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Old 09-14-2010, 08:28 PM   #1
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wheel bearing grease (tube) for grease gun

Is there a particular brand or type of grease I should get for greasing the wheels.
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Old 09-14-2010, 10:39 PM   #2
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I am assuming you are talking about EZ lube type axles as you mentioned using tubes.

Here is my recommendation. If you do not know exactly what grease is in your axles now? Then I would buy enough to purge out the grease that is in there now. In my case it took 3 tubes of grease to purge the old dirty grease out to the point it was coming out clean.

In that case you can use what ever grease you want that meets wheel bearing specs preferably synthetic.

There are many instructions available online to help you do this without damaging the seals on your axles. Maybe you already have your own procedures. Just be careful with the EZ lube type axles as it is easy to blow the seals out.
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Old 09-15-2010, 07:42 AM   #3
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They make special high pressure grease for wheel bearings, and should be available at any auto parts store. Synthetic would be nice, but not really necessary.
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Old 09-15-2010, 11:33 AM   #4
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thanks
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Old 09-15-2010, 12:40 PM   #5
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jayrzr, you don't say what brand of trailer/axles you have so can't comment on what you have. On our FR Rockwood 1809S Mini Lite it came with AL0KO ULTRULUBE & the instructions for those states: Remove the rubber plug from the grease cap - insert grease gun on the zerk - Pump until new grease begins to appear - USE AN NLGI GRADE 2 LITHIUM COMPLEX GREASE WITH A MINIMUM DROPPING POINT OF 440 F. REPLACE RUBBER PLUG.

To be safe you need to know what your equipment calls for. As an earlier post mentioned of not mixing types of grease.
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Old 09-15-2010, 10:23 PM   #6
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I am assuming you are talking about EZ lube type axles as you mentioned using tubes.

Here is my recommendation. If you do not know exactly what grease is in your axles now? Then I would buy enough to purge out the grease that is in there now. In my case it took 3 tubes of grease to purge the old dirty grease out to the point it was coming out clean.

In that case you can use what ever grease you want that meets wheel bearing specs preferably synthetic.

There are many instructions available online to help you do this without damaging the seals on your axles. Maybe you already have your own procedures. Just be careful with the EZ lube type axles as it is easy to blow the seals out.
I'd just add it to the old. If you want to completely replace it I'd pull it apart and clean it all with a rag and solvent and start over.

Like he mentioned you don't want to blow out the seals. That stuff gets hot it will leak everywhere. Could possible even contaminate your brakes.
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Old 09-15-2010, 10:34 PM   #7
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I'd just add it to the old. If you want to completely replace it I'd pull it apart and clean it all with a rag and solvent and start over.
In most cases there is hardly any grease in there to begin with if serviced from the factory.

So of you want to utulize the EZ ultralube type axles it is gonna take a pretty good amount of grease no matter what to even get the system functional.

One thing to consider. Three tubes of grease is cheaper than a set of seals you will need to hand pack the bearings.

Of course if you have any concerns over your bearings you may want to do a hand pack once to verify your bearings condition.
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Old 09-17-2010, 03:34 PM   #8
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In most cases there is hardly any grease in there to begin with if serviced from the factory.

So of you want to utulize the EZ ultralube type axles it is gonna take a pretty good amount of grease no matter what to even get the system functional.

One thing to consider. Three tubes of grease is cheaper than a set of seals you will need to hand pack the bearings.

Of course if you have any concerns over your bearings you may want to do a hand pack once to verify your bearings condition.
Man ! Now I'm going to have to pull the wheels and take a look inside just so I know how much grease is really in there. Hate to burn up a bearing going down the road. I have not towed my trailer since I bought it new.

It is parked and hooked up inside a big metal building. Using it for temporary quarters while we visit our land and when we build our house. Now planning on using it for a trip for the first time. Definitly don't want any problems that could easily be avoided.
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Old 09-17-2010, 05:10 PM   #9
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I got back from weighing the camper about 6 months ago and the right front hub was too hot to touch. All the others were warm but not as hot as that one. Now you must understand that I had been to FL and back with no trouble so I scratched my noggin' and pumped some grease in. A FULL tube later, the old grease was just starting to show movement on all four bearings. The last trip I took to VA and back and the hubs were barely warm. BIG difference. I also noticed deterioration of the e-z-fill rubber caps that others have reported. Looking to replace those too.
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Old 09-18-2010, 10:34 AM   #10
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From reading some of the earlier post it sound like I got off easy. With only 2500 miles on the trailer since we picked it up in Elkhart IN & reading of some having a bad experience with their EZ-Lube bearings. I bought a tube of the required grease - it took from 10 to 12 pumps on the grease gun to see the grease starting to push out.

Due to the recommendation from ALOKO I do think it best to do as they recommend & have the bearings visually inspected, which I plan to do before the camping season next year.
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Old 09-18-2010, 11:40 AM   #11
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Great subject and information.
I plan on adding some grease to my wheels. Just finished a 1,600 mile trip.
I hope I don't need 3 tubes before I see fresh stuff.
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Old 09-18-2010, 11:58 AM   #12
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My number one piece of advice for those that plan on putting more than about two pumps into each hub? or purge lubricating is to take the time to jack each wheel up a half inch or so. This way you can spin the wheel which drastically helps the grease flow out the outer bearing which relieves pressure on the inboard seal. Also don't recommend greasing below 40-50 degrees outside. And last but not least, pump fairly slow. These steps will ensure a good greasing of both bearings and keep you from ruining your seal which will more than likely ruin your brakes.

Seal blow outs are what gave these types of greasing systems a bad reputation when in reality it was just operator error most of the time.

I recommend purge lubrication over just putting a couple pumps a year in but conditions will very.

Also, I recommend after purge lubrication wait a few hundred miles and go in and remove the excess grease that has flowed out of the outboard bearing into the dust cap. This will keep grease from weeping out of the cap and making a grimey mess over time.

Hope this helps and there is a ton of google information, good, bad, and ugly about this subject.
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Old 09-19-2010, 04:42 PM   #13
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if ur bearings are like mine on the 2002 cardnal 5th wheel, ie u have to remove a plugg to access the greese cert which is tapped into the end of the axel, u won't have to worry abt overpressuring the system. the greese will simply come out the front. if u have buddy bearings (spring loaded that keep pressure on them, u will).
on mine the greese travels thru the axel and comes out at the rear bearing and travels back to the front. if u pull the rubber protector and see the wheel nut, urs is like mine.

by the way, synthetic greese or oil is still from petroleum base. it has been alered though. we useto take asphault and crack it in a hydrogen atmosphere and produce synthetic crude oil among other things.

while ur down there, check the bolts for tight or missing that attach the back plate to the axel. i had those come out on one wheel recently. i had never checked or even thought to check them in the past. now they are part of an annual check list. put a wrench on the back side and see if u can turn them. u don't have to remove the drum (unless they are loose or missing).
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Old 09-19-2010, 04:47 PM   #14
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Quote:
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if ur bearings are like mine on the 2002 cardnal 5th wheel, ie u have to remove a plugg to access the greese cert which is tapped into the end of the axel, u won't have to worry abt overpressuring the system. the greese will simply come out the front.
Gonna have to agree to disagree on that one. In theory yes, you are correct about the systems operation, but then humans came along.

Many people have pushed grease out the back with this system.
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Old 09-19-2010, 11:07 PM   #15
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after having mine apart, i'm wondering how? any pumping u do goes next to that seal. they must have encountered something pushing thru the bearings. the greese travels thru the axel to the back bearing. are u sure they weren't using the buddy bearings? it's easy to see how that could happen with them. perhaps the answer would be to pump slowly and allow the grease to move thru.
rotating the wheel would distribute the grease thru the bearing and allow the grease to distribues with less pressure.

i pumped mine for the first time sense i bought it (2002) before going out the time before last and experienced problems with the brakes. i thought i had pumped thru the seal. when i got home is when i found the loose back plate. it spun around and severed the wires to the rear axel. when i took the asembly appart, i didn't have any grease in the brakes.

you might say i lucked out to not have problems after going 8 yrs without adding grease.
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Old 09-20-2010, 06:59 AM   #16
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looks like murphy is alive and well in the rv industry.
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Old 09-20-2010, 07:41 AM   #17
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I do as Mr. Black does.....raise the wheel and turn while adding grease to prevent the rear seal from leaking. And never use any type of grease gun that is not manually operated.

I hand packed the bearings in my Trailmanor, but have not done so in my Surveyor in 2 years of ownership. I did use the EZ lube hubs to add grease, and then wiped the old grease out to give it a little air space in there. I hope I don't get bit by this method, but I don't intend to hand pack the bearings unless a hub starts getting warmer than the others. I always check the hub temperatures at road breaks, comparing each hub against the others. If 1 hub continually runs hotter, then I will dissemble that puppy to see what is going on.
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Old 09-20-2010, 02:42 PM   #18
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i wonder how many problems have been created by adding the certs to the axel ie think abt how often joe citizen repacks the wheel bearings on the average viehicle and how few failours their are...

the last time i repacked a wheel bearing was in the 70's and the gresae was kind of fiberry. it wasn't what u would find in a tube. the grease that was in my trailer axel looked the same as what i pumped in.
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Old 09-22-2010, 06:47 PM   #19
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As mtnguy said, do not use a grease gun powered by an air compressor - dont ask me how I know!
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Old 10-30-2010, 05:58 PM   #20
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After reading these posts I realized that my bearings have not been serviced since I bought the trailer in Jun of 09. I am surprised that I have not been stranded on the side of the road. The grease fittings would not accept grease and of course made a mess. I removed the grease fitting to see if grease was going through it and it wasn't. Something was wrong with all of them so all were replaced. I used two 3 oz. tubes of grease on 4 hubs. 3 of the fittings were less than hand tight and one had come out completely. I hope I am not too late with the grease.
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