Greasing TT Wheel bearings.

[BigDfromTN]

Hello all.

I purchased a TT that has been sitting for some time. (practically since new)

The hubs have the fittings for a grease gun in the center.  In the past with smaller trailers I was under the impression that one should pump grease until you see it coming through the front bearings. 

Is this correct?  If not what is the proper way to do this maint.??

 

[Bobandpamlemay]

Do not pump grease until you see it coming out. By that time you've already broken the seal and set yourself for doom. What I would do first is have the bearings cleaned and repacked right now. If you're going to use the trailer for long trips, I would use the grease fittings somewhere along the way but I would only give the fittings ONE shot of grease. If possible, try to use the same grease ujsed in the repacking process.

Bob

 

[jje1960]

Hmmm, now I'm absolutely confused, I thought I had read on the manufactures instructions that pumping until fresh was coming out was exactly what was supposed to be done.  Unless of course the inner seals had failed, which would allow the grease to be pumped through into the brake area, which would also prevent the grease from even making it out to the outer seal area.  I'll go back and read again....

 

[lavarock1210]

A trailer that has been sitting for some time!  I would recommend repacking the bearings with new seals and a through inspection of the bearings and brakes. 

 

[BigDfromTN]

Hmmm, now I'm absolutely confused, I thought I had read on the manufactures instructions that pumping until fresh was coming out was exactly what was supposed to be done.  Unless of course the inner seals had failed, which would allow the grease to be pumped through into the brake area, which would also prevent the grease from even making it out to the outer seal area.  I'll go back and read again....

This was my understanding as well.  Just wanted to make sure.

Other poster may not realize I was speaking of seeing it come through the outer bearing?

We dont do long trips per se.  100 miles is tops.  I checked the hubs after the last trip and they were all evenly warmed but not hot.

I plan to do the break down, clean repack and seals before beginning of next year.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[jje1960]

I reviewed the EZ Lube maintenance spec's again, will attach the .pdf.  If there are no warning signs (like over-heat grease splatters on the wheel... or worse) then Dexter has engineered the EZ Lube hubs for replacing the grease.  I am using Mobil synthetic, yes it's expensive $8.50/tube, however I'm not paying $800- + per year to schedule a dealer (60mi drive) have the unit jacked up, wheels removed, brakes checked and the bearings manually packed every year.  If that's others way, kudo's, however after speaking to an RV mechanic that was not working on a sales agenda, I'm going with our plan, which is up to five years (depending on mileage and conditions) we are not going with the $800 + service.  To be a bit more specific, the mechanic stated that anything under 12k (or more) without warning signs was extra.  Again, warning signs include many... Pumping grease into the bearings and seeing nothing come out is one of those signs... Removal of the rubber cap and not seeing grease is one of those signs... Any indication of excessive heat is not good.  Imagine I'll get brutalized by others for our plan, however we have not had any bearing problems with anything in the past with our RV's or boat trailers.

 

[eliallen]

On the EZ Lube setup, If you replace the cotter key, make sure it is the same size as the old one. Other wise you will never get lube to the inside bearing. 

 

[BigDfromTN]

On the EZ Lube setup, If you replace the cotter key, make sure it is the same size as the old one. Other wise you will never get lube to the inside bearing.

Very good Tip.  Makes sense.

 

[Bobandpamlemay]

I guess I have to genuflect to the experts at greasing. My trailer towing has been up and down mountains out west and up in Canada and at least 10,000 miles per year. I am one of those who have bearings repacked, seals replaced, brakes inspected and tires rotated annually only because I'm seen the effects of not being so diligent when I managed a gas station in the old days before EZ bearings but not before Bearing Buddies.
At a minimun. I hope the original poster has the bearings cleaned, repacked and seals replaced and the races inspected. But what do I know.

Bob

 

[BigDfromTN]

I guess I have to genuflect to the experts at greasing. My trailer towing has been up and down mountains out west and up in Canada and at least 10,000 miles per year. I am one of those who have bearings repacked, seals replaced, brakes inspected and tires rotated annually only because I'm seen the effects of not being so diligent when I managed a gas station in the old days before EZ bearings but not before Bearing Buddies.
At a minimun. I hope the original poster has the bearings cleaned, repacked and seals replaced and the races inspected. But what do I know.

Bob

I  certainly plan to and will do as you suggested.

The "newer" Dexter EZ lube axles ends are much different than the old Bearing Buddies.  I have had those in the past as well.  If you look at the prior PDF attachement you can see how this system works and that it is much different than the BB system.

Thanks for your input!!!

 

[IrishBrewer]

I think it is a good idea to do a full bearing cleaning and packing any time you purchase a used trailer that you do not have a good service history of. 

I purchased a lightly used TT but the wheels had been under water at some point and some of that water made its way into the hubs.  Some of the bearings were not spinning freely due to the contaminated grease and this resulted in some pitting of the races.  I ended up replacing all of the seals, races and bearings on two of the four wheels and the other two just needed a cleaning and repacking.  Once you have done one wheel, you have a good idea of the process and if you don't need to replace any races, you could do a wheel in about 20 minutes.  It takes a bit longer if you are trying to salvage the existing inner seals.  Otherwise, you can beat them out pretty quickly and replace with new.  Just make sure to use a good waterproof bearing grease.  Also, if you do need to replace any races, save one of the old ones and cut a radial slit in it to use as a race driver - works great.

I also have the EZ-Lube spindles and even though you are supposed to be able to fill the entire cavity with grease, I'm still a bit wary about an inner seal failure that would result in a lot of grease being thrown into the brakes and that would be bad.  I do take some long trips but I think you can go a couple seasons between a full teardown and I tend to hit each spindle with a couple pumps from the grease gun a couple times a season.  I actually enjoy repacking bearings and I would do it every year if I had the time but in most cases, I don't think it is really necessary to do annually.  If you were going to have your hubs overhauled by a shop, a yearly trip could get pricy.

 

[BigDfromTN]

I think it is a good idea to do a full bearing cleaning and packing any time you purchase a used trailer that you do not have a good service history of. 
I purchased a lightly used TT but the wheels had been under water at some point and some of that water made its way into the hubs.  Some of the bearings were not spinning freely due to the contaminated grease and this resulted in some pitting of the races.  I ended up replacing all of the seals, races and bearings on two of the four wheels and the other two just needed a cleaning and repacking.  Once you have done one wheel, you have a good idea of the process and if you don't need to replace any races, you could do a wheel in about 20 minutes.  It takes a bit longer if you are trying to salvage the existing inner seals.  Otherwise, you can beat them out pretty quickly and replace with new.  Just make sure to use a good waterproof bearing grease.  Also, if you do need to replace any races, save one of the old ones and cut a radial slit in it to use as a race driver - works great.

I also have the EZ-Lube spindles and even though you are supposed to be able to fill the entire cavity with grease, I'm still a bit wary about an inner seal failure that would result in a lot of grease being thrown into the brakes and that would be bad.  I do take some long trips but I think you can go a couple seasons between a full teardown and I tend to hit each spindle with a couple pumps from the grease gun a couple times a season.   I actually enjoy repacking bearings and I would do it every year if I had the time but in most cases, I don't think it is really necessary to do annually.  If you were going to have your hubs overhauled by a shop, a yearly trip could get pricy.

Agree with the fact if you dont know the history. Actually I do pretty well know the history of this TT.  It was a trailer setup on the local US Navy base as a rental.  SO, it was towed there from the factory and sit until this year.  Tires and a repack are on the list of things to do by next spring.

I did tow it a few times so far.  First of all.  Home, and did some needed repairs. Did a few test runs with the truck and a few test drives with a couple of other trucks before I bought a new one.  Then a short local shake down trip totaling about 50 miles.  Since then a camping trip of about 200 miles total.

I have greased them per the mfg instructions and will do the teardown, inspect, new seals etc by spring.

As for the "couple of pumps"  Unless your hubs are full, All you are doing is hitting the inner bearings and the outers are not getting any attention. (As Im sure you are aware, but others may not be.)

Agreed on the fact that annual may be too often depending on how much a person tows their TT.

 

[Foto-n-T]

Hub assembly/brake inspections are one of the biggies that get ignored on trailers and I'm afraid that I'm guilty of the offense now more than ever. Especially since our rig has six of them. I've had it on my "list" of to do items, but since I've got the EZ Lube hubs installed it's just too easy to defer it. I'm pretty sure that I'm do for brakes so I suppose doing a couple every weekend would probably be my next objective. I think you folks may have motivated me.

A number of years ago I inquired at a local shop about having it done. The price quoted for just four hubs made it clear to me that they really had no interest in doing the job. Since then I've always done my own. It's not a tough job but yer gonna get dirty. And a cheap bearing packed is worth it's weight in gold!!  I now have two simply because I forgot to bring mine one year when we went on the road.

 

[jje1960]

The main reason I believe that just giving a couple of pumps is not a good idea... Is really only valid when you do not know what grease is currently in the housing.  I know the current grease in our new unit is not/not the Mobile synthetic that I'm replacing it with (first service) so I want to pump the old through.  Next year, I'll actually just pump a few times making sure the grease is pushed through vs not moving... which means trouble.

 

[IrishBrewer]

Getting the old seal out intact is often the hardest part of the job and a decent seal should last for several years as long as they are not damaged when you drive them out. 

One thing I wish I could find is a good tool for driving out the inner seals quickly without any damage.  I ended up fashoning something out of wood but it starts to split after you beat on it for a while.  I suppose I could make something similar out of a different material like a hard plastic or something else that would not mar the seal housing.

 

[COMer]

Everything I've heard suggests that it is risky to try to reuse a seal.  Driving them out is bound to distort them slightly and they really need to be tight.  I bought a supply for about $2.50 each and carry them with me.  I just throw the old one away  I need to pull the wheel and replace with a new one.  Peace of  mind if nothing else.

 

[IrishBrewer]

At $2.50 a piece, I would buy a bunch to keep on hand and there would be little need to re-use.  When I last looked for these, I couldn't find them that cheap.  Do you remember where you got them?

 

[COMer]

I just checked and etrailer.com has them for $2.49 in single quantities. I use a 10-19 but last year, the best price was $1.89 each when you bought six or so.  I bought about 12 at the better price.  I also checked our local RV store and they were $3.  I actually got a few there for the job I was in and didn't want to wait.  But the bigger supply went with me and I have already used a few.  Like you said, you don't try to reuse at that price.