WHEEL BEARINGS

artie · 11-13-2009, 02:51 AM

After reading responces to the many questions about how to pack the bearings i took two wheels and bearingsoff and they seemed to be in great shape ! I then used the easy lube fitting and pumped until i saw a small amount come out.should i remove and take some of the grease out. I will get smarter !!!

Stan · 11-13-2009, 04:41 AM

Most, like myself do not like the easy lube process because you never really know just how much grease reached the rear bearing or if you got too much and it is now on the brake lining. I prefer to hand pack my bearings. Removing the grease is up to you, but I would at least pull a wheel and see just how much reached the bearings. MHO.

FB1965 · 11-13-2009, 06:35 AM

Having taken your bearings off you were able to see how the grease was put to the back bearing first.Therefore you know if you see grease being pushed thru the bearings it has come from the back all the way thru the bearings.I feel that that works well and unless you see moisture being pushed out ,everything is good.Everyone has their way and some are more work than others.Thats how I do my bearings and it has worked well for many years.

rcflyer · 11-13-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by artie

AFTER READING RESPONCES TO THE MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO PACK THE BEARINGS I TOOK TWO WHEELS AND BEARINGSOFF AND THEY SEEMED TO BE IN GREAT SHAPE ! I THEN USED THE EASY LUBE FITTING AND PUMPED UNTIL I SAW A SMALL AMOUNT COME OUT.SHOULD I REMOVE AND TAKE SOME OF THE GREASE OUT. I WILL GET SMARTER !!!

How did you inspect the rear bearing and race? You about have to remove the grease seal to do a good inspection. That requires a new seal which I highly recommend. The way I see it I do a bearing inspection every second year. At that time I remove the bearings, thoroughly clean them inspect and hand pack. While the wheel is apart I inspect the brakes. Clean as much of the dust out as I can.This can not be done if you use the easy lube. If you have removed the drum why not complete the job? I install the rear bearing and a new grease seal. If you only pump in grease with the easy lube you have no idea the condition of the bearings and races. Nor do you know the condition of the brakes. During the towing season I have seem many trailers on the side of the road with a wheel and hub missing. I suspect as a result of a bearing failure. That is my 2 cents worth. I do not use the easy lube. I replaced the zerts with plugs so some tire repair shop does not decide to do me a favor and pump some grease in.

Ridgeman · 11-13-2009, 08:24 AM

I got lazy last year and did not pull my bearings to lube them. Instead I used the easy lube system and followed the facctory instructions on how to do it. That's what it is there for, right?They took a LOT of grease because the space between the inner and outer bearing had to be filled before the gease started coming out from the outer bearing.

BIG MISTAKE!!

I pulled all 4 drums after my last trip about a month ago. Three of the 4 had a little grease that had gotten past the inner seal and up on to the magnet face of the brake drum. The grease did not get as far as the brake shoes so all was fixable with a little clean up and some new seals. The fourth, left rear brake, was completely contaminated with grease and required replacement. The inner seal had been installed a little crooked at the factory which cause it to wear out quickly and the grease just flowed past it and into the drum. I ordered all the parts from Lippert and have it back together now. I hand packed the bearings the good old fashion way and I will NEVER use the easy lube sytem again.

**Lloyd** · 11-13-2009, 11:02 AM

Three cheers for the hand Packers!!!!

It's the only way to go.

shoetravel · 11-13-2009, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ridgeman

I got lazy last year...

BIG MISTAKE!!

...The fourth, left rear brake, was completely contaminated with grease and required replacement. The inner seal had been installed a little crooked at the factory which cause it to wear out quickly and the grease just flowed past it and into the drum.

A good reason for doing the wheel bearings the old fashoioned way. I had two crooked seals from the factory install. Found thisthe first time I repacked. Luckily no grease leaked out but a little moisture had gotten in. Not enough to damage the spindles fortunately. Also they had used cheap single lip seals.These have been replaced with National double lip seals.

Pull Dog · 11-13-2009, 10:13 PM

The main concern for grease seals is that you have no warning or no idea when they fail. Probably 99% come from China and you know what that means! Inferior products flood our borders everyday. If the grease seals have worn out or come apart (like in my case) part of the grease you are pumping in goes directly to the brake cluster area and part of it may make its way back out to the front making you think everything is OK. Pulling a trailer behind you that weighs several tons is very risky with brakes coated in grease!!

This is not rocket science. Pull the drums, inspect or replace the seals and hand pack!!!

CamperNJ · 11-14-2009, 04:43 AM

I think the idea of being able to grease the bearings with the EZ lube is great. However, I don't think it is practical. I also found out because of a brake problem that the cavity between the inner and outer bearing is empty. Better have a lot of grease available to fill those cavities! Also I read a few articles that state you should never use a powered grease gun with the EZ lube. It blows out the seal.

Someone mentioned ordering the replacement parts from Lippert. From what I have seen, I'm not impressed with Lippert. I had 3 out of 4 magnets go weak on my brakes after 2 seasons of use. My previous travel trailer had 10 years of use and I never had a problem. They were Dexter brakes.

I would stay as far away as possible from Lippert.

Ridgeman · 11-14-2009, 09:59 AM

Yeah Camper, I did order parts from Lippert. I considered going with some other source but that would more than likely require replacing 4 complete brake assemblies even if they fit the lippert axles. I looked at the dexter site, they are quite a bit different than theones on my cruiser.So rather than getting one or two that didn't match the rest I opted for the lippert matching assembly. I'm also concerned about magnets as I am getting a different amp reading on every oneof them. You said 3 out of 4 magnets were weak. Do you remember what the amp readings were on those weak ones? I will be keeping an eye onmineespecially since you had so much trouble with them.

On my next trip in December I will be checking the brake drum temps at every stop to see if the magnets areoperating the brakes about the sameon each wheel.

pulpwood007 · 11-14-2009, 12:29 PM

I have always been told to grease the bearings well but sparingly. Never fill the cavity space between the bearings because it will not allow proper heat dissipation from the bearings. I used to think "if a little is good a lot is................". Apparently not so in the bearing business.

I can see using the Easy Lube system on boat trailers where warm wheels submersed into water requires frequent refills, but on rv trailers I would feel more comfortable greasing the individual bearings once a year, then cleaning and replacing seals every other year.

rcflyer · 11-15-2009, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pulpwood007

I have always been told to grease the bearings well but sparingly. Never fill the cavity space between the bearings because it will not allow proper heat dissipation from the bearings. I used to think "if a little is good a lot is................". Apparently not so in the bearing business.

I can see using the Easy Lube system on boat trailers where warm wheels submersed into water requires frequent refills, but on rv trailers I would feel more comfortable greasing the individual bearings once a year, then cleaning and replacing seals every other year.

I have never found a good way to remove a seal without some damage. They are something that does wear and the wear is not always apparent. They are cheap so I always replace them with quality double lip seals. I do the bearings every two years. How often do you do the front bearings on your TV? As for the easy lube on a boat trailer still not a good application. Boats need the bearing buddy. A totally different system.

KHUNLINDA2003 · 11-15-2009, 01:32 AM

Sorry to ask this question as it may be a little dumb sounding but why do you have to grease the wheel bearings on an RV every year and not your car?

cwit · 11-15-2009, 07:22 AM

There are no dumb questions. I believe in packing bearings every 12,ooo miles not every year. Brakes are checked once a year and adj checked every 3,ooo miles. For me bearing are packed every other year.

Stan · 11-15-2009, 09:35 AM

I agree, I know of no reason you need to repack them every year. I do mine every 2 or 3 but not more than three. I also put in new seals at the same time. For me that works out to about every 15K miles.

CamperNJ · 11-16-2009, 01:55 AM

The current draw was pretty close to the same on each wheel. A few things I did find. When they stripped the insulation off of the brake wire to make the connection in the pin box, they took half of the strands with it. They used a 14 gauge wire to fee 4 brakes. Since the brakes function with current, in my opinion, a 14 gauge wire is a little light since the total draw is around 12 to 13 amps. I replaced the original wiring with a 14 gauge wire feeding each axle. After much hair pulling, I decided to buy a complete set of Dexter brakes for on axle. $120 per axle gets you a complete assembly. 5 nuts & 2 wires and your brake job is done. I hooked the magnet up to 12 volts direct and placed a flat piece of metal on it. 3 out out 4 I could remove the piece of metal very easy. When I did this with the new Dexter, I had all to do to remove the metal.

After all was said and done, the brakes work great and I had to turn down my brake controller, indicating a more efficient system.

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