First of all, you don't know how much grease there is in the hub, and one or two pumps may do next to nothing. Thanks for this post, Jason. Almost all trailer manufacturers say once a year or a certain mileage (ours is 12k). Maybe only on smaller trailers? I cannot tell you how to prevent this from happening, but it is better to clean and hand pack your bearings annually!!! I wasnt overcharged. I get it. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -, 2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles), US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population, My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data, and are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes, should not be constituted as related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, religious, spiritual, or practical advice. Curious why Dexter uses them on some trailers and not others? Remove the rubber plug from the end of the grease cap. After all it's FREE! At this point Im feeling a bit screwed over to be honest. This causes the existing grease to be pushed toward the outer bearing and into the dust cap. Your email address will not be published. Not a fan of the EZ-Lube feature but for those who use the feature it is better than doing nothing. The only time you need to gease your wheel bearings are when you check the brake linings. Dont blame the EZ Lubes. Rather pack the bearings yourself (I.e.
Until, that is, he had left and Im reading the instructions included with our brakes. Next wheel checked was drivers front. Ive heard of TruRyde and realize they are drop in replacements, but they arent Dexter. Yes, they got my brakes fixed. Good to know. Home RV Tips How to Lubricate Dexter EZ Lube Axles. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. This covers the chamber holding the grease and gives you access to the zerk fitting: Notice the chamber is almost emply. No grease inside the drum but the pads were worn on the outer edges indicating that the pads were adjusted too tightly (on self adjusting brakes no less). Outer Bearing FiveInA5th.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I wonder if the seals weaken after they get older. Annoyed again. Remember that these different types of axle systems are meant to make servicing your trailer bearings easier. To me, grease zerks should be illegal because they are stopping people from doing it the proper way.
We've had our 2010 Jayco for a year and a half and have towed it around 10,000 miles. In the center of the dust caps reservoir wall is a zerk fitting that lets grease be added to the reservoir. So we had to pay to have the backing plates and drums replaced as well as a bearing repack. Discover. -- Attributed to Mark Twain. Actually, now Im moving from annoyed to angry. This also meant I didnt have to hitch up to the truck because there wasnt any additional strain on the front landing legs. then you need to tear it down and see what's going on. They proceed to tell me they only ordered parts for one axle by mistake and the other parts will be here on Monday. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); New Domicile State Mail Forwarding for RVers, Dexter EZ-Lube Axles Expensive Mistake. Heres how I did it and what I learned. Read below to understand design differences and how to properly grease each. Since Dexter themselves say it is safe, I bought a grease gun and did the job myself. As you go down the road, the wheel spins causing the molecules of grease to rub against one another. Now Im really getting upset. We decide to not even look at the passenger side since they both were going to need replacing at this point as well. If so, why not do proper greasing then? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. When grease is pumped in the zerk, it is pushed through the inner pathway of the spindle to reach the inner bearing first. While rotating the hub, pump grease slowly into the fitting. Well, fast forward just a few weeks and we are near Crestview, Florida getting our domicile situation squared away and decided to stay longer so we could get our brakes looked at too. There is another design out there that are being used on 4wd trucks but will work on anything. It is helping. For all Oregon stores, debit price and sale price are equal; paying with debit card or credit will receive the same price discounts. Back plate (basically the brake assembly) needed to be replaced along with drum. These arent a new type but have gained in popularity so most new trailers come with them now. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Seeing that I was still asleep he says, they didnt call you did they?. Maybe we had plans? As I write this Ive called and left a message asking just that so well see what they say.
A lot of 5th wheel and travel trailer RVs come with Dexter axles and use the Dexter EZ Lube system. The procedure is as follows: When new grease starts to come out, you can stop pumping. I was upset. But I suppose they taught us another lesson. Wow that sucks! Your email address will not be published. They will advise against just relying on EZ-Lube and to inspect and repack annual. (Disclaimer: Anything you do to your vehicle or trailer is your decision and I do not accept any responsibility for accidents, mishaps, or damage that may occur if you follow the procedures Ive listed here.). Kindle Paperwhite - Worth It For Kids Under 10?
But Ive tried these on my 5th wheel and they dont work. The grease once it gets on the shoes, require a total replacement!!! I use Lucas Marine Grease ad follow Dexters instruction for greasing. These cookies do not store any personal information. Less maintenance time? Amen. The old displaced grease will begin to flow back out the cap around the grease gun nozzle. The kid doing the work did a good job. For my many trailers, I "pull their hubs", do a full brake inspections and grease their axles "every other year". I had the EZ-Lubes on a 17ft Jayco we had. First, remove plastic cap on the end of the axle: Then remove the rubber cap. With more than 76 locations across the country and over 7600 trailers available nationwide, we are the largest independent trailer dealership in the USA. Some folks add grease via grease zerk, keep driving and NEVER inspect their brakes. The trailer photo displayed may be an example only. Trailer dimensions, weights and measurements will vary due to manufacturing and production changes. I closely watched him so that I can just do the job myself next time. In practice, the frame on my 5th wheel is 25 inches high and I would likely have to raise it another 10-12 inches to get the tire to come off the ground. My 5th wheel has electric drum brakes that require occasional adjustment to tighten them. Thats why your brakes look like they do. Second, you will most likely blow grease out the rear seals. Ajustment is easy and follows the standard procedure for manually adjusting drum brakes. If you blew out the rear seal, you put way too much grease in it. Explore. This content is provided as is and is subject to change or removal at any time. Key West - Closer to Cuba than to Walmart, Use wheel chocks on opposite side of trailer, Jack up a wheel enough that it can spin freely, Remove the cap covering the axle zerk fitting, Attach grease gun to zerk and start pumping grease while rotating wheel, Continue pumping grease until the new grease starts coming out the front, Remove grease gun, wipe away excess grease, and replace cap, Lower wheel and repeat for the other wheels. Two of the four drums had grease in them causing the brakes to no longer function properly. Yeap, its the RV tech. I recently performed this maintenance on my 5th wheel. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.
Yes. -57- He tells me they are a sister company to Dexter but Im fairly certain that is not the case. I guess I am old school, but you can pump all the grease you want into the cavity between the bearings, that does not mean any of it will ever get to the bearing surface. ">, "The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. Sail away from the safe harbor. This seemed a lot safer because I was only raising the tire and not the whole trailer. Dream. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Im obviously still not happy so he gets the owner of the company on the phone and hands it to me. So throw off the bowlines. I may do it by hand the next time around though. The axles come from the factory with just a little bit of grease in the bearings. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! You just put the ramp under one tire and drive up. This allows new grease to be added to the hubs where the outer bearings is, all without having to remove the hub. The trailer pictures on this site may not match your vehicle exactly; however, it will match as closely as possible. Dexter parts are made in the USA.
Valvoline General Multi-purpose Lithium grease. The reason the seal gave out is because of too much grease and no where for it to go. Continue pumping until grease starts to come out the front around the grease gun. Pretty sure it's up to the trailer manufacturer what kinda axles they use, I imagine the EZ Lubes are a few bucks more. They go on to say that "it will do a complete repack of the bearings as it was designed to do.". Some trailers shown with optional equipment. So obviously something wasnt right and I feared the worse. Just two pumps, slowly, while turning the wheel is all it needs. My leaf springs have too much give and the other tire never gets high enough to rise off the ground. Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means that if you buy something after clicking, we may receive compensation. EZ Lube type axles work great and adding grease will not blow the seals, For detailed instructions on how to do your bearings and adjust brakes, including pictures, go.
This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Make sure the grease gun nozzle is fully engaged on the fitting. Ill bet you did neither. ;o), Unless you see signs of them loosing grease I'd stick to about 40,000 miles or two years. I followed these directions for lubricating my wheel bears and had the grease push out through the rear seals and contaminate my brakes. I pull each hub off - the "old school" way. I dont like having to follow-up myself when good service would indicate keeping the customer up-to-date. This does not affect the price you pay for the item and it helps us cover the costs of keeping this website running. Damn. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon Services LLC. Did we pay such a high price for self-adjusting brakes made by Dexter and get China made manual adjusting brakes which need adjustment every 3000 miles? Wow, 100% markup. These are meant for tandem or triple axle trailers and let you raise a tire off the ground without using a jack at all. This allows you to lubricate the inner and outer bearings by having a pathway from the zerk on the end of the axle to the inner bearing. This was during our two month stay in Naples, Florida. These are the ones without a spring. This was Monday. -58- "Zerk Fitting" This is a pretty common problem,you put a zerk fitting on anything then the persons thinks it needs greased weekly. If hubs are removed from an axle with the E-Z Lube feature, it is imperative that the seals be replaced BEFORE bearing lubrication. The dealer put grease in mine when it was there for other service, and they ended up blowing grease all over the brake shoes inside. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Grease chamber is nearly empty from the factory. Chamber now full of grease. Ouch! 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.". Not responsible for pricing or typographical errors. So with an ez lube hub, which I have no experience with, will a pump of grease every 6 months or so do that?! But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. He didnt seem to understand my point and just stood firm that he got the job done and thats that. TruRyde in China. See the actual trailer for complete accuracy of features, options & pricing. Copied from dexter manual for bearing maintenance. Wednesday has come and no word from the tech so I call to see if they are coming out on Thursday. Its a new product but should be on the market in the trailer world within the next year. If you were to grease it the old way and check the temperature of the hub, you would find that it is cooler than when you have it full of grease. Seems to be a good system, just quirky. I had read dozens of posts online from folks warning others not to do it. I used about 3/4 of a tube for each wheel. The premise is simple, instead of needing to take the wheels off, remove the brake drum, pull out the bearings manually and repack, you use the grease zerk to pump new grease through the spindle while turning the wheel. Annoyed again. Now Im pissed.
Until, that is, he had left and Im reading the instructions included with our brakes. Next wheel checked was drivers front. Ive heard of TruRyde and realize they are drop in replacements, but they arent Dexter. Yes, they got my brakes fixed. Good to know. Home RV Tips How to Lubricate Dexter EZ Lube Axles. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. This covers the chamber holding the grease and gives you access to the zerk fitting: Notice the chamber is almost emply. No grease inside the drum but the pads were worn on the outer edges indicating that the pads were adjusted too tightly (on self adjusting brakes no less). Outer Bearing FiveInA5th.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I wonder if the seals weaken after they get older. Annoyed again. Remember that these different types of axle systems are meant to make servicing your trailer bearings easier. To me, grease zerks should be illegal because they are stopping people from doing it the proper way.
We've had our 2010 Jayco for a year and a half and have towed it around 10,000 miles. In the center of the dust caps reservoir wall is a zerk fitting that lets grease be added to the reservoir. So we had to pay to have the backing plates and drums replaced as well as a bearing repack. Discover. -- Attributed to Mark Twain. Actually, now Im moving from annoyed to angry. This also meant I didnt have to hitch up to the truck because there wasnt any additional strain on the front landing legs. then you need to tear it down and see what's going on. They proceed to tell me they only ordered parts for one axle by mistake and the other parts will be here on Monday. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); New Domicile State Mail Forwarding for RVers, Dexter EZ-Lube Axles Expensive Mistake. Heres how I did it and what I learned. Read below to understand design differences and how to properly grease each. Since Dexter themselves say it is safe, I bought a grease gun and did the job myself. As you go down the road, the wheel spins causing the molecules of grease to rub against one another. Now Im really getting upset. We decide to not even look at the passenger side since they both were going to need replacing at this point as well. If so, why not do proper greasing then? We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. When grease is pumped in the zerk, it is pushed through the inner pathway of the spindle to reach the inner bearing first. While rotating the hub, pump grease slowly into the fitting. Well, fast forward just a few weeks and we are near Crestview, Florida getting our domicile situation squared away and decided to stay longer so we could get our brakes looked at too. There is another design out there that are being used on 4wd trucks but will work on anything. It is helping. For all Oregon stores, debit price and sale price are equal; paying with debit card or credit will receive the same price discounts. Back plate (basically the brake assembly) needed to be replaced along with drum. These arent a new type but have gained in popularity so most new trailers come with them now. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Seeing that I was still asleep he says, they didnt call you did they?. Maybe we had plans? As I write this Ive called and left a message asking just that so well see what they say.
A lot of 5th wheel and travel trailer RVs come with Dexter axles and use the Dexter EZ Lube system. The procedure is as follows: When new grease starts to come out, you can stop pumping. I was upset. But I suppose they taught us another lesson. Wow that sucks! Your email address will not be published. They will advise against just relying on EZ-Lube and to inspect and repack annual. (Disclaimer: Anything you do to your vehicle or trailer is your decision and I do not accept any responsibility for accidents, mishaps, or damage that may occur if you follow the procedures Ive listed here.). Kindle Paperwhite - Worth It For Kids Under 10?
But Ive tried these on my 5th wheel and they dont work. The grease once it gets on the shoes, require a total replacement!!! I use Lucas Marine Grease ad follow Dexters instruction for greasing. These cookies do not store any personal information. Less maintenance time? Amen. The old displaced grease will begin to flow back out the cap around the grease gun nozzle. The kid doing the work did a good job. For my many trailers, I "pull their hubs", do a full brake inspections and grease their axles "every other year". I had the EZ-Lubes on a 17ft Jayco we had. First, remove plastic cap on the end of the axle: Then remove the rubber cap. With more than 76 locations across the country and over 7600 trailers available nationwide, we are the largest independent trailer dealership in the USA. Some folks add grease via grease zerk, keep driving and NEVER inspect their brakes. The trailer photo displayed may be an example only. Trailer dimensions, weights and measurements will vary due to manufacturing and production changes. I closely watched him so that I can just do the job myself next time. In practice, the frame on my 5th wheel is 25 inches high and I would likely have to raise it another 10-12 inches to get the tire to come off the ground. My 5th wheel has electric drum brakes that require occasional adjustment to tighten them. Thats why your brakes look like they do. Second, you will most likely blow grease out the rear seals. Ajustment is easy and follows the standard procedure for manually adjusting drum brakes. If you blew out the rear seal, you put way too much grease in it. Explore. This content is provided as is and is subject to change or removal at any time. Key West - Closer to Cuba than to Walmart, Use wheel chocks on opposite side of trailer, Jack up a wheel enough that it can spin freely, Remove the cap covering the axle zerk fitting, Attach grease gun to zerk and start pumping grease while rotating wheel, Continue pumping grease until the new grease starts coming out the front, Remove grease gun, wipe away excess grease, and replace cap, Lower wheel and repeat for the other wheels. Two of the four drums had grease in them causing the brakes to no longer function properly. Yeap, its the RV tech. I recently performed this maintenance on my 5th wheel. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.
Yes. -57- He tells me they are a sister company to Dexter but Im fairly certain that is not the case. I guess I am old school, but you can pump all the grease you want into the cavity between the bearings, that does not mean any of it will ever get to the bearing surface. ">, "The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. Sail away from the safe harbor. This seemed a lot safer because I was only raising the tire and not the whole trailer. Dream. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Im obviously still not happy so he gets the owner of the company on the phone and hands it to me. So throw off the bowlines. I may do it by hand the next time around though. The axles come from the factory with just a little bit of grease in the bearings. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! You just put the ramp under one tire and drive up. This allows new grease to be added to the hubs where the outer bearings is, all without having to remove the hub. The trailer pictures on this site may not match your vehicle exactly; however, it will match as closely as possible. Dexter parts are made in the USA.
Valvoline General Multi-purpose Lithium grease. The reason the seal gave out is because of too much grease and no where for it to go. Continue pumping until grease starts to come out the front around the grease gun. Pretty sure it's up to the trailer manufacturer what kinda axles they use, I imagine the EZ Lubes are a few bucks more. They go on to say that "it will do a complete repack of the bearings as it was designed to do.". Some trailers shown with optional equipment. So obviously something wasnt right and I feared the worse. Just two pumps, slowly, while turning the wheel is all it needs. My leaf springs have too much give and the other tire never gets high enough to rise off the ground. Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means that if you buy something after clicking, we may receive compensation. EZ Lube type axles work great and adding grease will not blow the seals, For detailed instructions on how to do your bearings and adjust brakes, including pictures, go.
This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Make sure the grease gun nozzle is fully engaged on the fitting. Ill bet you did neither. ;o), Unless you see signs of them loosing grease I'd stick to about 40,000 miles or two years. I followed these directions for lubricating my wheel bears and had the grease push out through the rear seals and contaminate my brakes. I pull each hub off - the "old school" way. I dont like having to follow-up myself when good service would indicate keeping the customer up-to-date. This does not affect the price you pay for the item and it helps us cover the costs of keeping this website running. Damn. Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon Services LLC. Did we pay such a high price for self-adjusting brakes made by Dexter and get China made manual adjusting brakes which need adjustment every 3000 miles? Wow, 100% markup. These are meant for tandem or triple axle trailers and let you raise a tire off the ground without using a jack at all. This allows you to lubricate the inner and outer bearings by having a pathway from the zerk on the end of the axle to the inner bearing. This was during our two month stay in Naples, Florida. These are the ones without a spring. This was Monday. -58- "Zerk Fitting" This is a pretty common problem,you put a zerk fitting on anything then the persons thinks it needs greased weekly. If hubs are removed from an axle with the E-Z Lube feature, it is imperative that the seals be replaced BEFORE bearing lubrication. The dealer put grease in mine when it was there for other service, and they ended up blowing grease all over the brake shoes inside. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Grease chamber is nearly empty from the factory. Chamber now full of grease. Ouch! 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.". Not responsible for pricing or typographical errors. So with an ez lube hub, which I have no experience with, will a pump of grease every 6 months or so do that?! But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. He didnt seem to understand my point and just stood firm that he got the job done and thats that. TruRyde in China. See the actual trailer for complete accuracy of features, options & pricing. Copied from dexter manual for bearing maintenance. Wednesday has come and no word from the tech so I call to see if they are coming out on Thursday. Its a new product but should be on the market in the trailer world within the next year. If you were to grease it the old way and check the temperature of the hub, you would find that it is cooler than when you have it full of grease. Seems to be a good system, just quirky. I had read dozens of posts online from folks warning others not to do it. I used about 3/4 of a tube for each wheel. The premise is simple, instead of needing to take the wheels off, remove the brake drum, pull out the bearings manually and repack, you use the grease zerk to pump new grease through the spindle while turning the wheel. Annoyed again. Now Im pissed.