Wheel Bearing question

mx411 · 03-07-2016, 07:48 AM

Any advice on greasing the wheel bearings would be appreciated. I have a 2016 29HFS i purchased back in october. I remember reading something about it northstar posted but cant find it. Something about spinning the wheels as you add the grease slowly. Thanks

Papa-t · 03-07-2016, 07:55 AM

Do you have buddy bearings or does yours feed grease from the rear? But yes either way; I always spin the wheel slowly as you grease. Also quick note: have you checked your lugs on the wheels lately? Always remember:
Check lug nut torque before every trip.
this maintenance procedure to ensure proper torque has been applied to lug nuts before heading out on the road.

mx411 · 03-07-2016, 07:59 AM

I haven't checked the torques but will do that today. I'm going to get it and bring to the house today and will figure out what I have. Honestly I haven't looked yet. Any recommendations on the type of grease. Was gonna stop by advanced auto and see what they have.

fonzie · 03-07-2016, 08:10 AM

Lots of reading on it......

https://www.google.ca/search?q=wheel...LQB8vTeoG-mNgE

youroo · 03-07-2016, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fonzie

Lots of reading on it......

https://www.google.ca/search?q=wheel...LQB8vTeoG-mNgE

Youroo!!

BernieG · 03-07-2016, 08:24 AM

U should be carefull when greasing bearing.. to much grease and u get it on the brakes.. u should check grease seals. depending travel, I pull mine yearly for brake pad check and grease seals. I have bearing buddy but I like to hand pack mine.

jeff64 · 03-07-2016, 08:42 AM

Bearings require grease but, not very much. I've always given them 1-2 pumps / year through the bearing buddies. Comments on too much getting past seals and into brake linings are valid. Unless you have been pulling through flooded areas, the repack shouldn't be needed nowhere near as often as the dealer would suggest. If you do repack, pull the wheels and clean and hand repack as others have stated and check your brakes. Also depends on how many miles you put on in a season

mx411 · 03-07-2016, 12:27 PM

Thanks for the info. Where is the best place to jack it up? Looked through the thin owners manual and found torques but nothing about jacking.

fonzie · 03-07-2016, 12:31 PM

https://www.google.ca/search?q=jacki...EYm1jgT39JD4CA

dieselguy · 03-07-2016, 01:00 PM

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.

chpence1 · 03-17-2016, 08:30 AM

Quote:

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.

I agree with your methodology.
Have used same practice for many years.
Thanks.

Papa-t · 03-17-2016, 09:13 AM

Quote:

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.

I do this also. Agree

bob caldwell · 03-17-2016, 09:36 AM

Have you seen the plastic wheel bearing packers at auto parts stores? think about this.....if you put a backer down before the bearing to simulate a grease seal, then placed brg, with the larger side of bearing cage down, hand pumped grease thru tool, did you need to rotate brg to fill brg? Nope

Teamfour · 03-17-2016, 09:45 AM

First, I am a big proponent of hand-packing bearings and believe this is the only real way to make sure the bearings are greased. Having said that, I disagree with the notion that the EZ-Lube system is ineffective. The center cavity between the bearings DOES NOT have to be filled. Furthermore, there is almost no way to blow out the rear seal in this system. The diagram below says it all...

bob caldwell · 03-17-2016, 10:00 AM

For those that don't like to 'handle' grease......put grease in a 'baggie' and work into bearing

northstar1960 · 03-17-2016, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teamfour

First, I am a big proponent of hand-packing bearings and believe this is the only real way to make sure the bearings are greased. Having said that, I disagree with the notion that the EZ-Lube system is ineffective. The center cavity between the bearings DOES NOT have to be filled. Furthermore, there is almost no way to blow out the rear seal in this system. The diagram below says it all...

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 .
IF you use the ez lube which IMO is ok to do between full packs would be to jack up the axle and spin the wheel while slowly adding grease this helps get the full bearing packed and not just one side of it and helps to keep it from going past the real seal . before you had grease make sure there is no side to side movement of the wheel hub assy if there is you need to tighten the axle/bearing nut snug but not torqued down then add your grease by the above method

bob caldwell · 03-17-2016, 11:09 AM

180 degree's apart from each other are holes in axle that allow grease to flow, just like the packer....but it's personal preference......maybe the 'factory' over did the original 'pack'....should have a slight film on seal anyway.... if brakes are adjusted to tight, the heat that's generated could 'grab' the lip of seal and smoke it. One more thing, if you do pull your hubs and dent the 'dust cover', don't reuse.....they will leak grease all over your wheels....they're under $2 a piece....just need the diamater

DougP47 · 03-17-2016, 11:12 AM

I had 400 miles on mine first year. In the sprong I pulled my bearings to hand pack and found a couple bearing pitted. I replaced all bearings that year. Hand pack each season. If I just used grease buddy I would of never know I had bad bearings.

bob caldwell · 03-17-2016, 11:27 AM

Inspection on a new one is for that very purpose........no one knows where is was before one purchased it....and probably should be done every so often.... most people don't travel far for weekends, like those of us that coast to coast it each year...Glad you found it before the bear'n gennie did

The Big Toe · 03-18-2016, 08:02 AM

I have been told not to use buddy bearings on a non-boat trailer..... Or one that won't see submersion. I was told that buddy bearings will cause inner seals to leak due to the pressure.

On a boat trailer, you kinda get used to servicing your trailer regularly. Also, you tend not to tow a Boat Trailer 1,500 - 3,000 miles one way.

That said -- Trailer Bearings are EVIL. The devil's spawn. Created only to drive good men completely out of their minds.

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

I am NOT a trailer bearing expert.... Not even a knowledgeable novice, but I think improper pre-load contributes more to bearing failure and seal leakage than any other cause. Just my $.02

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.......

Trailer bearings are evil. Evil incarnate.

You may also like: