much life left in them.
Was a hassle getting a new "similar" wheel from Tredit with different Lug Nuts and no Center Cap...
Its amazing what randomly fails along our RV travels...And now a little more "annual" labor.

[bou0146]

Got mine at local RV dealer. My unit has Dexter axles as do a lot of trailers. EZ-lube axles have a different seal but any dealer should have it.

Originally Posted by Chasnracin

Where do you get new seals for the Montana's? Thanks.

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by Chasnracin

Where do you get new seals for the Montana's? Thanks.

Hi

They are standard bearings any auto parts store should have them in stock. Just take the old ones with you and they will do the rest.

Phil P

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by Chasnracin

Where do you get new seals for the Montana's? Thanks.

I buy seals from here: https://www.etrailer.com/search/Seal+cross+reference




If you need bearings, I go here as most of the trailer suppliers all seem to use the often suspevt Chinese made: https://www.rockauto.com/. Your local auto parts supplier will have them at a much higher caos. I have also used Amazon but their pricing can be way high as well

[Hblick48]

I need my experience, ez lube is a joke! When I first got our rig, I filled up each hub with grease until it came out the front. After many trips I decided to pull wheels to check brake lining thickness. Found that 2 out of 4 brakes had grease because of seal leaking grease. I replaced all 4 brakes, cleaned the bearings/races and replaced the bad ones, reassembled with new seals. Tried an experiment on one side...I filled the ez libe nipple until grease came out the front. Then I pulled both drums to see if seal failed...it did on one. Got one of those wheel bearing packing tools and don't use ez lube. Content to repack bearings manually every 12 months/12,000 miles.

[Phil P]

Hi

I have the Montana and 2 other trailers I maintain all with the E-Z Lube.

I have trained several young fellows on how to lubricate them.

I use an endoscope to do inspections with and so far in 9 years we have not had a seal leak.

I have several trailers with wet hubs we have experience more failures with the wet hubs than the E-Z Lub hubs.

The wet hub failure was the result of operator ignorance. So I organized a training event to educate them about what you can and cannot due when using the trailers with a wet hub.

Phil P

[Hblick48]

Phil P: Please explain how to use ez lube without blowing grease through the seal into the brakes.

[h2ojocky]

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[h2ojocky]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT0RKDGgDm8

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by Hblick48

Phil P: Please explain how to use ez lube without blowing grease through the seal into the brakes.

Hi

Look at the video there is an error in it.

#1 do not use an air operated grease gun.

#2 do not use a rapid application of the hand operated grease gun.

Last but not least don’t pump the grease gun while the wheel is NOT turning.

The last portion of the video shows the grease gun being pumped while the wheel is not turning. This cause the grease in the rear bearing to be harder to push thru the area between the rollers. The increased pressure required to move the grease thru the rear bearing could push the seal out of the hub or cause the seal to leak.

If the black grease that comes out before the clean colored grease looks like metallic paint then that hub must be removed.

The first time you do this you will put most of an entire tube of grease in each wheel hub.


Purchase an endoscope they are $15 on the internet they are about 15 feet long and will operate on your smart phone. Looking thru the hole where you adjust the brakes will show you if your seal is leaking.


Also when I tow the Montana I stop somewhere in the first 20 to 30 miles and check my all of the wheel hub and tire temperatures including the TV with my hand or a laser thermometer then at every stop thereafter and the end of the trip. On a hot summer day the temperatures on all my tires and hubs including the TV run right around 120 degrees. The day I get more than a 15 or 20 degree temperature difference between hubs I will find a place to remove a wheel and check further. Don’t mix up the temperatures of the braking system with the hub the temperature you want is in the hub out board of the brake drum or disk. When you find a hot hub it will be apparent.

During the trip wife always wants to stop to walk the dog or something so I check the temperatures while she is doing whatever.

Also the video shows a boat trailer I don’t recommend the E-Z Lub hubs for this application the Buddy Bearing system is much better on the boat trailer application.

I have been in the maintenance business for almost 50 years I have performed maintenance and inspections on a large variety of equipment including jet aircraft. I can spend a good bit of time telling you about the odd failures I have seen and the odd remedies some have used that worked for a specific application.

Phil P

[waynemoore]

Thanks Phil P great information. Folks need to learn how to do things. Most are like me as I think reading the directions is cheating.

[masterdrago]

Several questions.

1) Where do you find an endoscope with a small enough camera end to fit through the brake adjustment hole?

2) Someone mentioned checking b4 rolling too many miles on a new trailer. Not sure if ours are EZlube - only had one tire off and did not check. Also the center cap cannot be removed with tire on vehicle.

3) Is there an easy way to know what seals and bearing(s) to buy before removing them? I might want to carry spare(s).
And a comment about the wet hubs. Our boat trailer has the Reliable brand. I've checked the hub temperature many times while dragging in hill country in summer. Always 5-10 degrees above the ambient. Great service from them. Requested them on the boat trailer since I saw so many on the "big rigs".

[laverdur]

My 2012 3150RL has 70,000 miles on it. I assumed that Dexter had properly greased the bearings before delivering the axles to Lippert. I doubt that Lippert did anything to the EZ Lube axles while they had it. On my first annual axle service in May 2013, all of the brake shows were coated with grease. My guess is that when the dealer did the PDI they used a high pressure grease gun on the EZ Lubes and blew grease right past the seals. Cleaning the brake shoes did not improve the braking so I had to replace them - not cheap. I am religious about annual axle and suspension service before one of my long trips. That means that hubs get pulled, bearings washed and re-greased the old fashioned way. My instructions to the service folks say that if anything doesn't look right, replace it. I don't want to be that guy on the side of the road because of a preventable failure. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[h2ojocky]

Phil P nice catch on the video errors. I am afraid that most shops will not pack bearings properly, time is money and they will use an air powered grease gun and do it fast, and therefor do it myself.

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by masterdrago

Several questions.

1) Where do you find an endoscope with a small enough camera end to fit through the brake adjustment hole?

2) Someone mentioned checking b4 rolling too many miles on a new trailer. Not sure if ours are EZlube - only had one tire off and did not check. Also the center cap cannot be removed with tire on vehicle.

3) Is there an easy way to know what seals and bearing(s) to buy before removing them? I might want to carry spare(s).
And a comment about the wet hubs. Our boat trailer has the Reliable brand. I've checked the hub temperature many times while dragging in hill country in summer. Always 5-10 degrees above the ambient. Great service from them. Requested them on the boat trailer since I saw so many on the "big rigs".

Hi

#1 I just purchased one off the Internet and don’t remember the name but the end with lights and all is about the diameter of a ¼ inch bolt. It will go thru the slit used to adjust the brakes and I just look for evidence of grease leakage not at the seal itself.

#2 I have observed the fellow I am training remove the wheels and hubs for inspection of the brake system and wiring as well as the bearings. Dexter did not service the bearings they had only the grease they were shipped from the manufacturer with.

#3 the ID tag on the side of the trailer has the axel information call Dexter with that and the model of the trailer they will give you the information needed.

As for the wet hub you are correct about the reliability of them but when the operator is use to hubs with wheel bearing grease in them he doesn’t become concerned about pulling a trailer several hundred miles after knocking a hub cap off with the fork lift. This is operator ignorance and was corrected by training.

I would still recommend the Buddy Bearing on boat trailers even before the wet hub because the Buddy Bearing uses a piston and spring arrangement that hold pressure on the hub that prevents water intrusion when the wheels are submerged.


This is one of the stock trailers with Dexter axels under it we have only greased the bearings using the E-Z Lub for 3 years now and still no grease leakage.


Phil P

[Castner's]

Originally Posted by vipermanden

How many times should you re-pack the wheel bearings, or how many miles or time before you should have the bearings replaced. If they are to be replaced, then what would be a good upgrade bearing, as I am sure Montana is not using a top of the line bearing? Thanks

If you are going to purchase bearing or even brakes (Recommend Never Adjust) do not buy them from the dealer. You can get them through Trailer .com The amount you pay at the dealer is around four times the amount you pay Trailer.com I changed ones before and I was amazed at the savings.