EZ Lube Hub Questions

[Akibase]

My TT has EZ Lube Hubs and I was wondering if you might provide me with some information?

What has your experience been with this type of hub?
How often do you add grease?
Should this be done by the pro's
What grease do you recommend?

I would appreciate any information you can provide. I find that the information provided by the manufacturer in quite vague.

Thanks in advance for your help and information.

[edj]

The EZ lube bearings work great IF you do what needs to be done. The wheels should be jacked up when greasing the bearings. Pull the rubber cap off the hub to expose the grease nipple. Clean out the cavity around the nipple of old grease first. Put the hand grease gun on the grease nipple and start pumping. Spin the wheel as you pump new grease in. You should see the old grease coming out of openings around the nipple. If you don't see the old grease after several pumps, find out why. Keep cleaning out the cavity and pump in the new grease until you see clean grease coming out.

I grease the bearings at least once a year and give them a few shots of grease again before any long trips.

[Wire Wrat]

is it possable to blow the seal? I was told to be careful not to put to much greese in the hub as it was possible to blow the seal and that would cause greese to fly all around the wheel area and make a mess. Jimm Zi/

[Ray,IN]

Follow the directions to reduce the possibility of pushing grease past the seals.
I do not use the zerk fittings to grease the bearings because __ the axle manufacturer recommends removing the bearings at 12 months or 12 thousand miles, clean them of all grease, and inspect for any damage. Repack and replace after insuring the electric brakes are in good shape.

[CD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wire Wrat is it possable to blow the seal? I was told to be careful not to put to much greese in the hub as it was possible to blow the seal and that would cause greese to fly all around the wheel area and make a mess. Jimm Zi/

Yes I think it is not only possible but likely if you aren't very carefull. I have always gone by the theory that EZ Lube hubs are great for boat trailers but on highway trailers a hub full of grease doesn't disipate the heat as well as hand packed bearings. Also if a bearing starts to get hot, the grease is just pushed away rather than new grease running into it like what I thought before being enlightened.

[LadyFitz...]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CD Yes I think it is not only possible but likely if you aren't very carefull. I have always gone by the theory that EZ Lube hubs are great for boat trailers but on highway trailers a hub full of grease doesn't disipate the heat as well as hand packed bearings. Also if a bearing starts to get hot, the grease is just pushed away rather than new grease running into it like what I thought before being enlightened.

If the grease in an EZ Lube hub has been pushed into the bearing, why would a hand packed bearing be superior?

[CD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyFitz... If the grease in an EZ Lube hub has been pushed into the bearing, why would a hand packed bearing be superior?

As I stated before, a hub full of grease retains heat instead of disipating the heat through the hub. A bearing packed by hand or with a tool that only puts grease in the bearing will run cooler than a hub full of grease. JMHO

[edj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CD As I stated before, a hub full of grease retains heat instead of disipating the heat through the hub. A bearing packed by hand or with a tool that only puts grease in the bearing will run cooler than a hub full of grease. JMHO

When I grease my EZ-Lube, I pump the grease through the bearing. The grease comes out around the nipple. I reach in with my finger and scoop out the old grease as it starts to fill the hub area. After the new grease is coming through, I clear out all the grease in the hub area so the problem you mention does not exist. All the grease is in the bearings themselves.

[CD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edj When I grease my EZ-Lube, I pump the grease through the bearing. The grease comes out around the nipple. I reach in with my finger and scoop out the old grease as it starts to fill the hub area. After the new grease is coming through, I clear out all the grease in the hub area so the problem you mention does not exist. All the grease is in the bearings themselves.

That's different than any I have seen.

[Ray,IN]

CD is correct. The hub fills with grease when using the zerk fitting. This Dexter pdf is self-explaining. E-Z lube axles work the same way as the cheap Bearing Buddy axle caps; but the Bearing Buddy caps have a spring that keeps the grease pressurized-which is why they should never be used on an axle with brakes; the spring pushes grease past the grease seal, into the brakes.
The E-Z lube axles have an outlet for excess grease, so I doubt heating would push grease past the seals.

[LadyFitz...]

Ray, did you even look at the PDF you linked? There is very little room in the EZ Lube hub between the bearings for excess grease. It is not the same as the Bearing Buddys which just have a zerk feeding a reservoir for the grease. The zerk in the EZ Lube is connected to a passage drilled into the axle stub that passes grease to the back of the inner bearing. The grease goes through the inner bearing, through the hub to the outer bearing. It then goes through the outer bearing and the excess goes out through openings around the zerk. If lubed properly (the wheel has to be rotated while pumping in the grease so all of the bearing receives grease), each bearing receives as much grease as it would if hand packed or packed using a bearing packer.

There needs to be grease in the empty spaces; otherwise the grease in the bearings will work its way out of the bearings into the empty spaces. The idea that grease retains heat instead of dissipating it is pure nonsense. Even if it did retain heat, I doubt it would even be noticeable. It would still be preferable to a bearing running low on lube because the grease ran out.

[edj]

I guess that the definition of "the hub" needs to be defined by the person using the term. I did not see the term used by Dexter. When I say "the hub", I am referring to the opening between the external rubber seal and the grease nipple/grease output ports. This is where the old grease comes out after passing through the outer bearing.

[Yarcola]

I wonder if the "blown seals" that I was warned about are the result of not turning the hub so the grease can evenly flow, or using the wrong seals?

When I saw that Dexter still recommends taking the bearings out once a year for an inspection I wondered what the advantage of the EZ Lube Hub was. I decided that I could do this, (along with a hand packing), every other year and just top it off with the fitting on the off years. After my first two hand packings I found that the hubs were indeed quite hot, but after a few miles they cooled down. I had hand packed and then used the fittings to pump in extra grease until it started to come out the front; I guess they were so tightly packed they were hot until they were "broken in" for a while. They were never so hot that I couldn't keep my hand on them, but hotter than I liked.

Dexter lists recommended greases, and specifications.

[hippy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray,IN CD is correct. The hub fills with grease when using the zerk fitting. This Dexter pdf is self-explaining. E-Z lube axles work the same way as the cheap Bearing Buddy axle caps; but the Bearing Buddy caps have a spring that keeps the grease pressurized-which is why they should never be used on an axle with brakes; the spring pushes grease past the grease seal, into the brakes. The E-Z lube axles have an outlet for excess grease, so I doubt heating would push grease past the seals.

Thanks for the link, it really explains how they work. my new trailer has them and i was not sure how they worked. i am familiar with bearing buddies, and you are right...should not b used with brake wheels. and yes, i was always taught that the grease is a heat dissapiater for the bearings