Wheel Bearing question

[chpence1]

Funny.....
On a similar note why are universal joints and front wheel bearings on rear wheel drive vehicles permanently sealed .

[youroo]

Originally Posted by chpence1

Funny.....
On a similar note why are universal joints and front wheel bearings on rear wheel drive vehicles permanently sealed .

What about "Oil Bath" systems? Youroo!!

[dieselguy]

Teamfour ... I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this. If you get so frustrated with trying to get EZ lube to work that you call Dexter techs, they'll tell you 1.The wheel needs to be spun 2.The cavity has to be full. The wheel needs to be spun otherwise (assuming you don't blow grease past the rear seal) new grease will only displace old grease in the bearing near where the grease hole in the spindle is.This doesn't work as well as a bearing packer as you're relying on a dust seal not the two clamped halves of the bearing packer. If the cavity isn't full, you won't see grease pushed out the front bearing till it is. Grease will take the path of least resistence which is to fill the cavity before it forces thru the outer bearing. Then comes my main complaint with this invention ... the contaminated grease from the rear bearing is pushed into the cavity between the bearings ... mixing with the grease. Just how much grease do you need to pump to fully displace this contaminated grease out the front bearing so the front bearing has all new grease? If you've ever tried to make this setup work, you'll know it is tediously slow due to the possibility of blowing grease past the rear seal. I could near have the bearings out, cleaned, and repacked in the same amount of time.

[The Big Toe]

https://youtu.be/XT0RKDGgDm8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT0R...ature=youtu.be

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

Teamfour ... I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this.

No need to agree to disagree. In fact I posted that I believe in packing bearing the right way - by hand. In fact I will be doing this tomorrow. My comment was more about the folks that claim the EX-Lube systems don't work at all. I have used them in the past for quick greasing and they work. I just wouldn't use them as the only source of bearing maintenance.

[f5moab]

Originally Posted by dieselguy

What I am about to say has been cussed and discussed at length on many RV forums. The EZ Lube option (grease zerk in middle of axle) on many newer trailer axles causes more trouble than it's intended advantage. DO NOT use a pneumatic grease gun! Pull your wheels every couple of years, clean bearings, repack bearings, install new wheel seals, and look over your brakes while you're in there then enjoy RVing. The EZ Lube depends on 2 major circumstances to work. (1) The wheel off the ground being slowly rotated while you pump grease and (2) the entire cavity between the bearings being full of grease from the factory or dealership. The first circumstance is easy to make happen, the second isn't without possibly blowing grease past the rear wheel seal. I've had to SLOWLY pump nearly 2/3 a tube of grease into each wheel hub just to get enough grease in them to make grease start to push past the outer bearing on countless brake hub assemblies. This is simply because the factory nor the dealerships take the time to fill the cavity. Then you never really know if you blew some grease out past the rear seal and onto the brake shoes no matter how slowly you pump. 2-3 pumps twice a season does nothing except create a placebo of accomlishment in ones mind. Hand pack your bearings every couple of years ... sooner if you live on the road.

Exactly what I do....and yes, the first time I did mine from the factory it took a few cartridges of grease.

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by chpence1

Funny.....
On a similar note why are universal joints and front wheel bearings on rear wheel drive vehicles permanently sealed .

CV joints and front wheel bearing assembly that are sealed go bad and need to be replaced and sometimes can leave you stranded . most CV joints and rebuild-able , front sealed bearing are not

[northstar1960]

You talk to 10 mechanics and you get 11 different opinions on setting pre-load. Some of them comical

Fill the cavity, don't fill the cavity, no wobble, a tiny bit of wobble (like you can detect 1 thousandth of an inch of play) tighten the castle nut down then loosen it and finger tighten it, tighten it then back it off 1/4 turn.......

You bring up a good topic . pre-load or setting the bearings is as important as grease . and something that can get over looked using the EZ-lube .
hubs need to be pulled at least once a year . only way to see if a rear seal blew before it effects your breaks heading down a 8% grade .

[The Big Toe]

I hand-packed my bearings yesterday and put in new seals.

Didn't fill the cavity with grease, only put in about a heaping tablespoon of grease. I was concerned about thermal expansion.

So after reading this thread and finding that youtube from Dexter, I went out and did exactly what was shown to do on the youtube video...... Pumped it until grease started coming out through the castle nut and filled the dust cover. Thermal expansion gonna be a problem??

Went to put a new dust cover on and it was such a PITA, just did the one. Left the other one. I'm not sure about why or if those need changing. I did dent the sides a tad when they wouldn't cooperate. Hammers do that.

Do I need to go through the hassle?

One wheel has a slight amount of play in it. Very slight. I'm talking about maybe a couple thousandths..... No more.

The other wheel has zero play. None. Zip. Nada.

So I took that dust cover off just to ease my mind and found the castle nut to be movable and with no real tension on it.

Hope I'm okay.

Trailer bearings are evil things. 4serial

And oh -- This is on a 5 X 10 motorcycle enclosed motorcycle trailer that I may or may not take to Michigan with me when I go in Mid-May.

I want to but I gotta be confidant in the trailer. I can't see myself broken down on top of the highest mountain in Tennessee. My luck.

[Brewhedd]

My TT is in right now for a 4 wheel clean, inspect and repack for $229. Cheap annual cost for peace of mind. Also owned a boat trailer which had the grease fittings that I pumped into regularly due to saltwater submersion. The grease will not blow past the rear seal unless it is bad. When you see the grease starting to come out the around the outside ring of the fitting you are done. Never had a problem with the boat trailer.

[northstar1960]

Big toe .
I wouldn't run with any movement of the hub assy. a few thousandth is just the start . since you could turn the nut by hand there is no pre load on the bearing . go back in set the bearing imo

[Jerry01]

Originally Posted by northstar1960

I strongly dissagree with your statement that there is no way or almost now way of blowing grease past the rear seal. The real facts are it can and does blow past the rear seal if not done correctly and even then you can have issues with the grease going past the rear seal . the best way to pack bearings is to remove the hub and pack by hand . since my unit was new when picked up from the dealer i used the ez-lube to getter home
. once there and pulled the hubs grease had gotten past this new seal . lucky for me it was just a small amount that did not get on the breaks .

I agree as well. I decided to pack my bearings after about a year and all 4 seals had leaked grease all over the brakes. Pretty sad! Jerry


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[northstar1960]

the ez lube is an ok way to add a bit of grease between full bearing inspections and packs but not a way to pack bearings and think it's good to go . to many get a false since of security thinking they took care of their bearings by pumping them full of grease .

[The Big Toe]

Originally Posted by Jerry01

I agree as well. I decided to pack my bearings after about a year and all 4 seals had leaked grease all over the brakes. Pretty sad! Jerry


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Before you re-packed your bearings, did you notice if there was any 'wobble' in the wheel/hub assembly?

I'm of the opinion (quite possibly wrong) that too much movement, too loose on the castle nut, can kill a seal. We all know that too tight can burn your bearings up, but can too loose cause your seal to sling grease all over....??

But that is strictly an uninformed opinion. And I'd like to hear more....

My little trailer with the Dexter EZ Lubes slung grease on its first trip. About 2,000 miles round trip. Just now found it. I think the pre-load was wrong.

My buddy, a mechanic for 35 years, says a little play in the hub isn't a bad thing. He'd rather have it loose than tight. I think he's wrong. Dead wrong. I tend to agree with the previous poster that no play at all is best.

But how tight do you go? If at all. Finger tight? About the weight of your hand on the wrench? IOW, about 30-40 inch-lbs......??

Trailer bearings are evil

[northstar1960]

I start by spinning the wheel while tightening the nut once the wheel shows resistance i then back off a 1/4 turn and the wheel free spins check for play . guess there are many ways to set a bearing this is what i do . have never used a torque wrench just 40 yrs of practice

[Davidg]

I've packed my own wheel bearings for 45 years now, and I've never had a bearing or seal failure in that time. IF I remove the hub, I replace the seals. Also, I tighten the castle nut while spinning the hub until resistance is felt. Then back off until I can just barely detect axial clearance. Years ago I did this with a dial indicator and that "barely detected" clearance was about 2 thousandths and my method was consistently at 2-2.5 thousandths on every wheel. That small amount of clearance is critical when that bearing heats up. Hot bearings need a place to go when they thermally grow. Lack of clearance will kill a bearing fast.

That's been my method for years, on vehicles and trailers. Now, here is my question; How do you know that the grease you're pumping into the EZ-Lube is compatible with whatever grease the factory used at initial install? Anyone ever have an issue? Even at highway speeds, the rotation speed is still relatively slow, and I suspect that any quality disc brake compatible grease would mix nicely with other grease brands. That's an opinion based on the fact that I've never had an issue. But I'm also interested in others opinion.

oh yeah, I also handpack every time. It's not hard, and just a little messy, but that's what Lava soap was made for right? Also, I will only fill the cavity to about 50% full. I'm in agreement with whoever remarked about thermal expansion. The brakes combined with highway speed generate heat. Heat softens and expands the grease. It doesn't take a lot of grease to make a wheel bearing happy, but that expansion could easily push grease past the seal and onto the brakes, and we know what that does. Just a little grease on the brake shoes will reduce braking effect a lot, and ruin the shoes in the process.

But tell me what you think about bearing grease compatibility.

[Jerry01]

Originally Posted by The Big Toe

Before you re-packed your bearings, did you notice if there was any 'wobble' in the wheel/hub assembly?

I'm of the opinion (quite possibly wrong) that too much movement, too loose on the castle nut, can kill a seal. We all know that too tight can burn your bearings up, but can too loose cause your seal to sling grease all over....??

But that is strictly an uninformed opinion. And I'd like to hear more....

My little trailer with the Dexter EZ Lubes slung grease on its first trip. About 2,000 miles round trip. Just now found it. I think the pre-load was wrong.

My buddy, a mechanic for 35 years, says a little play in the hub isn't a bad thing. He'd rather have it loose than tight. I think he's wrong. Dead wrong. I tend to agree with the previous poster that no play at all is best.

But how tight do you go? If at all. Finger tight? About the weight of your hand on the wrench? IOW, about 30-40 inch-lbs......??

Trailer bearings are evil

There wasn't any wobble when I took the tires off. In fact, they were a little too snug to take off by hand. I needed a pair of pliers to get the nut off. But they weren't too tight either if that makes any sense. When I put them back on, it snugged the nut then backed off until I could slide the cotter pin through. Jerry


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[bob caldwell]

X2

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by Davidg

I've packed my own wheel bearings for 45 years now, and I've never had a bearing or seal failure in that time. IF I remove the hub, I replace the seals. Also, I tighten the castle nut while spinning the hub until resistance is felt. Then back off until I can just barely detect axial clearance. Years ago I did this with a dial indicator and that "barely detected" clearance was about 2 thousandths and my method was consistently at 2-2.5 thousandths on every wheel. That small amount of clearance is critical when that bearing heats up. Hot bearings need a place to go when they thermally grow. Lack of clearance will kill a bearing fast.

That's been my method for years, on vehicles and trailers. Now, here is my question; How do you know that the grease you're pumping into the EZ-Lube is compatible with whatever grease the factory used at initial install? Anyone ever have an issue? Even at highway speeds, the rotation speed is still relatively slow, and I suspect that any quality disc brake compatible grease would mix nicely with other grease brands. That's an opinion based on the fact that I've never had an issue. But I'm also interested in others opinion.

oh yeah, I also handpack every time. It's not hard, and just a little messy, but that's what Lava soap was made for right? Also, I will only fill the cavity to about 50% full. I'm in agreement with whoever remarked about thermal expansion. The brakes combined with highway speed generate heat. Heat softens and expands the grease. It doesn't take a lot of grease to make a wheel bearing happy, but that expansion could easily push grease past the seal and onto the brakes, and we know what that does. Just a little grease on the brake shoes will reduce braking effect a lot, and ruin the shoes in the process.

But tell me what you think about bearing grease compatibility.

1 i don't think grease expansion plays a part in this and have never had issue with such . temps should not get to hot and if they do you may have other issues .
2 on grease compatibility don't think there's an issue there either
this is all imo

[chpence1]

Does synthetic grease significantly increase repack cycle?