Bearing Grease

[Tirebuilder]

Sorry if this question is posted in the wrong place. I have an 832IKBS Flagstaff with dual Dexter E-Z Lube Axles. I have less than 5K miles on camper so far within a year and a half of use. I want to grease the bearings in a few days before we head out to Florida next month. I have viewed many videos on using the EZ lube method vs totally removing bearings and re-packing them by hand...which I was planning on doing next spring before a busy season of camping. My question is this..what is the best cartridge of grease to buy to pump into the fitting to replace the "old" grease that will come back out. Would it be a lithium base or some other kind? What is the preferred grease to use for this? Thanks for any and all answers.

[clr]

Dexter recommends a drop point 215 degree C (415 degree F) minimum, Lithium Complex NLGI No 2. With EP, corrosion and oxidation inhibitors with a viscosity indew of 80 minimum.

If you go to their web site they have a list of approved grease sources. I use the Synthetic red grease due to it being easy to see when the new grease is starting to push out.

Make sure you jack up the unit and slowly spin when you are also slowing pumping grease into the wheel. If you do not spin the wheel your chances of blowing grease past the rear seal goes way up.

[rsdata]

etrailer dot com has a number of resources explaining grease including videos...

look here

https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=bearing+grease

[Bama Rambler]

My personal opinion is that I would pull the hubs and clean the cavity and bearings of all the old grease and refill and repack with new grease.

The reason is that you don't really know what's been used in there, and mixing different types of greases isn't a good idea.

By removing the old grease the frst time you want to add any, you can ensure that all the grease from then on is compatible. It'll also give you a look at the bearings and seals.

[larry2c]

This is slightly off topic but when we were doing the walk through on our Cruise Lite the service person told me not to use the grease buddies because it made a big mess for them to deal with when they had to go in and service the bearings. Sorry, not much sympathy from me on that one - I'll be pumping them full thank you (an maybe you'll never have to touch them)

[Lefty59]

Originally Posted by larry2c

This is slightly off topic but when we were doing the walk through on our Cruise Lite the service person told me not to use the grease buddies because it made a big mess for them to deal with when they had to go in and service the bearings. Sorry, not much sympathy from me on that one - I'll be pumping them full thank you (an maybe you'll never have to touch them)

A word of caution on "pumping them full." I had noticed the brakes on our Wildcat weren't working as they had the first few seasons we used the fiver. Decided to do a brake inspection and found that 3 out of the 4 brake drums had been contaminated with grease that had blown past the back seal of the E-Z lube system. The brake shop I bought replacement parts from said it's a common problem with the E-Z Lube system and they don't recommend it's use for that reason.

I replaced the brake assemblies, greased all the bearings by hand and plan to repeat each season from now on. My brakes have functioned like they are supposed to ever since.

Safe travels...

[babock]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

My personal opinion is that I would pull the hubs and clean the cavity and bearings of all the old grease and refill and repack with new grease.

The reason is that you don't really know what's been used in there, and mixing different types of greases isn't a good idea.

By removing the old grease the frst time you want to add any, you can ensure that all the grease from then on is compatible. It'll also give you a look at the bearings and seals.

++++1

Mixing grease of two incompatible bases can cause problems when they interact.

Understanding Grease Compatibility

Not sure if I will ever use the ez-lube feature. Do not want to blow out the rear seal and flood my brakes with grease.

I will likely just use the same grease I use for my boat trailers. It is the StaLube Marine grease and is an Aluminum Complex grease.

[Lefty59]

In response to OP question: I would agree the best choice is to change out all the grease to ensure you don't mix two grease types that may not be compatible. As for the type of grease to use, I'd consult the axle manufacturer's manual if you have one, or if not, maybe you can find one online.