Lippert axle with EZ-lube wheel bearings?

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Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl

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I have a 2011 Palomino Puma 253-FBS. Their brochure specifies EZ-Lube wheel bearings. This surprised me because they use so many Lippert parts. I am getting ready to lube the bearings, and am getting very confused.

The Puma manual is useless. It doesn't even mention wheel bearings or axles. It has a Lippert manual with several pages on axles, but no mention of EZ-lube. I was not aware that an EZ-lube wheel bearing was possible on a Lippert axle

I climbed underneath, and verified that it is indeed a Lippert axle. Next, i checked that there is indeed a grease zerk behind the rubber plug in the center of the hub.

Can anybody relieve my confusion?

Joel
 
First things first: be careful about how much grease you pump in there.

Everything has to be warm.  The axle, bearings, the grease.

Jack the wheel up (safely of course) and pump in 2 or 3 shots of grease very slowly as you turn the wheel.  More than that, or cold grease increases the risk of blowing the seals and contaminating your brakes with grease.

I've had 4 trailers with EZ-lube or Bearing Buddy's and always did it this way.  Never had a blown seal or a failed bearing.

I think if you google 'EZ Lube bearing maintenance' you find pretty much the same instructions.  Dexter also has instructions on their site.
 
My BigTex 70TV trailer has EZ Lube hubs on Dexter axles and Just like said above I just pump enough grease to see a bit of the old grease come back in the Zerk hole. At least on Dexter there is a exit port in the hub where your Zerk is.
 
I bought my 5er used with EZ Lube.  When I picked it up from the previous he said he gave the bearings a couple of shots of grease.  I decided when I got home to check the brakes etc.  Found my brake pads covered in grease.  Be careful how much you use these.
 
I have this setup and it is not like the old school EZ Lube Hubs. The zert fitting is on the end of the axel and the grease goes through the axel and enters at the back of the bearing. While slowly turning the wheel while pumping it will force all of the old grease forward. It very easy to tell when the new grease is all through the bearing. There is no way to blow out the rear seal. I love this system!!!
 
I have always been of the opinion that these type of systems are suitable for boat trailers where hot bearing housings are plunged into the water..... but not so good for other trailers. 
Generally speaking, it's bad practice to completely fill the cavity with grease in any bearing housing.  The bearings will tend to run hotter..... and it's not like th grease will circulate around in there like it would if it were an oil bath..... only a very small amount of the grease is really used..... the rest of it just acts like an insulator.
Much better, IMHO, to do a proper clean, inspect, and re-pack periodically
If time doesn't permit..... well then all bets are off and pushing the old grease out with new surely beats the alternative....
 
I use mine as a maintenance tool. Jack it up, spin the wheel, and pump in grease. If you pump it 5 or 6 times and no grease is coming out... stop. The seal is probably breached and you could ruin your brakes. If the old grease looks like metallic paint... stop. You've got a bad bearing. In either case, you must now pull the hub and repair the problem. If neither happens, you're good.

I can't figure out why anyone would have a problem with this system.
 
Some people on this thread (including me) are referring to the EZ lube axles and others are referring to EZ lube hubs. With the EZ lube axles it is not possible to blow out the rear seal. As far as extra grease being in the hub, I just use my finger to wipe out any extra grease before I reinstall the rubber cap.
 
I have the EZ Lube Lippert but prefer to tear down inspect and repack by hand. :)
 
Sean G. said:
+1

The intention is to exchange the grease with new and not have to dissasemble the hub.
Click to expand...

To expand on my inspection process.  Jack up the wheel and check end play.  It should be very little.  Like hearing it move but not seeing any movement.  Then spin the wheel.  (Note, the brake might need to be backed off to prevent noise). The bearings should be completely silent.  If any rumbling is heard then they need to be replaced.  Rumbling indicates pitting from fatigue or rust.  Loss of end play retension indicates legitimate bearing wear and should be replaced.  This thought process shadows the inspection process for unitized and preset bearings on heavy duty axles. 

After dissasembling bearings every year on multiple PWC trailers I learned to trust the inspection and never had a problem.  Silent is good, rumble and/or loose means replace.  After inspection then I will exhange the grease and move on. 


And because no one elaborated.  Bearing Buddies holds a slight positive pressure on the hub for boat trailers so water can't ingress.  On land locked axles these just tell you in a hurry when your seal wears out. 

E Z Lube axles are as previously stated with the spindle drilled out to behind the inner bearing. 
 
Three year old trailer.  I assume you have never greased the bearings.  After three years it is time to remove the drums inspect the brakes Clean and inspect the bearings.  Grease the bearings and install with new grease seals.

I do this every two years as I want to know the condition of my brakes and the bearings.
 
Heat??? Bearings with correct clearance and plenty of lubrication do not get hot... dry bearing s get hot in a hurry. I've heard the theory that a hub/bearing cavity full of grease holds in heat, but it doesn't wash. There are many people successfully using this form of lubing their bearings. If this heat holding problem was real and melting bearings, there would be a huge outcry about it. I've been using this system for a longer time than I've been RVing, and not once have I had a bad bearing, or even a warm bearing, over thousands of miles towing. I know there are many that think this is bad because "we always did it the old way"... but time marches on.. and things change, very often for the better.
 
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