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Old 02-24-2015, 08:04 AM   #41
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...bearing buddies are superior to the ez lube design and quite different.
Beg to differ on this. Bearing Buddies will force grease around the rear seal and ruin the brake shoes. BB are ok for trailers WITHOUT brakes!
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Old 02-24-2015, 08:29 AM   #42
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When I was a teen my father (who was a Mechanic) showed me how to repack bearing now most if not all the bearings on cars today are a throw away bearing,. Trailers on the other hand are able to be repacked, Dad always took the bearings out and cleaned them in a can of Kerosene , breaking down the old grease and dirt, then taking a tooth brush going over them with the kerosene. After they were cleaned he would repack them with a good wheel bearing grease. There is a tool now for repacking bearings then we used a blob of grease in your hand and just kept forcing the grease in. Depending on how much you travel every 3 -5 yrs should do. If you buy a used trailer go over it good and this is one of those parts to check then while there check brake drums and pads also all the brake springs.
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Old 02-24-2015, 08:50 AM   #43
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One trick on the ez-lube type bearings. As tempting as it may be to add/replace grease using the zerk before the first trip in the spring. Wait for a warm day or until after a short trip. Trying to grease when the seals are stiff and the grease in the bearings is cold ( stiff) is less effective and can cause a seal leak.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:00 AM   #44
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Thanks Happy Vibe. I've used bearing zerks and have serviced bearings for quite a while (I'm an old geezer), so I do know how they work. You simply cannot expect to replace all the grease by pumping it through the zerk. As you said, grease enters at the inner bearing, then has to work its way through the cavity between the bearings which might or might not already be filled with grease (depending on how it was previously packed), then past or through the outer bearing before any can exit. If the cavity is already filled, then the outer bearing will receive grease. If the cavity is not filled, no new grease will reach the outer bearing; grease will simply accumulate in the cavity until it's filled. Unless one sees grease being forced out during the lubing process, the only other way to know for sure if both bearings are well lubed is to open it up and dismantle. And of course that's the only way to inspect bearings and races. Personally, I prefer to hand-pack although it's not a pleasant job, and pump in 2 or 3 shots through the zerks a couple times a season just for insurance.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:04 AM   #45
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Flybob, good point on greasing when it's warm.
I'd like to know about the eagle in you photo.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:11 AM   #46
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One trick on the ez-lube type bearings. As tempting as it may be to add/replace grease using the zerk before the first trip in the spring. Wait for a warm day or until after a short trip. Trying to grease when the seals are stiff and the grease in the bearings is cold ( stiff) is less effective and can cause a seal leak.
Exactly...
Warm weather; warm grease and pump the gun slowly.

I repacked the Greywolf after having used kept them full via the zerk fittings and could see that the bearings were packed well and the grease looked good, essentially a waste of time. There are Dexter axles on my XLR as well, I am 99% sure. Am I wrong to assume that my trailer bearings are doing OK by just using the grease gun fittings? I used the high temp grease and added it until the red grease came out in abundance.

I plan to inspect brakes and bearings every couple of years or when ever peace of mind dictates, when I will clean, then pack using the tool that lets you pump via a zerk fitting.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:11 AM   #47
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As you said frozen if you don't see grease coming out the front of the axle putting a couple shots of grease in is doing nothing for the outer bearing. According to the maintenance manual you are supposed to but the grease in until it comes out the front.
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Old 02-24-2015, 09:15 AM   #48
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Mark0224, your father knew what he was doing--blob of grease in hand and force it into the bearings. My brother who was a farmer taught me another trick: at an auto parts or hardware store, purchase a needle that screws onto the grease gun. Pump grease through the needle between the roller bearings, then finish with the blob-in-hand routine.
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Old 02-24-2015, 11:52 AM   #49
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One trick on the ez-lube type bearings. As tempting as it may be to add/replace grease using the zerk before the first trip in the spring. Wait for a warm day or until after a short trip. Trying to grease when the seals are stiff and the grease in the bearings is cold ( stiff) is less effective and can cause a seal leak.
One easy way to put the grease in using a grease gun is to put the grease gun in the sun on a warm day that your going to tow your trailer and when you get to your camp site grease the bearings. The grease in the bearing will be warm and the grase in the tube will be warm so it will go in easy.
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Old 02-25-2015, 11:18 AM   #50
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IMO using the zerk fitting on bearings is a bad idea ! if your losing grease then you need new seals . those that think they can go pump in some grease every now and again are in for a break down sooner or later . The only proper and correct way is to remove and pack by hand , check all bearings and hubs , replace seals if needed , check breaks .
I've seen to many burned up bearings and axles from people who said they pump them full every yr.
Trailer bearings are not expensive , seals are not expensive the time it takes to pull the 4 hubs and do by hand is only a couple hours . this allows you to really check your unit out .
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Old 02-25-2015, 11:34 AM   #51
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I used to pack by hand.
This gizmo I have now works better,faster and cleaner.
And my hands don't cramp.

Never did repack the bearings in my flagstaff when I had it for 6 years.
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Old 02-25-2015, 11:40 AM   #52
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Those do work great . plus you get in and see whats going on . who ever thought of zerks on wheel bearings did not think and must have been lazy . they may pack the outer bearing but never work well for the inner bearing . bearing maintenance should be done once a yr and checked through out the season for play . going 6 yrs is pushing it . when it comes to road travel you can never be to careful wit your equipment . nothing worse then sitting on the side of the road or watching one of your trailer wheels pass you as your driving . lol
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Old 02-25-2015, 12:18 PM   #53
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I checked my wheel bearings after the first time out,only250 mi. I found grease on all four sets of breaks. I changed out the seals to be double lip seals and put in better grease.
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Old 02-25-2015, 12:25 PM   #54
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northstar1960 the grease from the zerk goes to the inner bearing first so why does it do a bad job of greasing that first? When you use the zerk you are not replacing lost grease you are pushing the grease from the inner bearing to the outer bearing and the old grease comes out around the zerk. I believe that taking the hub apart is needed to see what is really going on but I don't think it is needed on an annual basis.
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Old 02-25-2015, 12:42 PM   #55
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In 2008 we had a bearing failure on a (I won't name the brand) at about 9000 miles. In addition to the bearings, the spindle was also ruined. The manufacturer replaced the entire axle under warranty. I don't know what caused the failure, but we eventually traded for an (same brand, different model). Before long it also lost a pair of bearings which were replaced. I began feeling hubs nearly every time we'd stop and one or two were often running too warm, not always the same ones. I began blaming the bearings themselves, so changed them more than once trying to find better quality. Also tried different greases with no improvement. So I purchased new axles, changing from the stock 3500 lb. axles to 4000 lb. I was greatly disappointed to have yet another failure even though I was doing at least annual inspection/maintenance. The manufacturer, my dealer, and two alignment shops all were puzzled. Diagonal measurements between axle tubes were okay as were measurements from axle tubes up to a plumb bob dropped down from the king pin. Everything looked square until I finally measured between spindles; the left two were more than 2" father apart than the right two. Surprisingly, the tires wore normally. Yes, I hit some bumps but no, I don't drive over curbs or boulders. And no, I don't overload. Anyway, traded again for a (same brand, different model--guess I'm a slow learner). Guess what; at about 6000 miles three tires badly worn. Found that those 3 spindles were angled upward. Manufacturer paid to have an alignment done. It seems that the only ways to adjust torsion systems are to either bend the axle tubes (which was done to my last one), or cut the axle mounts off the frame and reposition.
I know torsion systems are generally reliable; thousands of you run them with no problem, so can only blame my troubles on misfortune. One of the failures was discovered at a remote campground in Utah--I'm from Minnesota. The bearing seized to the spindle and I couldn't get it off. Winter was coming--thought I was going to have to leave it there, but found a guy with a torch. With heat, it finally came off. We cleaned up the spindle, reassembled with new bearings and drove home.
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Old 02-25-2015, 02:59 PM   #56
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IMO using the zerk fitting on bearings is a bad idea ! if your losing grease then you need new seals . those that think they can go pump in some grease every now and again are in for a break down sooner or later . The only proper and correct way is to remove and pack by hand , check all bearings and hubs , replace seals if needed , check breaks .
I've seen to many burned up bearings and axles from people who said they pump them full every yr.
Trailer bearings are not expensive , seals are not expensive the time it takes to pull the 4 hubs and do by hand is only a couple hours . this allows you to really check your unit out .
I don't think that anyone said that they are losing grease. If your losing grease It going out the seal common sense tell you that. It is recommended by AL-KO to add grease 2 x's per year and wipe the excess off before replacing the dust cover. That tells me that the seal is still good. Is double seals better YES. Next time the hubs are pulled and brakes or bearing and seals need replacing they will be double for sure. There is nothing wrong with the system or following the instructions. A few people have had problems granted but what about the thousands of owners who never had. My seals were still good after 2 years and over 10,000 miles following there instuctions......The inter and outer do get grease by the design. Everyone has there own way, Some people do not even adjust there brakes> I do mine 2 x's per season. Nothing wrong with your way at all but nothing wrong with AL-Ko either if you do it right, but that's just my opinion.
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Old 02-25-2015, 03:30 PM   #57
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To add to the OPs original concern - I wouldn't trust how these axles are greased from the factory - Lippert (or other chassis) or FR.
Mine has the EZ Lube hubs and I used up more than a tube of grease to fill the hubs the first time after we took delivery.
Sure, the bearings had grease in them, but the EZ Lube hubs were never 'properly' filled as I believe they should have been.

Preventative maintenance of trailer hubs and bearings is relatively simple and it adds a lot of peace-of-mind to know they are correctly maintained.
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Old 02-26-2015, 02:30 PM   #58
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Beg to differ on this. Bearing Buddies will force grease around the rear seal and ruin the brake shoes. BB are ok for trailers WITHOUT brakes!
both the ez lube and BB are made for marine applications. therefore the BB is superior due to the fact there is no air pocket to contract and draw water in upon launching a boat. i prefer neither for RV application...
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Old 02-26-2015, 02:38 PM   #59
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If you have used the ez lube per the instructions there should be no air pocket between the bearings.
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Old 02-26-2015, 03:01 PM   #60
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both the ez lube and BB are made for marine applications. therefore the BB is superior due to the fact there is no air pocket to contract and draw water in upon launching a boat. i prefer neither for RV application...
That's funny my ez lube were never made for marine use.
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