EZ-Lube hubs

[Russ from MN]

I think you were drastically over greasing them! Do you put many miles on the camper? If they were packed properly when new they should be good for 100,000 miles, just like a motor vehicle. We have EZ-lube hubs on our boat trailer, but it doesn't have brakes, and it gets backed deep int cold water many times a season, so I do grease it a little once a year. I jack it up and spin the tire while greasing, and the old grease and sometimes a little water comes out the front. I wipe it out the best I can.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 10:51:23 08/30/23) I think you were drastically over greasing them!

EZ Lube axles are over greased BY DESIGN.

Takes about a half tube of grease per hub if I'm not mistaken. That is a LOT of grease to waste. That's my main reason for not using them.

You're supposed to keep pumping until all the dirty grease from the inner bearing is pushed out through the outer bearing.

 

[jon f mn]

I'm aware of that, it just takes less pressure to go out through the rear seal that is turning. I've dealt with this a lot in the past. You will have less problems if you quit over greasing the bearings.

 

[MarkB_MI]

Thanks everyone for your comments. George's comments about power grease guns got me thinking. Here's my current hypothesis:

Neither the shoes nor drum on the problem hub showed ANY signs of wear, in contrast to the other three hubs which had some scoring. Which tells me the grease contamination happened when the trailer was nearly new. BUT, for the first few years we owned the camper I was very frugal in the amount of grease I gave the hubs; no more than half a dozen pumps once or twice a year. It wasn't until I saw the infamous video on the Dexter site that I tried to fill the hubs with grease. Even then, I used no more grease than necessary for it to show up at the outer bearing. That's nowhere near the Dexter recommendation, which is to pump in grease until CLEAN grease comes out.

I'd say the evidence points to the dealer. I think during the delivery prep, somebody took a power grease gun and gave each spindle a nice long shot. Not enough to fill the hub, but enough to force a bit through the seal.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> You will have less problems if you quit over greasing the bearings.

According to Dexter, I've been UNDER-greasing.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> Takes about a half tube of grease per hub if I'm not mistaken. That is a LOT of grease to waste. That's my main reason for not using them.

The first time I tried to fill the hubs, it took about a tube and a half. A lot of grease, to be sure.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> The first time I tried to fill the hubs, it took about a tube and a half. A lot of grease, to be sure.

For all four hubs, that is.

 

[DoubleO7]

(reply to post at 22:43:37 08/30/23)

The Dexter hub casting is not as hollow inside compared to hubs not designed for the e z lube spindles.

 

[Texasmark]

I probably was using the Bearing Buddy on a boat trailer at the time and I wanted to ensure that the hub was full of grease so my answer was basically that if you apply too much pressure you can blow out the seal......on some applications.

 

[DoubleO7]

(quoted from post at 22:39:57 08/30/23) > You will have less problems if you quit over greasing the bearings.

According to Dexter, I've been UNDER-greasing.

Grease per Dexter instructions which say hand operated grease guns only.
Got to do it slowly so that grease can flow thru the bearings vs the inner seal.
And they specifically call out what grease to use.
Which might not be as thick and tacky as whatever is in your grease gun for everything else.

 

[RusselAZ]

FOllow up for your at the factory statement. No axle factory greases axle bearings enough for service. They only put in enough grease to keep the bearings from rusting. So many new or almost new RV trailers that we serviced after the bearings burned up had never been greased or packed after selling to the RV owners. Made a lot of money over the years from the failures.

And yes, properly serviced trailer axle bearing should serve for 50,000 miles, just like automotive wheel bearings.

 

[MarkB_MI]

> Grease per Dexter instructions which say hand operated grease guns only.

Which is the only kind I own.

> Got to do it slowly so that grease can flow thru the bearings vs the inner seal.

Which is kind of the way it works with a manual gun.

> And they specifically call out what grease to use.
> Which might not be as thick and tacky as whatever is in your grease gun for everything else.

I usually use Valvoline Multipurpose GM grease, which is on Dexter's approved list.

After reviewing the information on Dexter's site, I'm further convinced that the Dealer Did the Dirty Deed. Here's an extract from the Dexter instructions:

[b:654c4848f0]Do not use pneumatic powered grease guns as these can inject grease too fast and force grease past the seal, or in rare cases dislodge the seal.[/b:654c4848f0]
What Dexter says