Community Forums

marjoa · 11-23-2017, 09:21 AM

Read the manual again
It says, "don't raise the wheels OFF the ground". You raise them just enough to remove some of the load to cover steps 1-3. That's why I made that point in my post. Then I grease again with tires fully on the ground LOADED and repeat for following steps. That way it gets greased loaded & partially unloaded.

As far as taking the word of mechanic that has been doing this all his life he has found that through many failed thrust bearings and damaged King Pins this was a sure way to make sure those areas get greased. Once his shop starting doing this procedure they found failures drop dramatically. Plus, my experience as a Millwright, this procedure just makes sense and is thorough. Takes more time yes...but is thorough.

FWIW...I agree that sometimes taking advice from "my friend or my mechanic" can be misleading and not helpful. But in this case by doing it both ways it certainly can't hurt and his whole thread and other poster comments were quite convincing.

BTW...forgot to mention in my previous post. Our 2012 F53 driveshaft has sealed "U" joints and does not require greasing. When I am greasing the front end, I also give a shot or two in all 4 Stabilizing Jack Stand shaft seals which are at the bottom of each cylinder and also in each of the tow bar cylinders.

John Stott · 11-23-2017, 10:02 AM

Thanks to everyone for their posts. This is a lot of good information,

AITG · 11-23-2017, 10:54 AM

Read the manual again
It says, "don't raise the wheels OFF the ground". You raise them just enough to remove some of the load to cover steps 1-3. That's why I made that point in my post. Then I grease again with tires fully on the ground LOADED and repeat for following steps. That way it gets greased loaded & partially unloaded.

I agree. There's a difference between lubing fleet equipment and taking care of your own. Part life is more important than downtime. To force grease into the thrust bearing the weight must be on the tire. However, leaving the weight on the tire means that the lube will travel between the kingpin and the bushing by the least loaded path. Taking the weight off the tire allows grease to flow along the normally loaded side. When everything is new the fit will be relatively tight all the way around the pin. As the bushing wears, the unloaded side becomes the path of least resistance.
Since I have to pay for the repair I will happily spend twice as long doing the job if it prolongs the life of the kingpins.

billyb · 11-23-2017, 11:09 AM

Every 2000 miles, raise the wheels off the ground. I just bought a used unit to replace my totaled unit, an I can see who ever grease this unit did it poorly or not very often in 8 years. It's sad but I was told by the tire man that the king pin bushings are worn badly, soooooo, what say you guys, only 44k miles

vsheetz · 11-23-2017, 11:17 AM

Annually is good.

AITG · 11-23-2017, 11:24 AM

Jack up each front tire and push in on the top of the tire sidewall. If there is any movement they need to be replaced. Letting it go will eventually cost you a set of tires.

Dave1956 · 12-12-2017, 08:34 PM

Great advise here, changed the oil and followed the excellent advise on the lube. I feel like I did a better lube than the shop, for sure they did not lift thw weight off the tires I was there. I did as instructed in this post and got good flow of grease up and down. Need to improve on filter removal, made a mess!

Thanks

Dave

Cover Dog · 12-12-2017, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave1956

Need to improve on filter removal, made a mess!

Thanks

Dave

Drain oil from pan using a Fomoto valve and drain tube. Let oil cool somewhat then when removing the oil filter take a 1 gallon zip lock bag, put it around the filter and unscrew. Oil drains into the bag and the filter can then come off (standing up) into the bag as you unscrew it. Zip bag shut and no mess.

bruce91 · 12-13-2017, 04:49 PM

CJ7365 noted:

NOTE:
Do NOT raise the vehicle off the ground during
greasing. If the wheels are off the ground, grease will not
pass through the thrust bearing properly. This may cause
premature bearing wear and/or failure.

X2

I grease once a year or before a major trip, same for oil.

The below clip was taken from the Dana Spicer lubrication manual go HERE and scroll down to page 12.

Budman199 · 12-13-2017, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marjoa

Grease twice a year. Buy you a pneumatic grease gun. Using a cheap hand held gun will kill your hands and arms.

My greasing procedure
After reading a different post by a fella that worked as a professional heavy truck mechanic, he mentioned to lift the axle some to unload the KingPin (KP) and suspension components before greasing. After clarifing a few things in that post, I realized I have been doing this all wrong and I'm a pretty good mechanic and Millwright by trade and was unaware of this procedure for the KP. But after receiving the advice and reading the procedure manual, it made total sense to me. So I leaped into action and took care of business.

I used my 4 ton bottle jack and lifted one side of the axle at a time. I lifted the axle to where I could see the tire lift—just a little bit—where the load was off.
NOTE: The tire was NOT off the ground. I did not use the leveling jacks to do this because of the safety factor.

On my MH, F53 chassis, there are 9 grease points including the hidden one on top of PS unit. I started with the passenger side. I first greased the top fitting of the (KP) then the bottom, then the other fittings. I then released and removed the jack and greased the top and bottom fitting again with a couple, three shots of grease. So I got that baby unloaded and loaded. Then I moved to the drivers side and replicated this process. When I got to the all the steering fittings, I shot grease in with the tires straight, cranked to the right shot in some more, then cranked to the left shot in some more. Had to go into the MH each time and start it up and crank the steering wheel. Insure that all the old grease is pushed out and only new grease remains. I am totally confident now that my front end is well greased, with all new grease and done properly.

Couple of points here:
• The pneumatic grease gun I bought several months ago was one of the best tool purchases I think I have ever made. And I have a ton of tools. Trying to do this with a conventional hand pump grease gun...FORGET IT.
Grease Gun - https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-1162-...tic+grease+gun
Grease - https://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-Aut...purpose+grease
• I'm attaching the Ford grease point diagram and the full manual that the other OP had pulled a page out of and attached to his post. This manual verifies about the proper procedure for "lifting to unload position"
• I'm also attaching pic's of the equipment I use for your reference

I just recently had my RV (2013 F53 Ford chassis) in for a front end alignment because of tire wear. I was told when there they discovered that the kingpins were dry of grease. Apparently the RV repair shop I had been using did not know the proper procedure to grease when they actually were telling me they greased them.
Fortunately the kingpins were not ruined but I will not return there for anything. The alignment shop basically detailed the same procedures u are mentioning. I also had access to a Ford service manager that confirmed the procedure that weight must be off the axle in order to grease the kingpins correctly. Thanks for ur descriptions, Dennis.

bruce91 · 12-14-2017, 07:31 AM

THIS locking gun tip is another tool to make greasing much easier with less mess. Not cheap but mechanics reviews swear by them.

TeJay · 12-14-2017, 08:35 AM

marjoa, Great job!!!! Very complete post on the DIY greasing procedure. Was not a heavy truck mechanic but still did not fully understand what you posted until I read it. Still learning every day.

During my 35 years teaching most always greased the vehicles while on a lift. It's a lot easier than when on the ground. I'd venture to guess that most all vehicles (when grease fittings were used) were greased with the weight off the front wheels. Perhaps because most of these were ball joint suspensions and not king pin made was the reason.

The point is just because one is schooled in working on standard cars and trucks does not always mean that the information is 100% transferable to a heavy truck chassis on an RV. Case in point. On regular cars/trucks the braking is usually a 70-30 split. Which means that 70% is on the fronts and 30% on the rears. Not so with an RV. Based on the weight distribution it's closer to a 50- 50 split.

The Lincoln grease gun you showed is a great addition to anybodies tool box. I got my first one three years ago and wish I'd had this 30 years ago.

bruce91, that self locking greasing fitting ($30) is also a great addition if you don't have one. I looked at the link. The locking tip looks very stout but the Lincoln gun comes with one and so far it has worked very well. I think I paid around $65 for my gun but it was well worth it.

How's that DIY TB coming?????

Dave1956 · 12-14-2017, 05:18 PM

I also bought a powered greese gun. In my case I chose the battery drill powered gun and it worked great. $30.00 at TSC. I have and compressor, but would need to run out alot of hose to where the coach is for this job. The electric version worked perfect.

I have a question about the Fumoto valve some are using. Do you have any fears of the valve being knocked open while driving? Perhaps by a road hazard? Any other thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

TeJay · 12-14-2017, 06:41 PM

Dave,

The location of the drain plug will depend on how safe it would be. On the F-53 it is up behind the axle and I think I'd have to hit a RR tie before anything smaller could knock it off. If I do hit a RR tie I'm sure I'll stop and check.

Check the location and make your decision. Have yet to hear that one was knocked off by road debris. Road gators would be my biggest concern. They are flexible and could be kicked up to cause some damage.