How often do you repack wheel bearings? - Montana Owners Club

joco · 03-02-2010, 07:34 AM

Last year my DW and I purchased a Mountaineer 347THT... we put about 5,000 miles or so on it... now as I get ready for this season do I need to repack my wheel bearings? According to my dealer Keystone recommends repacking every 6 mos (they dont agree with that timing)

What do you all do? How often do you repack? Also can you just use the zertz fitting... the dealer says they dont like them since that can blow seals... thoughts?

mtheo · 03-02-2010, 08:36 AM

I do mine once a year. If you use the zertz fitting you need to be gentle. If you pump it to fast it can blow out the rear seal, other wise the grease should just go through the rear bearing and come out the front.

scattershot · 03-02-2010, 09:06 AM

yeah, just about everyone I talk to says to not use the Zerk fittings, because it will blow the seals. Those Bearing Buddy type fittings were designed for boat trailers that spend a lot of time in the water, IIRC, and the idea is just to fill the void with grease so water can't get in there. I pack mine every year or two, when I think of it.

BB_TX · 03-02-2010, 09:49 AM

I am not going to suggest using the zerk fittings since so many are against it. But that is what I did after the 1st year. I just followed the Dexter instructions and put grease into the zerks until the old grease came out the front. I did it very slowly and only while the wheel was turning. If anyone saw me they probably wondered what was wrong with me. I was sitting on a block of wood, holding the grease gun in both hands, one foot on the ground for balance, and the other foot up in the air turning the wheel. I can only imagine how I looked.
But after another year and half and a few thousand miles, the brakes still work fine on all wheels. So apparently there was no leakage past the seals.

ols1932 · 03-02-2010, 09:50 AM

Yes, you can blow the seals. I had ours removed and we now repack annually.

Orv

HamRad · 03-02-2010, 10:27 AM

Funny you should post this topic now. Just yesterday my brother came down and we pulled the bearings and repacked. Our rig is a 2002 year model. We last packed the bearings a couple of years ago. Everything regarding the bearings was in great shape. Only one set of the outer bearings showed any problem whatsoever. The problem with them was a slight discoloration. Next time we do the bearings we will put in all new stuff. Ten or eleven years is pretty good.

While we had things apart we, of course, checked the brakes, shackles and hangars. Fortunately everything is as it should be. We did run into the problem some of you have had with the shackles. A few years back we'd changed out the OEM shackles for the really Heavy Duty Dexter stuff. The new ones have grease zerks on them so we greased them. The problem is that the grease holes don't let the grease into the bushings. We didn't have time to pull them and drill out the holes; we will do that next year when we change out the bearings.

We do use and will continue to use the zerks for the bearings in between pulling them. As long as you are careful and go slow as suggested by others you should be able to safely use them. Just don't overdo the pumping of the grease.

It sure is nice to actually see the bearings and related support mechanisms and know what condition these most important aspects of the rig are in. You certainly don't want to ever have a problem out on the road with these items.

Travel Safely,
HamRad

randye · 03-02-2010, 10:41 AM

I have a question, when you pack your own, were do you place the jack? Do you use a 2x4 to span the two ends of the axle or just the jack behind the backing plate. I have done all my own brake jobs and packing with cars, trucks motor clycles. I have never done this heavy a trailer. Last January I had CW do it, I would like to see the bearings and brakes myself so next year, we will hopefully be back in the warm weather in Arizona. That way it would be more comfortable to do it myself. Thanks for the advice.

HamRad · 03-02-2010, 11:48 AM

Randye,
We used a 3 ton floor jack and placed the lift head right next to the back of the wheel backing plate. We did not use a 2x4 or any wood. The jack head is actually shaped to sort of support the axle.

It is very comforting to see the item being worked on. Just an added level of security. As you know from having done this type of thing it is amazingly messy! I'd encourage anyone who has the physical ability to do this type thing themselves. Just be safe doing it. We placed jack stands under the axles while the wheels were off.

After all the problems some Montanas have had we were very pleased to see the bearings in such great shape. And they were made in China!

Good luck,
HamRad

8.1al · 03-02-2010, 12:33 PM

We travel 6-8,000 miles each year and repack the bearings every other year. I have carefully pumped grease in the zerks while turning the wheels on 2 different trailers and ended up with grease on the brakes on both of them so it's just hand packing for me

kerry · 03-02-2010, 12:37 PM

Dexter has instructions on how to lube the EZ Lube hubs, as others have stated, applying low pressure and turning the wheel slowly until clean grease comes out. Do not use high pressure or air pressure assisted grease guns. They also suggest once a year to do a tear down for inspection. I solved the problem, I bought the NEVER LUBE hubs on my SOB, good for 100,000 miles.

PapaBeav · 03-02-2010, 01:20 PM

I did the grease gun thing on ours a couple of times a year. When I took it in for a bad axle last year I also had them check the brakes and pack the bearings. What they found was grease on a couple of the brake linings, so I had them replaced. He told me to have the bearings packed every 2 years and to not use a grease gun on them.

randye · 03-02-2010, 02:01 PM

Thanks I did keep my jack stands, just in case I wanted to work on the Dodge.

sreigle · 03-02-2010, 03:40 PM

I have ours repacked when I have the brakes checked - every other year. So far that's been plenty often. Once per year I shoot two squirts of grease into the zerks in the hubs. Two squirts per year. No more than that no matter how many miles you put on the rig. That's direct from our dealer's service manager and he seems to know what he's talking about.

sreigle · 03-02-2010, 03:44 PM

I've heard other say these are just bearing buddies but these are not bearing buddies like I used to have on my boat trailers. These actually route grease through the bearings while bearing buddies just fill the cup to keep water from getting into the bearings. Here's how these things on our trailers work. I got this animation from the Dexter axle website.

HamRad · 03-02-2010, 07:33 PM

Steve,
Great clarification. I like their little video. It makes it very clear as to how it works.

Dennis

SlickWillie · 03-03-2010, 04:57 AM

Good post Steve. I've got the buddies on my boat trailers. Like you say, they have a different design. They actually use a spring you load up with grease pressure.

I have never packed our wheel bearings, as we don't travel a lot. It will be interesting to see the quality of the seals they used on the hubs though. I've used a grease gun quite a bit as a power plant mechanic over the years, and never had a problem with blowing out seals. Of course, one must remember, the grease gun will put out pressure limited only by how hard you pump it, and the components it is constructed with.

joco · 03-03-2010, 05:06 AM

So does this mean its ok to use the Zertz fitting? How are people getting grease on their brake linings? Maybe Ill just upgrade to never lube hubs... anyone know how much they cost?

DonandJudy_12 · 03-03-2010, 05:50 AM

We repack the bearings every other year but have the brakes adjusted every year- Brake shoe, magnet and bearing and race inspection are done when the bearings are packed- We tow up to 10k per year- Do your own thing- Don

ols1932 · 03-03-2010, 06:51 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by joco

So does this mean its ok to use the Zertz fitting? How are people getting grease on their brake linings?

Too much grease. They tell you one or two pumps. However, being from the old school (farmer) if one or two pumps works, then three or four is better, right? Wrong in this case. It puts too much grease in and blows the seals.

Orv

Bill-N-Donna · 03-03-2010, 08:21 AM

Great video Steve! Are all of the models made the same way as far as the fittings being located in the same place? I had my bearings re-packed last summer and when the wheels were pulled off you could tell that it had been greased with the fittings. The inside bearings were fine where the fitting were closest to those bearings but the outside bearings were a lot dryer and needed greasing. I do think it's better to actually have them checked by pulling the wheel off.

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