Ez lube axles

[sgf]

I did this last year but do not think I did it right. How do you folks get the wheels off the ground so you can spin your wheels while squirting two squirts of grease into the alko easy lube axles.Thanks.

[H. John Kohl]

In the past I put a bottle jack on the piviot point between the two tires and jacked up both wheels or put the jack under one axle at a time. I now believe both ways are wrong and could do damage. Now I make sure the jack is centered on the frame and jack it up. I do use jack stands to ensure the jack does not slip.

I feel it is important to have the trailer hitched to the truck when jacking a side high enough to get the wheels off the ground. The hitch lets the front piviot and keeps it from moving. Jacking with the front landing gear down puts all the pressure (at an angle) on the far leg).

Hope this helps, good luck and tow safe.

[Wrenchtraveller]

I put a hydraulic jack under the axle near the u bolts. This lifts that axle up and the way the walking beams on the springs work , your other wheel stays on the ground. This puts no strain on your landing gear on the front and is the way your springs work when the front wheels jumps up on a curb before the rear one. This is also the way you would change a flat or service your wheel bearings but before I remove a wheel I put an axle jack under the axle I have raised. Lift one axle at a time and let the suspension do what it was made to do.

Jacking a heavy vehicle by the frame is a bad thing to do and that is why pickups always come with axle jacks. If you use a bumper jack on a loaded pickup you can bend the frame as no heavy vehicle is made to be lifted by the frame. That is why they always tell you to lower your rear stabilizers only to take a little weight and no more. If you start lifting one side of your Montana with the frame you are putting stress on your slideouts as well as your whole structure. They simply are not made for this. Use an axle jack, do one axle at a time and you can't go wrong. Take care, Don

[OntMont]

I am reminded of what Larry Fox of the well-respected Fox RV in Middletown, IN told me:

"I fix a lot more axles and brakes that suffer from over-lubrication than under-lubrication."

His recommendation was not to apply any grease, just to bring it in once every year or so (depending on use) and have the axles repacked, and the brakes inspected. His price for four wheels was about $160, which I thought was a pretty good price for the peace of mind of knowing that the axles and brakes were in good shape.

[kdeiss]

quote:Originally posted by Wrenchtraveller

I put a hydraulic jack under the axle near the u bolts. This lifts that axle up and the way the walking beams on the springs work , your other wheel stays on the ground. This puts no strain on your landing gear on the front and is the way your springs work when the front wheels jumps up on a curb before the rear one. This is also the way you would change a flat or service your wheel bearings but before I remove a wheel I put an axle jack under the axle I have raised. Lift one axle at a time and let the suspension do what it was made to do.

Jacking a heavy vehicle by the frame is a bad thing to do and that is why pickups always come with axle jacks. If you use a bumper jack on a loaded pickup you can bend the frame as no heavy vehicle is made to be lifted by the frame. That is why they always tell you to lower your rear stabilizers only to take a little weight and no more. If you start lifting one side of your Montana with the frame you are putting stress on your slideouts as well as your whole structure. They simply are not made for this. Use an axle jack, do one axle at a time and you can't go wrong. Take care, Don

This is good advice

[ols1932]

I found that the option of the self-greasing hubs was not worth the money. As someone else said, more repairs are made to brake drums and brake shoes and seals through over greasing rather than under greasing. Most of us use too much grease. I removed my self greasers and have the bearings checked every year.
Orv

[lightningjack11]

I jack one wheel at a time with a bottle jack under the U bolt. Just like changing a tire. But if you do jack the frame make sure you have the TV connected ro relieve stres on the front jacks.

I remove the wheel while greasing because I always take the grease cap off while greasing. When done I clean the zerc area and put the grease cap back on. The reason I do this is that I have found that the grease will run out of the cap when hot and flow not only into the plastic cap area but also down the inside of the tire and the outside of the brake drum. At first look you might think that it is internal seals but you can tell by following the flow. If the flow is coming down the front of the drum out of the plastic cover and grease cap then it is not a grease seal. So check the plastic cover for grease and keep clean.

Apply grease as slow as humanly possible to minimize hydraulic action on the rear seal. I always rotate the drum.

I am not for jacking the frame just to grease the wheels. I feel it is too stressful on the the very thin frame.

[Illini Trekker]

I'm With you Tom, sounds like good advice. I also like to rotate the bearing as I insert grease in it.

I have never though about rotating the hubs but sounds like a good idea thanks for the tip.

[Treecounter]

I always jacked the rig up. Pulled the wheels of and hand greased the bearings. After the first time using the "two squirt system" and replacing bearing seals and brake shoes. It isn't that much more work and you can check your brakes at the same time.

[ronnilu]

Why not just do it the same way you would if you had to change a tire? You have to get it off the ground for either job. While reading this I recalled seeing somewhere about driving one wheel up on blocks far enough to get the other wheel off the ground (for changing a flat). Wouldn't this same technique also work for greasing and rotating the wheel? Seems it would eliminate the concerns about frame twisting, etc.
Mike

[VanMan]

I squirt and then go RVin' !! One more excuse to get away !! That spins the wheels real good !!