What type of grease

[montara24d]

I have E Z lube axels on our Montana 5th wheel & used the fitting in the past with good results. I would like to inspect the axel bearings, & repack prior to an upcomming 18-20,000 mile trip. What type of grease is recommended? I have e mailed DEXTER & am still waiting for a resopnse. Also has anyone used a bearing packer. I have packed many bearings over the years by hand, & would like to do away with some of the mess if possible. Thanks for the help.

[montara24d]

Did what I should have done in the 1st place & took a closer look at the DEXTER service book. they have many recommendations. Mobilgrease HP, Mobilith AW@, or Exxon RONEX MP or Kendall L-427 super lube, or Valvoline Multipurpose, and the list goes on. I guess any high quality wheel bearing grease will do the job. I'm still open to suggestions.
JOHN

[a k]

Anything that's left over in the grease gun.

[GPW]

I read that it's bad to mix different brands of grease ... any thoughts on that ???

[Ray,IN]

Do hot use general purpose grease, only use high temperature wheel bearing grease. I don't know if my method of determining which bearing grease is already in the bearings is correct or not, but I remove the cap and determine grease color, then go buy the same color. The most common wheel bearing greases use lithium as the thickener, and I suspect is what nearly all axle manufacturers use in bearings.

[Randy the sly old fox]

Mixing grease types could result in a sludgy mess that could just melt instead of provding lubrication. If you have Lithium additives make sure that you stay with them.

[GPW]

Thanks !!! Clearer now !!!

[IC2]

This is Dexter's lube chart:

http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/Bearing_Lubrication.pdf

A couple words of warning if you haven't done a full brake inspection and bearing pack on E-Z Lube axles. First of all, have lots of rags immediately available. The amount of grease that is in each hub - wow. Latex or nitrile glove are nice to limit the personal mess. And of course, the grease drools everywhere. Secondly, you may need a drum/hub puller to remove the assembly. The Chinese made bearings were hung up on the spindle - tho not sure they were the problem

These words of advice come as I have just cleaned myself up after disassembling the first of a pair of brand new replacement Dexter E-Z Lube axles replacing a pair of Nevr-Lube clunks.

And yes, there are quality issues with the first one of the replacement axles

[Mopar1973Man]

IC2 is right...

After going over my axles and repacking the bearings its a messy job and I'm going to get a few things to make lift easy.

Box of cheap gloves (latex / nitrile)
Bearing packer

[montara24d]

Thanks for all the input, & suggestions. I am still interested in knowing if anyone has used a bearing packer, & if they do a proper job.
THANKS, JOHN

[IC2]

Originally Posted by montara24d

Thanks for all the input, & suggestions. I am still interested in knowing if anyone has used a bearing packer, & if they do a proper job.
THANKS, JOHN

There are some good commercial bearing packers available - and I have one somewhere. But many, many years ago when I was in the US Army, my motor sergeant convinced me that since I was already well greased up, that I might just as well do it by hand and know I did it correctly (then I became the motor sergeant and convinced others). I still do them by hand. It's easy once you get the bearing clean. Do the initial pack by hand, then after reassembly using a hand operated grease gun (per Dexter's instructions) fill up the rest of the hub cavity through the Zerk fitting.

There is one positive which your significant other will appreciate - nice soft hands.

This is a picture of the spindle - brand new and crummy looking:

The little notch on top is where the grease exits to the bearing which means you really have to spin the hub for good distribution of the lube

Oh yeah, make sure you have new grease seals - probably Dexter p/n 010-036-00 or SKF/C-R 22573. NAPA also has them, but they are price prohibitive there

[montara24d]

Thanks for your thoughts IC2. I have been considering using a bearing packer for quite a while. I'm 63 yrs. young, & have packed more than a few bearings in the past by hand, & am SLOW to change my way of doing what I know works. BY HAND IT IS.
JOHN

[IC2]

This is what I used to pull the hubs:



The lugs - 1/2"-20. So you will need threaded rod and a two couplers that size to work. They did come off easily with the brakes backed off/new

(Dang - I wish I could be 63 again)

Dave W

[IC2]

One quick update - my local Tractor Supply store has one of the lubes spec'ed/approved in the Dexter axle maintenance manual. Mystik JT-6 Hi-Temp Grease @$2.99/tube. I "assume" the rest of these stores have this grease as well