I pulled the hub and found grease all over the brakes. The inner seal appears to be fine. My questions.
Is there a grease vent that could cause this due to over greasing?
Where is the vent located?
The first couple of times I greased it I was not spinnig the tires as indicated. I used a hand pump easy.
Again the seals look fine.
What do you think, clean it up and use the original seal or replace. I don't have any local shops that carry these.
Thanks
David & Maureen and Family
2006 Crossroads Cruiser CT30RL
2006 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD
2004 Crownline 202 BR (Blue Printed 350)
If the seal looks good use it. There is no seal that will stop grease from getting on the brakes if over greased. There should be a weep hole somewhere to relieve pressure, but even that will not stop grease from bypassing the seal if a pressure gun is used w/o using common sense along w/ it.
Once a hub is full, it only takes 1 pump every 6-12 months. Anymore than that, you are asking for trouble.
And NEVER use powered gun on wheel bearings. Use hand pump only !
Rich
'98 Flair, 454, Onan Microlite 4k, Intel PD 9155 w/ wizard, Sta-power 1500 watt Inv, 2 6v batts, ammeters, KingDome/sat, Oly Catalytic Heat, hauling 2 Bent Bikes and sometimes towing a Tracker F&S boat.
no weap hole that I know of, since the grease comes out the cap when pumping. That is why most people don't pump grease at all, Since a full hub can leak grease once is heats up or is over filled. Change the seal, easy, cheap and it leaked once!! Change it every time you pull the hub.
2006 Nissan Titan CC with tow package added Timbrens
2006 KZ Frontier 2303P-F
Dual 6 volt GC batts
Equal-i-zer
Prodigy brake controller
Yamaha EF2600c Tri-Fuel Gen.
Because of the same problem you have, I now hand pack the bearings every couple of years. I don't use the grease gun fittings to grease the wheel bearings.
DBHMEH writes "I pulled the hub and found grease all over the brakes. The inner seal appears to be fine. My questions.
Is there a grease vent that could cause this due to over greasing?"
You have answered your own question... OVER GREASING!
No internal vent, the fact that you keep pumping grease into the bearing means it HAS to go somewhere. Even the double grease seal will allow excess grease go inside.
EZ lub system was originally designed for BOAT trailers, where the axles get hot from being run on the road and then cooled off quickly by being DUNKED into a body of water (unload/load watercraft). The high speed cooling after being hot creates a vacuum which would pull water into the hub. Hence the reason for pushing new grease in Via the HUB (new grease displaces the old grease with water.
Quite frankly for RVrs it is the lazy way to approach maintaining your coach. I would recommend to discontinue pushing grease into your hub via the grease gun.
Do it the right and correct way of removing the hub and refreshing the grease by only using your fingers. You only need about two fingers worth of grease on each of the bearings, any more than that is a waste of grease. Any more grease than that and it will end up pushing its way out when it gets hot.
This also gives you a good chance to inspect your brakes, the bearings and races at the same time. When you reassemble the hub you get to reset the bearings to proper setting (bearings and races wear over time and need to be adjusted now and then).
Using a grease gun just only make you feel good, it really does nothing for the bearings, races or brakes.
In general I agree with this, but determining how good it still is takes some experience.
There is no seal that will stop grease from getting on the brakes if over greased. There should be a weep hole somewhere to relieve pressure, but even that will not stop grease from bypassing the seal if a pressure gun is used w/o using common sense along w/ it.
The Dexter EZ-lube axles don't have "weep holes, but the extra grease simply comes out thru the outer axle bearing.
Once a hub is full, it only takes 1 pump every 6-12 months. Anymore than that, you are asking for trouble.
Again for the Dexter type EZ-lube axles that might not be the best advice or procedure to use since you want to see fresh or at least some grease coming out around the outer bearing so using a number of pumps might not do the job correctly.
And NEVER use powered gun on wheel bearings. Use hand pump only !
Well and again for the Dexter type EZ-lube axles which it seems you have never had they recommend rotating the wheel when regreasing so the seal is rotated against the new grease being applied.
Gdetrailer wrote: DBHMEH writes "I pulled the hub and found grease all over the brakes. The inner seal appears to be fine. My questions.
Is there a grease vent that could cause this due to over greasing?"
You have answered your own question... OVER GREASING!
No internal vent, the fact that you keep pumping grease into the bearing means it HAS to go somewhere. Even the double grease seal will allow excess grease go inside.
That seems to mean you don't understand how the Dexter EZ-lube axle system is desgined. There are no vent holes ... the grease is applied to the inside surface of the inner bearing and flows around the axle and then exits around the outer bearing. On a properly operating EZ-lube system if you apply more and more grease it simply comes out around the outer bearing and the inner seal if functioning properly protects the inside of the hub where the brakes are. It seems you don't understand how the Dexter EZ-lube system is designed to work.
EZ lub system was originally designed for BOAT trailers, where the axles get hot from being run on the road and then cooled off quickly by being DUNKED into a body of water (unload/load watercraft). The high speed cooling after being hot creates a vacuum which would pull water into the hub. Hence the reason for pushing new grease in Via the HUB (new grease displaces the old grease with water.
Again I think you might be confusing how things like the BB works and the Dexter system. The BB does fill the hub and put the grease under some pressure to prevent water intrustion, but the Dexter system is not under any pressure and has nothing to do with any vacuum or heat issues.
Quite frankly for RVrs it is the lazy way to approach maintaining your coach. I would recommend to discontinue pushing grease into your hub via the grease gun.
Well you said coach and obviously don't have a TT with this type of system or any experience with it and some of the latest improvements are in fact inprovements over systems of the past like the often plagued BB type systems.
Do it the right and correct way of removing the hub and refreshing the grease by only using your fingers. You only need about two fingers worth of grease on each of the bearings, any more than that is a waste of grease. Any more grease than that and it will end up pushing its way out when it gets hot.
Again IMHO very poor advice about the more grease and the bearing getting hot ... that is just not an issue IMHO with the Dexter system.
This also gives you a good chance to inspect your brakes, the bearings and races at the same time. When you reassemble the hub you get to reset the bearings to proper setting (bearings and races wear over time and need to be adjusted now and then).
Using a grease gun just only make you feel good, it really does nothing for the bearings, races or brakes.
Once again, with a BB type system with not vent or way for old grease to come out it might be germane, but is IMHO again totally not applicable to the Dexter EZ-lube system being discussed here.
LarryJM writes "That seems to mean you don't understand how the Dexter EZ-lube axle system is desgined... ...if you apply more and more grease it simply comes out around the outer bearing and the inner seal if functioning properly protects the inside of the hub where the brakes are. It seems you don't understand how the Dexter EZ-lube system is designed to work...."
I do know and understand how the EZ lube system works, but you seem to think that it is exclusively designed for RVs.
For the link challenged here is the highlights from the above document link.
"Lubrication that's simple to maintain and completely submersible "
"The protection and maintenance features of Dexter's E-Z Lube system make it ideal for towable axles that get immersed in water."
"Regular inspection is still recommended."
Unless you plan to regularly SUBMERSE your RV in a foot or two of water then there IS NO ADVANTAGE to EZ-LUBE since even Dexter STATES "Regular inspection is still recommended."
My state mandates a yearly inspection on any trailer that is registered over 3,000 GVW. This inspection requires the mechanic to pull and inspect TWO drums (one on each side). I pull all four and inspect myself before taking my TT to the mechanic. This way I know for sure there will be no suprises.
You still MUST remove the drum to inspect the bearings and brake components!
Larry JM writes "Again I think you might be confusing how things like the BB works"
Interesting, NO WHERE in my text did I mention BB but you jumped to conclusions.
"Dexter system is not under any pressure and has nothing to do with any vacuum or heat issues."
Has EVERYTHING to do with vacuum and presure, when grease warms up, what do you think happens? IT EXPANDS, this is natural and normal. Grease just like oils, water, metals, plastics, nearly every material under the sun EXPANDS and CONTRACTS with changes in temperatures. Filling entire pocket full of grease IS GOING TO SPEW GREASE when hot. This is not my laws, it is NATURE!
"Again IMHO very poor advice about the more grease and the bearing getting hot ... that is just not an issue IMHO with the Dexter system."
No, you advide IS very poor, you are depending on the hopes that a flimsy piece of inner seal will contain 100% of the grease 100% of the time. In practice it doesn't and will not, spillage can and will happen but with your refusal to remove the drums it is like placing your head in the sand, you will never know.
"Well you said coach and obviously don't have a TT with this type of system or any experience with it and some of the latest improvements"
You do realize that some Motor Vehicle Codes a TT or 5th wheel is reffered to as NON MOTORIZED COACH? Coach has been and can be interchangable to mean TT, 5th wheel, popup, motorhome, conversion van and so on.
Actually I HAVE a TT (but you didn't bother to check my profile) but no I do not have EZ-LUBE, and if I did have EZ-LUBE I would STILL not use a grease gun. For RV use THERE IS NO IMPROVEMENT using EZ-LUBE, it is only an improvement for folks who are too lazy to remove the drums and properly inspect and refresh.
Also grease guns vary in amount of grease delivered per stroke, they also vary in the PRESSURE that is delivered. Some guns can easily deliver enough pressure with large enough quantity to push right past the seals. Not every grease gun will consistantly deliver the desired results, they were never intended for this use.
You are needlessly wasting a lot of money just in grease, very seldom have I ever needed to add any grease to the bearings anytime I have inspected them. The only time I add grease if I decide to wash out the old grease and then repack with new.
Yes, you will end up replacing the grease seals but in the end it will be a wash from a cost point of view since you wouldn't be needlessly wasting grease. Besides those seals do wear out and need periodic replacement, think of as replacing your engine oil and filter.
Read the following link from Dexter that outlines proper procedures on how to properly refresh your bearing grease.
Along with BEARING AJUSTMENT, proper lubrication is ESSENTIAL to the proper function and reliablity of your trailer axle. Bearings should be lubricated every 12 months or 12,000 miles. The method to repack bearing cones is as follows.
1 Place a quantity of grease into the palm of your hand.
2 Press a section of the widest end of the bearing into the outer edge of the grease pile closest to the thumb forcing grease into the interior of the bearing.
3 Repeat this while rotating the bearing from roller to roller.
4 Continue this process until you have entire bearing completely filled with grease.
5 Before reinstalling, apply a light coat of grease on the bearing cup.
Its THAT EASY!
By the way they do make a grease packing cone that you can hook up to your grease gun, it will pack the correct amount into your bearings (you do need to remove them from the axle/drum) if you don't wish to play with grease or even use vinyl gloves.
Once you have done this several times, it shouldn't take much more than 10-15minutes per wheel. It is well worth learning to do this very simple, basic, routine maintenance on a yearly basis. What is it worth to you?
I have the EZ lube system on my trailer and it has worked quite well.
I think that if the grease were to overheat for any reason, this system provides an "overflow" port to release the excess/expanded grease out of the hub rather than blow the seals.
I consider this system to be a premium product for the RV market.
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and again for the Dexter type EZ-lube axles which it seems you have never had they recommend rotating the wheel when regreasing so the seal is rotated against the new grease being applied.
