EZ lube bearings

[partsman01]

So, turns out this 2004 fifth wheel has the EZ lube bearings, so will be interesting to see how they work out.
I know it does not mean you never have to inspect bearings, but will be nice to be able to grease them once in awhile without having to tear it down each time.

[diandtom]

The guy that works on my fiver does not like them. He claims that it too easy to pump too much grease and it gets on the brake shoes. Before we went across country this years I had him the pack the bearings and adjust the brakes. When we get back from Florida sometime in Feb. I am going to let him do it again.
Tom

[IC2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by diandtom The guy that works on my fiver does not like them. He claims that it too easy to pump too much grease and it gets on the brake shoes. Before we went across country this years I had him the pack the bearings and adjust the brakes. When we get back from Florida sometime in Feb. I am going to let him do it again. Tom

Your repairman is correct if he uses anything but a hand pump grease gun. Though the seals are very secure, they will not handle the 125 plus pounds of pressure that a service center compressor shove grease out of the gun. See page 55 of this - http://dexteraxle.com/i/u/1080235/f/...anual_9-10.pdf

[Ray,IN]

I have the EZ-lube axles, and will likely never use them. Since virtually all axle manufacturers recommend brake inspection and bearing inspection at 12 months/12,000 miles, I manually pack the wheel bearings, since they must be removed and cleaned for inspection.

[Ecker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN I have the EZ-lube axles, and will likely never use them. Since virtually all axle manufacturers recommend brake inspection and bearing inspection at 12 months/12,000 miles, I manually pack the wheel bearings, since they must be removed and cleaned for inspection.

The maintenance manual procedure does not require removal for inspection.

[Rvpapa]

Going to be pretty hard to inspect without removing and cleaning first. The following is from Dexter website
"E-Z LUBE - What is the E-Z Lube option?
The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional."

As a seperate comment to a previous post, a good quality hand grease gun is capable of over 5000 psi. so use care with one.

RayIN has the right way to do it, just keep the same brand of grease on hand for the next time.
Art.

[Ecker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rvpapa Going to be pretty hard to inspect without removing and cleaning first. The following is from Dexter website "E-Z LUBE - What is the E-Z Lube option? The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional." As a seperate comment to a previous post, a good quality hand grease gun is capable of over 5000 psi. so use care with one. RayIN has the right way to do it, just keep the same brand of grease on hand for the next time. Art.

The Operation Maintenance Service Manual says (PG45) -" if your axle is equipped with Dexter E-Z Lube feature, the bearings can be periodically lubricated without removing the hubs from the axle. "

Later in manual an inspection process is laid out that does not require removing anything.

[GR izzly]

make sure you get it up off the ground and spin the wheel while greasing, and it takes way more than just a few pumps of the gun to load those bearings back to front

[CD]

[QUOTE=Rvpapa;742348]Going to be pretty hard to inspect without removing and cleaning first. The following is from Dexter website
"E-Z LUBE - What is the E-Z Lube option?
The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional."

As a seperate comment to a previous post, a good quality hand grease gun is capable of over 5000 psi. so use care with one.
Art.[/QUOTE

I was taught years ago that a hub full of grease will not dissipate heat well. I had the idea that a lot grease was good so the bearing would always have grease available. Not so he said. If bearing gets hot, the heat just pushes the grease away. The only time I have used or will use an E-Z Lube type is on a boat trailer.

[IC2]

An E-Z Lube bearing is kind of interesting to say the least. I was taught in trade school before engineering school as well as the army that all you need is just a thin film of grease on the spindle for corrosion prevention. The E-Z Lube bearings are quite large and the seal is a double lip version and rides on a separate land on the spindle. As far as heat dissipation, the hub and drum assembly is large and quite heavy and will carry excess heat well away from the bearings and grease. There are extenuating circumstances of course - as there always are, but after owning a trailer with the Nevr-Lube bearings, these are well suited.

The smaller bearing, a 15123/15245 rides on the smaller land. The larger, a 25580/25520 ride on the next land. The seal, a Dexter 010-036-00 is in the upper land. The bearings are automotive differential bearings that Dexter has adapted for alternate use. This, below, is a brand new axle, and there is a manufacturing flaw which still needs to be discussed with Dexter next week.


This is as the assembly is being disassembled:



My guess, close to a pound of lube in each of the hub cavities. The correct lube is a lithium based material and the spec is spelled out in Dexter's instruction information and can be found on their web site.

Oh by the way, Dexter does not recommend this axle for boat trailer use

["007"]

You can find more info on this link Dexters.

[bstark]

My experience with the E-Z-Lube's dating back to 02. If assembled correctly with the double-lip spring assisted seal, one or two pumps of the handle of a hand grease gun every couple of thousand miles is sufficient.

Here's where most go awry! Those axles are installed with the hub cavity virtually empty of lube with just the bearings themselves being packed and people pump away waiting to see movement of lube out past the front bearing retainer washer and that just ain't gonna happen!

Firstly: Lube AND hub must be warm, the warmer the better. Cold lube will just take the path of least resistance out past the rear seal and onto your brakes backing plate.

In the winter up north; grabbing your cold grease gun from the garage and walking out to your cold-soaked trailer hubs with the idea of topping off your hubs before tomorrows departure is exactly the WRONG thing to do! Warm the gun up and tow the trailer for a few miles at freeway speeds THEN add a couple of SLOW strokes of the gun to each hub and call it quits at that.