Purging ez lube hubs

[Tweitekamp]

Question....I thought there should be a void between the inner and outer bearing for some heat dissipation. Is this true or false. My sundance doesn't have more than a few thousand miles at the dead most. I don't mind tearing it apart for inspection but i don't know if it is necessary if there is no end play. I want to check the adjustment of the brakes this spring. If it is in the air, i will check end play. I have given several squirts per hub each year but never enough to push old grease out the front bearing. Is it really a good idea to pump them full (while in the air rotating the wheel) until old grease pushes out the front?

If i do pull everything apart, is 50ft/lbs about right for the castle nut? I have never been too good at "the feel" of snug enough. I have torque wrenches and almost trust them more than anything.

Thanks!

 

[JanAndBill]

Question....I thought there should be a void between the inner and outer bearing for some heat dissipation. Is this true or false. My sundance doesn't have more than a few thousand miles at the dead most. I don't mind tearing it apart for inspection but i don't know if it is necessary if there is no end play. I want to check the adjustment of the brakes this spring. If it is in the air, i will check end play. I have given several squirts per hub each year but never enough to push old grease out the front bearing. Is it really a good idea to pump them full (while in the air rotating the wheel) until old grease pushes out the front?

If i do pull everything apart, is 50ft/lbs about right for the castle nut? I have never been too good at "the feel" of snug enough. I have torque wrenches and almost trust them more than anything.

Thanks!

The grease on an EZ Lube hub comes out between the seal and the rear bearing. That means you will NEVER see any grease coming out of the outer bearing UNTIL the center void is filled. Typically it's the outer bearing that fails from lack of grease. When I repacked my hubs this year, I filled the center void so that now a few strokes of the grease gun will cause a little to be forced out of the outer bearing.

Even with the EZ Lube feature I tear mine down for regular maintenance. Any moisture, grit, etc. that might get in can do damage to the bearings. I'd rather make sure everything is OK before it becomes a problem.

Preload is EXTREMELY important. Per Dexter's instructions, you should torque to 50#, then without moving the wheel, back off completely, then tighten finger tight. Once you put the lock on you should be able to "wiggle" the nut with your fingers. If not it's to tight, back off just a bit more. I take a couple of extra steps in the process. I torque to 40#, then whack the tire a few times all around the perimeter with a 3# hammer, then torque to 50# and back off. I do this to make sure the bearings are equally set in the cups and prevent a false torque reading.

 

[JohnD]

Our EZLube hubs were greased by our tire dealer . . . but don't trust this!

We had a wheel bearing failure that almost caused a trailer fire while on the road through Arizona back in January 2015 that our extendend warranty REFUSED TO COVER while 1000 miles from home.

They said that WE were to blame for our problems . . . (PLEASE read your extended warranty . . . chances are you are NOT covered for anything! - which is what we found that we REALLY PAID FOR . . . NOTHING)!

 

[Capt7383]

That has been my experience with the one extended warranty I purchased on a car

 

[lwmcguir]

The grease on an EZ Lube hub comes out between the seal and the rear bearing. That means you will NEVER see any grease coming out of the outer bearing UNTIL the center void is filled. Typically it's the outer bearing that fails from lack of grease. When I repacked my hubs this year, I filled the center void so that now a few strokes of the grease gun will cause a little to be forced out of the outer bearing.

Even with the EZ Lube feature I tear mine down for regular maintenance. Any moisture, grit, etc. that might get in can do damage to the bearings. I'd rather make sure everything is OK before it becomes a problem.

Preload is EXTREMELY important. Per Dexter's instructions, you should torque to 50#, then without moving the wheel, back off completely, then tighten finger tight. Once you put the lock on you should be able to "wiggle" the nut with your fingers. If not it's to tight, back off just a bit more. I take a couple of extra steps in the process. I torque to 40#, then whack the tire a few times all around the perimeter with a 3# hammer, then torque to 50# and back off. I do this to make sure the bearings are equally set in the cups and prevent a false torque reading.

Absolutely right on!!!

 

[JohnD]

When a dealer asks you to singn on the dotted line for an extended warranty . . . JUST SAY NO!

Because all you are doing is making someone elses BMW payment . . . as they WILL NOT COVER YOU WHEN YOU NEED THEM THE MOST!

Take that message from someone who needed their extended warranty 1000 miles from home . . . and they made us feel like we were at fault!

They tried to make us feel like we did everything to cause our wheel bearing failure with less than 4000 miles on our trailer from the factory . . .

Don't listen to your dealer and refuse ANY extended warranty.

And if you have already purchased an extended warranty . . . look into the cancel-out clause, which is what we have done with ours.

RV extended warranties don't help you . . . all they do is pay the salesperson's (who sold you your trailer) monthly car payment!

And I'll bet he/she is driving a nicer car/truck than you or I!

 

[Tweitekamp]

Thank you for the advise. Simple enough! I'll do as you say and pray it all works. I've done it many times but was concerned about filling that void between the inner and outer bearing for heat reasons.

Thanks again!

 

[caissiel]

Trailer wheels do not rotate fast enough to create heat. If heat is present there is something more then to much grease wrong.
Make sure to rotate the wheels when pumping grease in the eazylube bearings.
Mine were all failed before I applied any grease myself. I always blamed it on the service department or factory.
No problems since in 6 years.

 

[Dloebrich]

Go to the Dexter website for complete and correct instructions on EZ Lube hubs. I paid an RV service center to to my bearings and they did not do it right. When I did it myself it took ALOT of grease to fill the hub the first time. After the first time it's "easy in and easy out" Also make sure you use the right grease as per Dexter website.

 

[lwmcguir]

Trailer wheels do not rotate fast enough to create heat. If heat is present there is something more then to much grease wrong.
Make sure to rotate the wheels when pumping grease in the eazylube bearings.
Mine were all failed before I applied any grease myself. I always blamed it on the service department or factory.
No problems since in 6 years.

Some good advice here, if your hubs are hot under normal driving conditions you either have a dragging brake, or a serious bearing issue