rltorpey
The land of taxes
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Joined: 06/16/2003
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I relubed my wheel bearings recently, following Dexter Axle's instructions, which say to repack the bearings, apply a light coat of grease to the bearing cup, then reinstall. After packing the bearings I placed a light coat of grease into the race then reinstalled the bearings and completed the rest of the job.
On my first trip (100 miles each way) I noticed one wheel seemed to be running a little warm. I pulled the wheel today and it seemed as though there was more side-to-side play than there should have been, so maybe the bearing preload wasn't correct but I'm wondering if I should have added more grease to the hub after I installed the bearings. It seemd rather dry when I opened it up. I did a lot of reading on this site before doing this job and several people stated that it wasn't necessary to pack the hub full of grease after reinstalling the bearings. What do you think?
BTW, these are EZ-Lube axles so they're designed to have the hub pumped full of grease through the external zerk fitting. I don't know if that would make any difference, though, when doing the job manually.
Robin & Laurie  
4 yr. old granddaughter Mercedes 
'04 RAM 2500 QC, 4x4, SWB, Hemi, auto, 4.10 LSD, power trailer mirrors
'06 McKenzie Starwood 29RES fifth wheel
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rhochnadel
Colorado
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Always do mine manually. If you pack your bearings completely and grease the race you should be good to go. When reassembling the wheel I spin the wheel and tighten down on the nut till I feel friction, then back the nut off to the next hole for the cotter pin. Sounds like you might have one that is a little too loose. If you notice, the E-Z Lube zirk only greases the inner bearing, to get grease to the outer bearing you would have to fill the whole wheel cavity which is not a good idea. If you grease once per year you should be OK. I do carry a spare set of bearings, races, and seal with me just in case. Good Luck!
'05 Keystone Challenger TPK
'01 Chev 2500HD Duramax/Allison
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donn0128
Pronounced Ore-gun
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Over packing is far worse than under packing. I can remember one time I repacked the wheel bearings on my Chevy 4X4 5 times in one week. And I have done it for a living on several occasions. So everybody can have a bad job now and again.
Donn
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Big Bruce
Anthony Fl.
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Do as the instructions say and pump the hub full until the grease starts to come out the front bearing and just add enough grease each year so it comes out the front bearing and forget it. This has worked for years for me with cycle trailers boat trailers and fifth wheel trailers. Have fun.
Big Bruce
2006 Dodge, Dually, CTD, Quad Cab, 4 X 4, Automatic/ 2006 31' Cougar F/W
Hauling (1) 2009 Harley Heritage Classic and (1) 2009 Softail Deluxe.
Or Gone Fishing - 17' Carolina Skiff with Yamaha 75Hp 4 Stroke.
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Lost One
Salt Lake
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I pack the bearing and put some on the raceway as they describe, but before putting the cap on I will run my finger through the grease can (not a lot) and put some in the cap before installing the cap. This is how I was taught to do it and I have done it that way for 25 years and never had a problem with it.
03 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins HO QC LB HD 4X4 3.73 6 speed manual
1992 NU-WA Hitchhiker Premier 32' with slide
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rbell
Mi
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Joined: 06/24/2006
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I inspect & hand pack them the normal way each year. Mine has the Ezlub hubs. Before putting things back to gether I pump a couple squirts in the zerk to make sure it's OK. I had some resistance to the grease gun on 1 hub the first time I did it & found the hole drilled between the rear seal & bearing was a bit off. Just ran a drill bit into it and all is well now. I do put some grease in with a gun. Also make sure you use seals with a double lip and put something like Hi Tac on the to seal part that holds it in.
I also found the grease in one outer bearing was discolored, kinda gray. The rubber plug had a lot of cracks in it, so I think it got some moisture in it.
Dick
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CHV_FRK
Black Jack, MO
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I didn't know that you could really put too much grease in? I just repacked mine yesterday (also have ez-lubes).
Every 3 months I'll add 7-8 pumps of grease to the zerk I make sure to spin and add grease slowly so I don't pop the inner rear seal. Usually I have the wheel off anyway so I just repack the outer. Basically repacking and changing the inner seal every other year. Everything has looked good that way.
BTW... everyone should have one of these. So easy. Lisle Bearing Packer
Dana and Natalie
2008 Chevy Silverado 3500HD LT DRW CC LB 4x4
-PPE Programmer, MRBP Exhaust, Diesel Manor Triple Gauge Pack, FS2500, 60 Aux Tank/Toolbox, Line-X, Full Tint, Curt 20K Hitch
2008 Jayco Designer Fifth Wheel
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SlickWillie
East Texas
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donn0128 wrote:Over packing is far worse than under packing. I can remember one time I repacked the wheel bearings on my Chevy 4X4 5 times in one week. And I have done it for a living on several occasions. So everybody can have a bad job now and again.
You've got to be kidding. Repacked the same bearings five times in one week? I wouldn't call that now and again! Hopefully you found a better way to make a living.
Will
2004 GMC EXT/C D/A 2500HD 4X4
2006 Montana Mountaineer 303RLD
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BiggerBen
Alberta Canada
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donn0128 wrote:Over packing is far worse than under packing. I can remember one time I repacked the wheel bearings on my Chevy 4X4 5 times in one week. And I have done it for a living on several occasions. So everybody can have a bad job now and again.
I would have thought more is better.
2005 Kustom Koach Legacy LW275
2005 Dodge Ram 3500 CTD SRW
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faulkner1953
McKinney, Tx
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I use a grease gun and follow the Dexter instructions. First time it took a whole tube of grease to fill all 4 wheels. Only use a hand grease gun, not a powered gun. That's how people blow out the seals.
Works for me.
Regards,
Gary
2008 Ford F250 XLT Crew Cab short bed V10 gas
Pullrite Superglide hitch
2008 Laredo 265RL
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