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Old 02-17-2012, 05:26 AM   #1
pathlestravel
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Grease or not

We have been traveling since May and have about 5-6.000 miles on the trailer, did the repack before we left but have been wondering should I put a few pumps in the wheelbearings ? Reading other posts was just worried about the brakes getting greased too. Still have about 3.000 to go before we get home. I did replace all seals etc... Thanks.
 
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Old 02-17-2012, 07:28 AM   #2
camper4
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Personally, I do not add grease unless I am doing the whole grease job. Reason is that the two times I did add grease, I ended up with grease on my brake shoes.
IMHO if you feel your hubs at every stop you can tell if they start to get warm and grease the warm one at that time, knowing you may need to,do brakes when you get home.
Best of luck to you.
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Old 02-17-2012, 07:46 AM   #3
racerjoe
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I don't see any reason to grease them now. If they were re-packed and new seals,you should be good to go. I agree with camper4 on the feel test. If they are getting hot to the touch then you may have a problem. Look at your TV, you don't grease those bearings every 5-6 thousand miles and they are fine.
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Old 02-17-2012, 07:54 AM   #4
Art-n-Marge
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I would put no more than two squirts of grease every 5,000 miles and with a manual low pressure grease gun. Using a high pressure gun or swinging that manual grease gun arm aggressively can cause grease to blow out the rear seal. The EZ-Lube hubs are a nice feature to add grease but one must use care with it. You want the extra grease extruding at the outside near the EZ-Lube zerk fitting, not out the rear seal.

This works for me and I've not had the "grease in the brakes issue".

Camper4 implies some interesting points. If slowly adding grease is there any instances of grease entering the brakes from anyone? What and how does Camper4 do this and end up with grease? Could this be caused by poor seals (not fitting right, too small, etc.)?

Then, some owners buy a "temp gun" that can be used to measure the temps of hubs and tires when stopping after a long drive (using your hand is not accurate enough and could hurt if you find that hot one). If all tires and hubs measure the same, then things should be good (within reason). If one is different, then I'd suspect inflation, grease, or brakes needing adjustment or service. A temp gun is on my wishlist.
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Old 02-17-2012, 08:17 AM   #5
sreigle
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According to our dealer's service manager, who I trust, no more than two squirts once per year, whether fulltiming or not. We've adhered to that rule and it's worked for us. I also take the rig to him every other year to have him repack the wheel bearings and check the brakes.
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Old 02-17-2012, 08:23 AM   #6
stiles watson
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Old 02-17-2012, 11:05 AM   #7
SlickWillie
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by sreigle

According to our dealer's service manager, who I trust, no more than two squirts once per year, whether fulltiming or not. We've adhered to that rule and it's worked for us. I also take the rig to him every other year to have him repack the wheel bearings and check the brakes.
Just curious. You ever get any old grease out around the zert? We seldom travel, so I've never worried about lubing the wheel bearings. But, my tandem axle boat trailer has the EZ lube hubs, and I completely swapped the grease in them a few days ago. Took a little over a tube to get fresh grease coming out of all four hubs. Old grease showed no sign of contamination.

Only reason I'll ever pull the hubs on the RV is for brake inspection. I trust the EZ lubes, and I've run vehicles for tens of thousands of miles without re-packing the wheel bearings. JMHO
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Old 02-17-2012, 02:17 PM   #8
kdeiss
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[quote]Originally posted by sreigle

According to our dealer's service manager, who I trust, no more than two squirts once per year, whether fulltiming or not. We've adhered to that rule and it's worked for us. I also take the rig to him every other year to have him repack the wheel bearings and check the brakes.

My tech agree's with Steve's I hae been following this advice for a lot of years with no problems
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Old 02-17-2012, 02:59 PM   #9
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I feel so strongly about this topic that I'll repost what I submitted last November .............
I've been a maintenance mechanic most of my life. I've dealt with all kinds of auto greasers and lubrication systems whether they be mechanical, pneumatic, or electrically pumped. I've got a pretty strong opinion of the EZ Lube systems ... they're a monumental waste of effort to equip them on your trailer axles. They're a spinoff of the spring loaded "Bearing Buddies" that do somewhat work on boat trailers. I so do wish someone would make a clear plastic simulated EZ Lube bearing housing so you could see just how it doesn't work. When you pump grease in the center of your spindle, it is supposed to travel all the way behind the inner bearing inbetween it and the axle seal ... then work its way thru the rear bearing and on forward to the outer bearing. It will never happen as the design assumes that there is 100% of the area inbetween your bearings full of grease ... I've never seen this to be true. If you were to pump and pump till all this area was full of grease so the design would work, I guarantee you'll blow grease out the rear seal first. Then you have problems on top of problems and a lighter wallet. That 2 pump a season tip given is a placebo by some mechanics that know the flaws of the system. Two pumps give Joe Average peace of mind that he greased his bearings and at the same time doesn't put enough grease in the cavity to push it out the rear seal.
Stepping away from the podium for now ..............
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Old 02-17-2012, 03:55 PM   #10
pathlestravel
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Thanks, I fell better now. I do check for any heat at stops and all feels good. Again thanks fellas.
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Old 02-18-2012, 12:55 AM   #11
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When we bought our Montana in 2000, I had the E-Z lubes installed. It would save me so much time and money! Wrong! I had been raised on a farm and there we always greased our machinery with the thought in mind: "Pump until you see old grease coming out." So naturally when greasing the E-Z lubes every year, it was "If two pumps are good, three or four would be better." It took new seals and brake linings to teach this old dog that it's much better to repack the bearings by hand annually or every 12,000 miles. So that's what I do -- only I pay to have it done at a reputable place of business.

Orv
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Old 02-18-2012, 02:22 AM   #12
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I keep track of towed mileage, for purposes of tire wear. Having purchased our first trailer in 1971, I have always repacked the wheel bearings at the 15,000 mile mark. Never had a problem. I just repacked the bearings on my 2010 Montana, and the bearings did not really need to be greased. Like others I also think the EZ lube is a wasted effort. Proper bearing pack includes only a thin film of grease on the spindle, the hub is not packed, just the bearings. We do a lot of traveling and 15K takes me to about 2.5 years between packs. Even thought you could probably go longer, smart to check your brakes every couple of years, and you have to pull the hubs anyway to do that.
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Old 02-18-2012, 06:53 AM   #13
sreigle
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The ez lubes don't pack the hubs. The theory is it puts new grease into the bearings. My concern is where the old grease goes. Too much and it ends up pushing past the seals and onto the brake drums or linings. Not good. I also don't see the need for the ez lubes. I think it tempts some to not pull the bearings to check for damage nor to do a full repack.

I also log our towed miles but have found having them repacked every other year works well for us. So far the mileage for those two-year periods has ranged from about 14,000 to 35,000 or thereabouts. So bottom line is I think if the bearings are properly packed then they don't need repacking every year for most people. But my opinion is like everyone else's, just an opinion.
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Old 02-18-2012, 09:55 AM   #14
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We bought our Montana in Feb. of '05 and I repacked them in May of '11 for the first time before we headed out on a 5200 mile journey. At the time they were still good with plenty of grease and no leaks. Brakes were just fine also. I wouldn't be afraid to head out now on a long trip without checking them. JMHO.
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Old 02-18-2012, 01:58 PM   #15
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I have heard on the Internet so I take it for what that is worth, that if you swamp your bearings with grease that this can lead to heat build up? It was said that all that was needed was to pack the bearing by hand or machine. With the bearings swamped there was no room and friction of the grease can build up the heat? In theory sounds logical.
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Old 02-19-2012, 02:33 AM   #16
1retired06
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That is correct. As I indicated in earlier post, the hubs are not supposed to be packed. Just the bearings, and light coat on the spindle.
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