Wondering about mileage on bearings

[Dunner]

I've seen those ridges and I think they are caused by acid in the grease and lack of distributing the oil in the grease. Not from the weight on them. For those who don't know, grease does not lubricate the bearings. It's the oil that the grease releases when it gets hot the does the lubrication.

[3665RE]

Dunner

I don’t disagree with you. That could be the reason I just always associated it with the unit sitting in one place for extended time periods. You have an opinion that I can accept.

As for the grease makeup.

You again are very correct. The remark I made about mixing greases was based on your description of grease. The compound used to hold the oil varies between manufacturers and it is not uncommon for different greases when mixed have less than desirable results.

It sounds like you have experience similar to mine.

In the aviation industry involving large aircraft (15 passenger jets and up) when an aircraft is stored for prolong periods of time the manufacturers maintenance programs has a section for this. This section requires wheel rotation in specifies intervals. There are many more requirements as well. If you wish to find out how expensive it is to let your 8 million dollar jet sit around without use I have one for sale LOL

3665RE

[Dunner]

My acid remark was just a guess, but the only logical one I could come up with. It could very well be settled metal particles. I doubt that it is from the weight sitting on a roller or ball; they're just too hard.

I've seen that dark build up or ridges in gear boxes or transaxles from just sitting with no weight on the bearings.

I always remove all the grease, especially if putting in new. It removes all the debris and ya never know what changes have been made to a grease or oil formula. I blow them dry, but never spin them up with air. That's a sure way to ruin a bearing.

Aircrafts are kinda like RVs; everything costs more. The thing is, with a plane, you can't pull over and say "time out".

[3665RE]

Originally Posted by Dunner

My acid remark was just a guess, but the only logical one I could come up with. It could very well be settled metal particles. I doubt that it is from the weight sitting on a roller or ball; they're just too hard.

Hi

I don’t know how long you have been working on this type of equipment but when I was young 50 years ago bearings were hard. I have had pieces removed from the backs of my hands because they were so hard that they would chip when driving the race out of the hub. The bearings of today are so soft that the races don’t chip when you drive them out with a punch they bend and if you miss putting a new one in you will put a dent in that nice shiny surface. I haven’t had one chip in years.

I base my opinion on what I see. When I remove the inner and outer cones from trailer hub and find 2 of those ridges in the race that are not dark and only 2 side by side and the rest of the race is nice and shiny I find it unlikely that it would be corrosion as the rest of the race doesn’t have any irregularities or discoloration.

Back in the 80’s when the economy was so bad the new car dealers were having tremendous problems with this. The new cars had set idle for long periods of time and the front wheel bearings were failing in the first 3,000 miles. They came up with several reasons. The ride on the train bringing them in, the storage in parking lots for 12 to 18 months but not corrosion.

At any rate both corrosion and my idea equates to a yearly inspection of the trailer wheel bearings if the trailer sits for several months at a time. This cleaning and repacking with grease will correct the problem regardless of the cause.

3665RE

[caissiel]

Originally Posted by Dunner

caissiel, by your logic, Buddie Bearings and EZ Lubes are a waste of time and money and can cause bearing failure. If this is so, why are they still in business? I had them on my boat trailer and on some trips, would leave the trailer in the water all day. Never had a bearing failure on over 10 years of owning the boat. Per the instructions, I would pump marine grease in till the spring loaded inner disk would move ~1/8th inch away from the hub. If grease ever comes out of a seal, you are putting too much in or the seal went bad.

I never said that. But proper procedure must be taken to prevent seal damage and bearings will last as long as no contamination is introduced to the bearings and filling the hubs using the EZ lube method is the best way to keep hubs filled and clean.

[3665RE]

Up date

Now the bearings in our trailer are 11 years old. I have been using the EZ lube for 11 years and 125,000 miles without changing the bearings or having a bearing fail.

Phil P

[LAKnox]

Originally Posted by partsman01

I posted elsewhere about a trip we are planning to drumheller, and I got to thinking, in the post I stated on this used 2004 245rk Wilderness lite we bought used in 2010 and have only used three times for I figure a total of 3000Km should I check bearings this year, they are EZ lube?


It was supposed to have be done according to the dealer on their PDI, and I will have to look for the paperwork they gave me showing the work the said was done.
But on my last trip in september last year to quesnel we had to stop in 100 Mile house to get tires for the utility trailer my brother was towing, and at that time the Kal-tire dealer asked if I had checked my bearings and I said not yet.
I had only been using my hand and infrared temp gun.
So he gave me a grease gun and I gave them a few shots of grease, but that is all I have done since owning.
So should I look at them this year?
Any input?

I had an '04 Komfort, 11,360 GVW. EZLube hubs on 5200lb Dexter axles. I just jacked each wheel up every year and put grease in until I could hear a bit of air popping from the seal. Spun the wheel as I was doing so. Also checked for any "wiggle" in the bearings. After 10 years of fairly low miles towing, I had the hubs pulled apart and new Timkens and seals installed and brakes checked. Tech doing the work said I could have easily replaced the old bearings as they showed almost zero wear. No indications of grease leaking past the seals and brake pads were still OK. I also either hand-checked or IR checked hubs and tires at each stop.

Lyle

[IC2]

Our ~12,000# 5er came with ridiculous 5.2K Dexter E-Z Lube axles. I 'assumed' that they were 6K. My dumb! Of 8 bearings after the first trip. 3 of 4 outers were turning blue and the spindle had overheated grease hammered into the surface. Of the inner and Chinese made junk, 1 had a chip, one had a gouge on all rollers. All new Timkens installed. A year later the outer Timkens were starting to show deteriorated grease again

My fix, install disc brakes and upgrade to 6K bearings. That outer bearing is 100% interchangeable with a new cup and cone and using the same hub. That fixed the problem. Note that inner bearings are identical from 5.2K axles through 8K axles

To get the complete benefit of 6K axles, you also need to add 6k springs. Done!

I will NOT use the E-Z Lube function. It will take a full 6 to 10 dollar tube of grease and about 200 strokes of a hand grease gun to initially fill the hub with probably 90% of that grease being wasted.

Dexter does NOT fill that new hub, just greasing the bearings is all. I follow Dexter's 12 and 12 recommendation along with one of their recommended greases. That's first on my spring list of RV maintenance items every year.

If using that E-Z lube function, you are tempting fate in that the seals don't have a very big spindle land and 'blowing' grease past the seal will contaminate your brakes. Also, pushing old, deteriorated grease out of one bearing will eventually push it into the other.

[lwmcguire]

EZ lube axles work as designed if they receive the proper maintenance

The axles use the same double seal as a regular axle so not sure what that comment meant

To properly lube you have to spin the hub while greasing and pump until you see new grease

I have used them for years with no issues as have the other 99%

Under sized and overloaded axles is the main problem with bearings not particularly where they were manufactured

Good quality bearing grease is critical as well