My TT mechanic called and told me my rig was ready, but that I had to surrender my grease gun. Too much grease had been pumped into the zerks and it got to the brakes! Trailer was pretty new, so the problem originated either at the factory or the selling dealer. I'm no mechanic. Does that make sense?
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yes grease on the brake shoes is a no no!!! have the shoes replaced ,the grease soaks into the shoe lining and replacement is the cure. some wash the shoes in gas but thats a back yard fix.
Yes, the biggest problem with zerks on wheel bearings is that they are over greased. I have been told by several dealers that they feel it should be against the law for any RV owner to own a grease gun Unless there are signs of leaking grease there is no place for the grease you put in last year to have gone so continuing to pump in more grease can blow out the seals and grease the brake shoes.
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skipnchar wrote: Yes, the biggest problem with zerks on wheel bearings is that they are over greased. I have been told by several dealers that they feel it should be against the law for any RV owner to own a grease gun Unless there are signs of leaking grease there is no place for the grease you put in last year to have gone so continuing to pump in more grease can blow out the seals and grease the brake shoes.
Yeah, I assured the mech that I hadn't greased it. He said to do nothing for at least a year, and then no more that two pumps.
Sadie, I don't know how he cleaned them, but while I hate to think of the cost of new pads (I've never changed them myself), I will watch carefully, and if braking action goes south I'll do it.
It is not too much grease. It is those stupid EZ-Lube spindles. When you grease them, the grease goes through the spindle to the rear of the bearings, comes up against a seal and is forced back through the bearings; coming back through the front bearing. You should see grease come out from the front bearing.
What happens is the grease gets by the seals instead of turning back. Net result is grease in the brake drums. Some people like them. I think they should be left on boat trailers. I prefer to grease the bearings by hand. You will use far less grease and eliminate the risk of grease on the brakes. I like to pull my drums off once a year anyway to check the brakes shoes, etc.
skipnchar wrote: Yes, the biggest problem with zerks on wheel bearings is that they are over greased. I have been told by several dealers that they feel it should be against the law for any RV owner to own a grease gun Unless there are signs of leaking grease there is no place for the grease you put in last year to have gone so continuing to pump in more grease can blow out the seals and grease the brake shoes.
Yeah, I assured the mech that I hadn't greased it. He said to do nothing for at least a year, and then no more that two pumps.
Sadie, I don't know how he cleaned them, but while I hate to think of the cost of new pads (I've never changed them myself), I will watch carefully, and if braking action goes south I'll do it.
I strongly suggest you replace the brakes. Often it is cheaper to just replace backing plate and all. Also requires the least labor and is doable by most that have basic skills.
If you wait for your braking to go south it will be at the top of a long grade and you may have more than the brakes going south. Two of the most important things on a RV and things that can cause death or serious bodily injury is brakes and tires.
Grease soaked shoes can not be cleaned and under heavy braking will get hot fade and even can cause a fire.
Cool Canuck wrote: It is not too much grease. It is those stupid EZ-Lube spindles. When you grease them, the grease goes through the spindle to the rear of the bearings, comes up against a seal and is forced back through the bearings; coming back through the front bearing. You should see grease come out from the front bearing.
What happens is the grease gets by the seals instead of turning back. Net result is grease in the brake drums. Some people like them. I think they should be left on boat trailers. I prefer to grease the bearings by hand. You will use far less grease and eliminate the risk of grease on the brakes. I like to pull my drums off once a year anyway to check the brakes shoes, etc.
Your right in most parts, the EZ-lube should not be on campers! They sortof make people lazy on bearing maintence. Boat trailers do benifit from them by keeping the hub full of grease which will not allow water to enter the hub. Campers are rarely submerged ... and have no need for that type of hub system. Trailers with disk brakes also have the advantage of being able to "see" the grease seal and chatch a leaker before the brakes are greased up.
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In the automotive field, replacing the seal when packing the bearings, we usually drive the seal flushed to the hub. The last time I did this on the first of the 4 hubs after I hand packed the inner and outer bearings and was basically "filling up the hub cavity" with the hand grease gun until grease started to come out around the outer bearing. I thought it took a little too long, so I pulled the hub off the axle to check. The new seal was up tight against the inner bearing. The pumped grease just went under the seal lip and onto the brake backing plate wall. After the excess grease was cleaned, I re-install the seal and made sure that there was about 1/8 inch gap between the bearing and the seal lip. The seal was still tight after driven in. After everything back together, this time it was only about 8 or 9 pumps before grease started to show. As mention before, for a top up should only be about 2 or 3 pumps.
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Unless there are signs of leaking grease there is no place for the grease you put in last year to have gone so continuing to pump in more grease can blow out the seals and grease the brake shoes.
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