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Old 10-24-2019, 05:48 PM   #1
Jeff & Gail
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Greasing bearings

Does the center cap on the 2019 Montana wheels pop out to allow access to the grease fittings.
 
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Old 10-24-2019, 06:34 PM   #2
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It does. And there is a lot of difference of opinion about using those zerks for greasing the axles. There are many of us who have used them to grease our axles and believe in them. There are others who say you should never use them or you will break your seals and get grease on your brakes. There have been many discussions on the pros and cons over the years. And it is sorta like which is the best truck. Neither side ever convinces the other side who is right.

Just make sure you do it according to Dexter directions. There is a good video on the Dexter web site explaining the process.
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Old 10-24-2019, 06:41 PM   #3
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I like to take the hub off to grease them but like Bill said both ways will work IF, please note that is a big if it’s done correctly. That goes for both ways.
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Old 10-24-2019, 08:30 PM   #4
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Jeff,

Even if you use the grease fittings you still want to remove the drums every year to inspect the brakes. You are also missing an opportunity to inspect the bearings for damage by not hand packing them.
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Old 10-25-2019, 08:27 AM   #5
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There have been some who have reported finding grease on their brakes and they had never used the EZ Lube system. Apparently some heavy handed person at the factory over pumped the grease. Would not be surprised if they used pneumatic grease guns. Or had hand pumped the grease too hard and too fast trying to get thru quicker.


Here is a Dexter video.
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Old 10-25-2019, 12:48 PM   #6
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Grease

I have disk brakes so inspecting brakes is not difficult. I've been using the hub grease system on 3'uniits without any issues. I think the more you read some of the issues on this forum you can become parinod.
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Old 10-25-2019, 01:30 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BB_TX View Post
There have been some who have reported finding grease on their brakes and they had never used the EZ Lube system. Apparently some heavy handed person at the factory over pumped the grease. Would not be surprised if they used pneumatic grease guns. Or had hand pumped the grease too hard and too fast trying to get thru quicker.


Here is a Dexter video.
Definitely found two seals that had leaked the first time I inspected the brakes and bearings on our two year old 3791.
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Old 10-25-2019, 03:42 PM   #8
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I'm in the EZ Lube camp. Used them for years on my boat trailers with no seal leaking issues and do the same on my Monty. Service once a year and haven't had a seal leak yet. Pump the grease slowly while turning the wheel as recommended by Dexter.
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Old 10-30-2019, 01:53 PM   #9
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We have a 2018 Montana High Country, tech told us once a year grease fittings. Two-three squirts per, doing it slowly and spinning the wheel while doing it. Pump grease in slowly!!
Been full time 2 1/2 years and no issues.
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Old 10-30-2019, 03:51 PM   #10
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If you truly understand the way the EZ lube is supposed to work ... you'll realize that pumping 2-3 strokes per hub a year will do about as much good as daily adding a bucket of water to the Atlantic Ocean to compensate for evaporation. I'm not an EZ lube fan as pushing old grease out of the back bearing into the front bearing makes no sense to me, but as has been mentioned ... neither camp will convince the other of the pros or cons. If you've never pushed any grease out of the front bearing ... you'll find it usually takes almost a tube of grease per hub the first time, so what does that tell you about 2-3 pumps a year?
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Old 10-30-2019, 04:39 PM   #11
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They do not fill the hubs with grease at the Dexter factory, and some have found very little grease at the bearings from new. If you are going to pump grease, you must pump enough grease to fully fill the hub and move all the old grease completely through the outer bearing, at least the very first time, and to avoid mixing different types of grease, you must use the same type of grease that the Dexter factory used when assembling the axles. Keystone does not lube the axles when they install them on the frame, and it’s very unlikely that a dealer will lube them prior to the sale of the trailer.
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Old 10-30-2019, 04:54 PM   #12
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Dexter EZ lube is nice in theory but it bypasses the opportunity to inspect the bearings and races, brake shoes, magnet, and attach hardware... I don’t and will not use on my fifth wheel. Hand pack old fashioned way and eye balls on the parts..

That said... Dexter produced this video of how to grease the bearings on a Dexter axle... note it is an EZ lube system yet they are doing it the tried and tested “old fashioned way”

https://www.dexteraxle.com/resources...ng-maintenance
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Old 10-30-2019, 06:51 PM   #13
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In the Dexter maintenance manual there are these prominent notes:


Note: The convenient lubrication provisions of the E-Z Lube and the oil lubrication must not replace periodic inspection of the bearings.


Note: The E-Z Lube feature is designed to allow immersion in water. Axles not equipped with E-Z Lube are not designed for immersion and bearing should be repacked after each immersion. If hubs are removed from an axle with the E-Z Lube feature, it is imperative that the seals be replaced BEFORE bearing lubrication. Otherwise, the chance of grease getting on brake linings is greatly increased.
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Old 10-30-2019, 07:36 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dieselguy View Post
If you truly understand the way the EZ lube is supposed to work ... you'll realize that pumping 2-3 strokes per hub a year will do about as much good as daily adding a bucket of water to the Atlantic Ocean to compensate for evaporation. I'm not an EZ lube fan as pushing old grease out of the back bearing into the front bearing makes no sense to me, but as has been mentioned ... neither camp will convince the other of the pros or cons. If you've never pushed any grease out of the front bearing ... you'll find it usually takes almost a tube of grease per hub the first time, so what does that tell you about 2-3 pumps a year?
That has got to be the funniest analogy on this topic I have ever heard. LOL. 2 to 3 pumps, Really, who ever told them that is a complete idiot.... Every spring I pump 30-40 pumps per wheel with it off the ground while spinning. I have been doing this for over 15 years on 3 different campers and have had ZERO bearing issues.
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Old 10-30-2019, 08:05 PM   #15
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When we first got our 5r, I did what was mentioned by someone above (and the dealer) and pumped 3 times while I spun the wheel. Good to go. No. No grease to the front bearing.

Did that until I read how the EZ Lube worked. Then I pumped the equivalent of a tube per wheel (also mentioned above) until old grease came out. Good to go. No. Got to thinking. In order to get the old grease out of the back bearing thru the front, I'd have to add a tube of grease each time to make sure the old grease from the back bearing came thru the front bearing. And since there's not a magic wall pushing the old grease out. The old and new will mix. BTW, after pumping a tube of grease in there and then the next year pulled the wheel, I found grease had slipped thru 1 seal. I also discovered a burr in the spindle and I suspect that was the reason for the leakage.

So now this is what I do. Pull the wheel and inspect the brakes and spindle. Inspect the rear seal and bearing without pulling the bearing. Pull the front bearing, inspect it and repack it. Reassemble the wheel assembly and pump half a dozen pumps of grease thru the EZ Lube to grease the rear bearing and call it good.
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Old 10-31-2019, 05:13 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by Whitewolf View Post
When we first got our 5r, I did what was mentioned by someone above (and the dealer) and pumped 3 times while I spun the wheel. Good to go. No. No grease to the front bearing.

Did that until I read how the EZ Lube worked. Then I pumped the equivalent of a tube per wheel (also mentioned above) until old grease came out. Good to go. No. Got to thinking. In order to get the old grease out of the back bearing thru the front, I'd have to add a tube of grease each time to make sure the old grease from the back bearing came thru the front bearing. And since there's not a magic wall pushing the old grease out. The old and new will mix. BTW, after pumping a tube of grease in there and then the next year pulled the wheel, I found grease had slipped thru 1 seal. I also discovered a burr in the spindle and I suspect that was the reason for the leakage.

So now this is what I do. Pull the wheel and inspect the brakes and spindle. Inspect the rear seal and bearing without pulling the bearing. Pull the front bearing, inspect it and repack it. Reassemble the wheel assembly and pump half a dozen pumps of grease thru the EZ Lube to grease the rear bearing and call it good.
If I was going to do it that way, I would be replacing the seals while I'm in there. Just Too cheap not to do it.
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Old 11-06-2019, 04:52 AM   #17
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Do all Dexter axels use the same bearings or do I need to pull one and get the part no.? Just wondering so I could have all the grease and bearings ready when I start the job.
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Old 11-06-2019, 08:16 AM   #18
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Do all Dexter axels use the same bearings or do I need to pull one and get the part no.? Just wondering so I could have all the grease and bearings ready when I start the job.
No. You can use the attached chart from page 81 of their service manual. Use the Industry Part Number and purchase from where you want. I found the Timkin had the same numbers on AMZN. The axle tag # is on the axle underneath.
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Old 11-06-2019, 11:34 AM   #19
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Great info, thanks.
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Old 11-06-2019, 01:41 PM   #20
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The double lip seals are also readily available at any NAPA parts store
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