How Easy is EZ Lube?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video The TrailerSmith covers the details of EZ Lube trailer axles. How easy are they?
Check out the other how-to videos mentioned in this video!
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Links to products that might be helpful for you:
Lisle Bearing Packer amzn.to/3UYHQQQ
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Manual Grease Gun amzn.to/3P0BM58
Bearing Grease amzn.to/4bH5nwK
EZ Lube Dust Cap Plug amzn.to/3KrSTx0
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I have Easy Lube on my trailers, BUT, I always tear everything apart, and inspect each part myself! Thanks for a Great Video! (Great Teaching Video!)
Good to hear! Thank you for watching!
Is it necessary to replace the rear seal every time you tear it down?
@@svictor7573 Pretty cheap insurance to replace it every time! (I carry a spare seal and set of pre-greased bearings with me!)
Easy lube for some people can do nothing but harm. Take the time out to do the job right.
@@svictor7573 It's difficult to get the seal out w/o damaging it. I never have been able to, but they are cheap enough to replace.
I had a 2003 5th wheel with easy lube axles. Maybe 3 - 4 thousand miles driven per year. Annually did exactly what you showed in the video and never had an issue. Bought a 2018 5th wheel [same brand] and started doing the same routine annually. Noticed the brakes were not working as well after the 2nd year. Adjusted the brakes but no difference so I removed the hubs and found the inner seal had blown in all 4 wheels. From now on I will remove the hubs and repack the old way. You also save grease doing it the old way.
Use a Milwaukee electric gun raise & spin wheel , watch until grease is color of new grease . Cap on done ! Manuel gun too slow why ? Don't worry about using half a tube per axle . Water ,or loose play in bearings ,require removal, cleaning& inspection, & packing . Ken. 50 + year vech. Ser. Pro.
I do a teardown and hand pack at the beginning of each season. I'm 74 years old and that is how I was taught. I also carry a full set of bearings and seals in case one gives out on the road. Those trailer bearings can be hard to find in the boondocks.
Very good point! I tend to lean toward the side of caution and always carry extra parts with me, whether its for my vehicle or trailer. Thanks for watching!
I'm with you. I keep my spare mounted on a spindle with a brand-new packed hub assembly. If I ever have any issues with the hub, I have everything ready to go for a quick roadside swap, or I can just pull the parts I need from it. I've blown plenty of tires, but I haven't had to swap out the hub yet. It's cheap insurance.
Good info. I just saw a short video where the guy was crying because all 4 hubs blew out the seals and he didn't know why.
I'm a long time maintenance mechanic and taught many classes on the proper way to lube sealed bearings on production line equipment. That knowledge transferred over to when I got my first trailer with EX Lube axles. I just bought a new double axle dump trailer with EZ lube hubs...so thanks for the refresher class.
Great knowledge and experience! Earned a subscription!
Now off to see what kind of axle setup I have on my grey wolf toy hauler. Got a driver side rear tire wearing hard on the inside ugh.
Very helpful & informative. I have EZ Lube on both of my trailers, but no, I never knew how to properly grease this system. I knew about the complete repack, & do keep track, but I’ll now know how to properly use the system in between repacks. I will strongly reconsider just tearing down & repacking more often, based on how long it takes (+ how much grease needed) to use the EZ system.
been taking them apart and greasing by hand ever since my dad showed me when I was 10
never had a bearing failure
I also like to check the voltage to the brakes First thing i do when I get a trailer is change out the wire connectors
my 7 and 10-year-old grandsons will be helping me next time if they want to ride the four wheelers
The oldest likes to help by the youngest I have to bargain with
44 year retired mechanic here, you are correct, disassemble clean inspection, repack and reseal.
Love this video really like your honesty and your opinion,I have a travel trailer I bought thru a small mom and pop dealer 2 years ago and in the deal they had the wheel bearings repacked sense then I have put about 3 thousand miles on the trailer. We live in Wisconsin and the trailer is stored out side with a cover on the wheels .Should I still repack bearings every year.
I have a horse trailer with ez lube and I was planning to hit with a few pumps in the near future. It doesn't get used much so it would be good if it needs grease. Thank you for the information. I'll be tearing down instead.
I agree with you to tear it down and inspect. I have an 8K pound TT and do it every year.
Glad to hear it! Tear down and inspection really is the best way to stay ahead of any problems that might pop up.
1999 single axle snowmobile trailer with 8” wheels, no brakes and ez lube. Probably average 3,000 miles a year. I rotate wheels while hand pumping grease. I do once every year or two. I dont pump till all grease coming out is clean. Once I see new grease I stop. Last year I pulled hubs off to replace seals and the bearings and races still look good.
I learned a lot from your video. Thank you so much!
I did this correctly on my fifth wheel when we first got it. Next year about 12K miles I will have a complete teardown and inspection. And new tires 6 years old.
Good job on keeping up with that maintenance! Thanks for watching!
Inspection is the best correction 💯
& if bearings come with new races…
WHY IN THE FUBAR DON’T PEOPLE INSTALL THEM🤬 LOL😮
Great info much appreciated
I had to send a reply today I went to check out a 6 x 12 trailer yesterday. The guy told me he had use it for the past 15 years as I was inspecting the wheels shaking them back-and-forth he proceeded to tell me.” I touch nothing they no problem, I never even take the cap off the hubs they ok just fine”.
That’s when I turned to the gentleman and I said, “ sir please please that’s the kind of stuff you don’t ever want to tell a buyer, but I appreciate that you did. I will pass on the trailer. It obviously had the mother issues. I wasn’t happy with either like a bent Front, and that somebody tried to fix I had to share this with you.
Great video thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
I don't put 12K on my RV a year. Maybe 6K, What's your opinion perhaps a every other year EZ Lube and a complete tear down? Also would it not be better to remove the dust cap while doing the EZ Lube method so that it doesn't fill up and fling off down the road?
I have easy lube on 2 trailers. Never used it, I just take them in every spring for repacking.
The same principle applies to heavy equipment, excellent content, and try not to "get any on ya"!!!
I take the whole cap off when pumping the EZ lube style , it’s easier to tell when your getting clean grease and cap doesn’t fill with mixed grease. I disassembled an EZ lube assembly like you did to see if pushed grease thru and it did. I was a mechanic and packed plenty of bearings on cars, trucks & trailers, I would not trust most of the people out there to disassemble and clean and keep things clean, pack and adjust bearings.I’ve watched a couple of your videos and your as meticulous as I am, I don’t trust very many people to work on my stuff but I would bring my trailers to you if for some reason I could not do it.
I use my dewalt battery grease gun and use about 2/3 rds of a tube of grease one each one. It's a 3000 lb boat trailer that is used in salt and fresh water. Never had a problem blowing the rear seals out . This trailer is a 2013. With about 2000 miles on it. Feeling like my luck is about to run out. Gonna replace everything.
I had a new trailer that had grease blown through the seal into the brakes. Probably lubed with a power gun.
I have seen that happen, too!
I just bought a triple axle box trailer and I did the proper eazy lube grease replacement on all six hubs ;problem I have is three wheels on one side are hotter than the other three after a 50 mile run . What could be causing this heating?
Never did it like this was always worried it would fill the brakes up. Lots of bad info on this process
Great video. I have purchased 3 new trailers with EZ Lube hubs, not one came with instructions on how to use the system. So, no - I've never completely flushed the old grease the way you demonstrated. Thanks, I learned a lot.
I’m glad the video was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Thanks, great video. Reaffirmed my suspicion!
I used to have soooooo many bearing problems with ez lube axles. I would lose an axle or 2 every year. Not sure if it was user error or if these things are just a scam. I went back to repacking every 2-3 years and I haven't had a single issue in 10 years now.
Great Video. So far I have only used the grease zerk to top off after complete repack. Even that will burn up 1/2 tube of grease per wheel on a 3500 axle. I agree that total disassembly and repack is optimum but occasional pumping has got to be a helluva lot better than total negligence.
I own a toy hauler and yes, I’m the one that only puts two or three pumps once a year😮
I’ve been so lucky never had an issue. Thank you for educating me.
Keep up the great videos.
I'm glad I could help! Thanks for watching!
You’re fine. I just pulled the drums on my trailer which for the first 15 years of its life before I owned it was neglected and probably not greased at all. I’ve been pumping some in once a year the last few years. After pulling them apart the bearings were still packed, no moisture in them. Yes the grease was black but still had good consistency. Nothing but grease in there, no dust or debris. Bearings, races and spindles looked mint too. I don’t think they would have had any issues for a very long time if I just continued to pump some in through the EZ lube once a year.
I pull a 50’ car hauler daily and I pull my drums off and repack every 10K miles. I jack, spin and pump grease every 5K. Have never had a bearing failure. I appreciate you showing this it just reinforces that I am doing it the right way. Keep up the great work and videos
Glad to hear there are people out there taking a structured and detailed approach to preventative maintenance for their trailers. Keep up the good work on your end and thanks for watching!
Nothing gets RV'r debate going faster than a EZL discussion. To me, it doesn't have to be yes or no. I use it sometimes, don't use it other times. I also think a full inspection and all new grease every year is overkill. So I will use the EZL for those in between years, and fully tear down about every 5 years. I would not ask the EZL to push all the old grease out. If I don't trust the grease that is in there, and that means knowing what type of grease it is, then a tear down is in order. If I think my existing grease is okay, I'll only pump in enough to see it start to ooze out of the outer bearing. That tells me I have filled the space between the bearings and the bearing rollers. There is no good that will come from filling up that cap. Then every 5 years, tear down, inspect brakes bearings and all. One other thing, if you have EZL spindles, you are going to need to use it even after a teardown and full hand packing. You cannot properly fill that inner space by hand, so you still need to finish the job with a grease gun on the EZL. And don't forget to turn that drum while pumping. I enjoy your channel, keep up the good work.
I have a 40' camper, You have given me the best amount of info to maintain my axles on my camper. Thank You Very much
Well, I'm a cheap so & so. I have several trailers. One has just cone bearings. One has bearing buddies, and one has EZLube.
The small trailer doesn't get a lot of highway travel, so every two years it gets pulled apart and checked (no brakes).
My travel trailer has bearing buddies (again, we don't run 12K miles) it gets torn down every two years and topped up the years in between with the bearing buddy (I use extreme pressure marine grease only).
My vehicle hauler has easy lube. I ALWAYS take the cup off (so that I don't waste grease filling it). I pump until grease is blue, with no black evident. Every 2nd year, that gets torn apart and inspected.
Unless, of course, I suspect brake issues on either. This is my schedule.
We bought the travel trailer used, and I thought people did proper (at least minimal) maintenance. It was a 4 hr drive home. We cleaned the trailer and checked the stove, furnace, A/C, and power. Loaded up and took off.
Got 3 hours down the road and a guy was waving to my wife. Frantically. He told us a wheel was smoking. We eventually got pulled over a couple of lanes and stopped. Outer bearing had failed and the heat had popped a small piece out of the hub where the seal went. Limped into the next town, found a bearing kit and some extra tools. Changed the bearings on a side road. When we got home, replaced hub and installed new bearings. Then, tore down the other 3 and replaced all the bearings.
Do NOT stick your finger in and swipe the grease after removing the rubber cover. Those edges are super sharp and will cut your finger badly. Then you end up with a nice mix of grease and blood.
Just happened to me….read this two hours too late!
Amen! Just about cut my finger off last week.
@@BigBear596😢😢😢
@@witsend9909😮😢😢
Yep been there done that and learned the hard way 😮
If you break it down to pack, clean and inspect do you still fill the chamber up with the zerk fitting afterwards?
Yes, the more grease the better.
I never used it, I just always preferred to see the bearings, and concerned that the rear seal would not hold up to the greasing. If I put a whole tube of grease in I would have thought the seal was leaking, and have torn in any way. Great video. I learned my gut feeling was right.
Great point! Thanks for watching!
I put probably less than 10,000 easy miles on our camping trailer. Every other year I do a full tear down and inspection. The other years I do EZ Lube using whatever grease is needed to push out the old grease. I remove the cap while pumping and don’t load the cap with grease. Over more than 10 years this has worked for me. After a recent 2000 mile trip my hubs ran cool to the touch at each fuel and bathroom break.
Sounds like you know what to do! Great job! Thanks for watching.
You just earned my subscription!
I agree with your observation of how much grease on the inside of the dust cap - but silly question, why not just remove the dust cap when using the greasing procedure ?
Less mess, less waste ?
I agree.. I was thinking to pump fresh grease until the cap is full of old grease, then pull the cap off and clean it out. Do it again until fresh grease is close and clean out the cap a final time..
No need to fill up the cap with fresh grease because A- it might fly off with the weight, and B- why fill that with fresh grease when that grease probably won't circulate thru the bearings.
Also, i was thinking it might be best to first drive the trailer and brake it some to heat up the old grease before you pump it all out with the fresh stuff 💁♂️
We bought a new Casita trailer last year and put about 10K miles on it. Several weeks ago, I got out in my driveway on a nice day and with my new grease gun bought at an auto parts store (it replaced a POS I bought at Harbor Frt) and I loaded it with a cartridge. Prior to doing this, I watched several TH-cams to make sure I understood how to do it. Well, being retired, I have plenty of time and overall , I spent around an hour greasing both sides of the one axle. The new grease went in and the old came out, just like it is supposed to do, one cartridge per side. Now I do plan on taking my trailer next year or maybe at the end of camping season this year to an RV dealership shop for them to break it down and look at the brakes and bearings to ensure all is well. I know my limitations and do ask for experts to help. I did enjoy the EZ lube system, but used a lot of paper towels, cleaning up the mess. I did obtain from Dexter the rubber caps and will replace the ones on the axle. The current caps seem fine but I will replace them anyway. Thanks for your video on this and I am reassured that the EZ lube system works for me.
I just pulled my 2 7k axles apart to clean and inspect because ain`t no way to know without looking. Good thing too because 2 seals were wonky seated and one came out on removal -makes me wonder if pneumatic job was done. As you said, the old way is `the way`. I am all about old school tried and true. Grease was not dirty and the only grease in there is new. Drums were like new but rusty brake hardware made me once and done new brakes complete. A lot easier done at home than a thousand plus miles away.
We have easy lube axles on our Jayco. One of the axles failed this summer, and we almost lost a wheel. We had to wait 3 weeks to get a new axle. We had them check and repack all the other axles. The mechanic said the other 3 axles were dirty, but had plenty of grease. I usually grease them every spring. This last summer, I didn't. My first mistake! Besides that, I think where I went wrong is, I may have not turned that one axle enough to distribute the grease properly. Watching the video, I see there's only one or two holes for the grease to come out. You must keep turning the hub!!! It's really a two person job. One to grease, the other to keep spinning the hub. From now on, I'll do a complete repack at least every other year. Probably replace the seals, too? I also wonder, how long, or how many miles before the bearings themselves should be completely replaced? Do you need to replace the inner races, too?
I used my EZ-Lube as recommended from the owners manual for years. I pumped until I had all the old grease out. Unfortunately, I never gave any consideration to the age of my wheel seals. I eventually leaked grease into all of my brakes and had to replace all 4 brake assemblies as they were completely saturated with grease. I no longer use the Z-Lube system. I disassemble and repack the old fashioned way and replace my seals every single time. That's probably overkill. I could probably use the EZ-lube every other year, but once you've had what I had happen you tend to not trust the system anymore.
Man, I hate that you experienced that. As a trailer shop mechanic, I see this scenario played out almost daily. We appreciate you watching.
I bought a 22 camper new. It's a lippert axle with the ez lube setup. This is the first time I took everything apart for inspection and from the factory the bearings barely had enough grease in them. I like the ez lube set up because after putting everything back together it was easy to fill the void with grease and I am at ease that they have enough. I will redo this next year to inspect the brakes and bearing. I believe in preventative maintenance.
I had contacted Lippert about this, their reply is enough grease is on bearings to get it to the customer, it is then their responsibility to lube the axle properly, which of course if no one tells you, you don't know. Perfect opportunity for them to deny an axle claim because you didnt lube it. Arseholes
@@tmcblane it's amazing how companies will pinch pennies and spend dollars. A handful of grease is not that much more than a spoonful.
Thanks for the info.
I use the EZ lube for both my RV and boat trailers. I do it exactly how you demonstrated. I pump until I get all of the old grease out. I have my wife or daughter keep the hub spinning slowly as I pump. I also replace the rubber plugs every year. I grease the RV once a year, but we typically camp relatively local. I grease the boat trailer hubs twice a year. I’ve never had any issues. I think you are correct in your recommendations though. I think most folks just give a shot or two in each hub and call it good.
Great video and great information.
Get Bearing Buddies for going under water. They are better than Easy Lube for going under water. They keep grease at 3 psig pressure so no water can enter the hub.
Thank you for this video. I learned a lot. My 5th wheel I bought used has these spindles. I will be tearing them down to inspect.
When you first get the Dexter axle, it is not full of grease. Why? Because it is not needed and Dexter doesn't want to pay for all the uneeded grease. Wheel bearings should use a grease film for lube, not a grease bath. Wheel bearings are a low-speed application for tapered roller bearings. The rollers may start sliding, trying to displace the grease ahead of it and the grease movement is being prevented by the roller cage.
Even the Dexter Guru doesn't use their EZ-lube system.
DEXTER TV - Dexter Bearing Maintenance
th-cam.com/video/GnH-h3W9XvI/w-d-xo.html
Guilty of using Easy Lube the wrong way. I will be changing my procedure going forward! Thank you for the education on Easy Lube.
So glad you found the video helpful! Thanks for watching!
i chose to stick with the traditional spindle. repacking grease once a year isn't all that bad for an entire year of trouble free towing.
also, i have a feeling my bearings will last longer with 100% new grease, rather than 70% new grease.
to each their own, no hate over here!
I would like to see a video on using the easy lube hub the way you did however I always take the cap off then grease it up push out the old slap the cat back on then drive around with it for say 500 miles maybe a little less whatever Then on the other side of the axle do it your way that you recommend take it apart clean it all up put it back together with all fresh grease after the mileage take them both apart break them down and send the grease out to get evaluated.
I would venture to say they are going to be so similar it will be insignificant 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
We need MythBusters back 😂
I have a PJ Car Hauler with 5200# EZ-Lube axles and they have been great..and you are NOT wrong! Odd years get fresh grease via the EZ-Lube method. Even years, like this year, get full disassembly and inspection. This is overkill for my trailer as it doesn't see commercial duty and the annual miles are low. No issues here. Really appreciated the video!!
Sounds like you are on top of the maintenance game! Way to go! Thanks for watching.
I would NEVER pump grease while the wheel is stationary.... Why risk pumping grease past the seal? I'd suggest warmer weather to do this, again, minimizing the risk of grease past the seal. my $0.02
Just stumbled on your videos today and am enjoying them. Moving on to your bearing repack one, but just a quick comment…. You seemed to struggle with the cotter pin a bit. I was in the airlines for a decade and we used cotter pin pullers. A hand tool with a twisted hook on the end. Very effective, and once you got the leverage twist motion down they made short work of just about any cotter pin. I still use mine to this day! Thanks for the other info!
I always tear down the hubs(the old school way) even if the trailer is brand new. The robots at the assembly plant don’t add much grease in there, just enough to last the first year or 10k miles.
Then I use the easy lube with the same brand grease every year for several years. Finally when 5 years or so comes around. I tear everything apart and start all over.
Always use a label maker, label when the bearing were greased and what brand and type of grease was used. This make it easy to keep everything consistent and not mixing up different greases.
Stupid waist of grease! Doit right and pull the hub inspect the breakes, then clean and pack the bearings!
I just purchased a 1993 Ranger boat and trailer in great condition and once I got it home and parked it in the garage the first thing I did was check out the grease in the wheel hubs. The trailer is equipped with EZ Lube but has a needle style fitting. I tried pumping grease and no matter what I couldn’t get any grease through the zerk. I decided to put the cap back on and manual bearing repacking is on the to do list for this winter. The grease I could see was gray in color which certainly needs to be replaced but the hub seems to spin nicely with no play for now. Thanks for the great videos
Question for you, would there be any issues taking the whole assembly apart, cleaning/inspecting everything, reassembling dry, then using the zerk to repack everything?
My son bought a travel trailer with easy lube axles. We tore it down yesterday and it was as you said. The grease was very thin and dirty. It was obvious that someone had been putting small amounts of new grease in them. When we pulled the hub the grease had been pushing past the seal. My opinion is to pull them off and inspect bearings. Very good video. Thanks
Glad yall took the time to tear it down & check it out! Thanks for watching!
Large class 10 and 12 overroad trucks / trailers left grease years ago and went with axle gear/ oil 85/ 90 wt.Its part of the pre-TRIP inspection on all wheels.
U mean class 7-8, nobody uses 80-90 anymore. It's synthetic 75-140 or whatever is recommended. 8k axles have oil bath, even 3k snowmobile trailer axles. Floe trailers been using oil bath in little 2 place snowmobile trailers since the 80s
I have a 2005 Jayco Travel Trailer 33 ft. I have been using the EZ Lube systems since I bought the trailer new. The camper only gets maybe 3,000 miles a season on it, and every year, I use Lucas green heavy-duty grease to regress it through the zerks. I do take off the dust caps when doing this so I can tell when new grease is coming out and also clean out the old grease that's being pushed out. It works great for me, and I always check the temperature of my Hubs and not have seen any problems with heat. Every 4 years I adjust the brakes and then I will spin the axle when greasing.
That axle never had been greased using the EZ Lube zerk. It took way to long for the old to evacuate. When maintained using EZ Lube right after a repack it takes less than a tube of fresh grease to push out all the old. 3.5K spindles take exactly half a tube. I call you on your BS.
As stated in the video, the experience with the EZ lube system will vary based on the level of maintenance it has received. As also stated in the video, that axle was chosen BECAUSE of its lack of maintenance, which is representative of the majority of EZ Lube axles that come through my shop. When maintained properly, the EZ Lube axle can be great. But as also stated in the video, many people either don’t know how to properly maintain the EZ Lube axle or they are negligent in maintaining it. I will most likely never see the axles that are properly maintained because they won’t need a repair shop for that, but I do see the catastrophic failures that result from poor or negligent maintenance on a regular basis. No BS, just truth. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
Again that axle you chose never had been greased using the EZ-Lube zerk. You should use one that did to criticize.
I have the EZ Lube on my camper and car hauler. I always disassemble and pack it the old fashion way. Why take the risk of getting grease all over the brake shoes? I would also have to say that I have seen some pretty hard stuff come out of bearings over the years. Wouldn't that "hard stuff" come out of the large bearing and potentially get stuck in the small bearing? So many reasons to not do it the "easy" way in my opinion.
Most of my trailers have EZ Lube but I quit using that years ago. Waste of grease. I'd rather tear it apart annually to clean, inspect and repack, and adjust the bearings. I've had a lot less bearing issues ever since.
Great point! That is my experience, too. I guess it’s the mechanic in me- I want to see & know what’s going on in there. Thanks for watching!
Our Shockwave trailer came with said system. First time pulling the drums before they had been greased it had grease all over the brakes. Ruined two set of shoes. Never use the grease zirks.
Oh man! That stinks, but it happens more than people realize. Thanks for watching!
I've had my tandem Dexter axle setup for about 5 years and have always hand packed. This year, I used the Ez lube system, but did it the way you described except that I removed the dust cap and used a catch pan to collect the blobs of old grease as they came out. I then pulled the drum off to make sure the grease did not blow out the back and inspect the brake system. I reinstalled the drum and gave it another 10 pumps or so to make sure the grease is still flowing. Reinstalled the dust cap. I will alternate old method and ez lube method each year to make sure the bearings are good.
Sounds like a plan! Just knowing and being aware that it’s not a grease it and forget it system will be invaluable when it comes to EZ lube axles. Sounds like you are very aware! Thanks for watching.
I just re packed my bearings and replaced the seals. Mine has this system. I’ve always been scared to grease it like that cause I was afraid it would either blow the rear seal out or go out of the seal. Good info. Great video.
Seven years of owning a 2006 RV toy hauler with Dexter EZ Lube axles. I was not pumping enough grease in. I was scared that I would pump in so much grease that it would blow out the grease seals. I now use a Dewalt cordless grease gun and it's working well. With one hand I gently pump in small squirts of grease and the other hand is constantly turning the tire. I pulled the drums to check my technique and the grease seals were just fine, no grease in the brake area. I respect what you're saying. A visual inspection of the components is the best approach. I pull the hubs and repack the bearings by hand in even numbered years and use the EZ Lube system in odd numbered years.
I would like to know of a high quality grease seal brand to use. My local trailer shop has no-name brand seals that I'm reluctant to use.
Pull one and cross reference at local parts store
You need a small barrel of grease with an air compressor to do all that pumping or use a battery operated grease gun. Work smarter not harder. Just my 2 cents
Applying grease with electric or pneumatic devices is a surefire way to blow the seal out. It's why I recommend in the video to use a hand pump grease gun. Easier isn't always better.
Great video, just repacked mine on a 2015 Jayco RV for the first time ever. I wasn’t using the bearing buddy properly and understand now the correct way to “repack” but my method left me with completely fine bearings and no spindle issues. I replaced the seals and repacked and all is fine. I have one question and one comment: question, after you repack, do you pump the zero to fill the cavity? And comment, coming from a heavy equipment background, some grease is better than no grease?
Thank you for your knowledge...I was a 4 or 5 squirter before this!
Glad I could help! Thank you for watching!
I jack it up and only do a 3-5 pumps. I don’t see this as a replacement to inspection. I figured at 10k I would replace with Timken since oem is china spec.
I am the 3rd owner of a small 2018 Jayco. Previous owner said they only used it sparingly, and had never greased the bearings. I pumped slowly and turned the hub slowly the entire time, never stopped while pumping. Finally at the end of a whole tube, grease started to come out at the dust cap. It was just as red as what I was pumping in. So either the camper was as rarely used as he claimed, or the factory put next to nothing in from the start. I thought for sure I was filling the drum, but the brakes work great and like everyone says, it just takes a ton of grease the first time you use the ez lube system.
I bought a new travel trailer with the EZ lube hubs and pumped 3 tubes of grease in them when I first brought it home. It obviously left the factory with very little grease in the hubs.
Don't use grease gun to pump grease in, no matter how much you spin wheel. I've tried all methods and 100%, seal fails, grease goes in drums. Think about it, seal must contain pressure of pushing grease thru 2 bearings, which it can't do. Takes a lot of pressure to push thru 2 bearings. Dexter gets to sell a lot of repair parts!
My experience is the grease blows out the inner bearing more often than not. I never use them.
I have seen it happen way too many times!
I use the rotate and fill until new grease comes out method. Every 6000 miles. I use a wire tie as a "dipstick" to make sure the seal held its integrity. I push it between the drum and backplate. If it comes out dry I'm good.
Bought a pontoon boat last summer, trailer did not come with any type of instructions and they have the EZ lube caps. So yea, this was helpful.
Great video. I have sold trailer parts and done trailer maintenance for quite some time. EZ lube is a waste of grease, in my opinion. You don't get to see and feel the bearing. And you're right, most people do not use them properly anyway.
Thank you for the video. What grease do you recommend for trailer bearings?
In his other video on repack trailer bearings a viewer asked that and he replied Mystik Hi-Temp Multi-Purpose Grease (NLGI No. 2, JT-6). In that video he had a big container of it on the table. In this video you can see the tube on the ground and it is Mystik Hi-Temp Multi-Purpose Grease (I just bought some so I was tuned in to that). Some will use Lucas red’n’tacky but if you do a deep dive research the Mystik is considered to be best. There are discussions on "Bob is the oil guy" where experts weigh in on that.
Hi! I prefer to use the Mystik Hi-Temp grease. We’ve included a link in the description of this video. Availability on Amazon has been hit and miss, but you can take a look at it and should be able to pick it up at your local parts store, if you prefer.
I know this video is 3 months old, but I felt it was worth commenting.
First of all, you ask the question as to whether people "over lube" their bearings ,and that people rarely admit it. But with the EZ lube system used in the manner you demonstrated, that bearing was 100% full, aka over lubed. That is the nature of the EZ lube system, and the only recourse you have to prevent over lubrication is to scoop out some grease from the end cap to allow for expansion and redistribution of the grease. That is the nature of this system.
Second, you are worried about completely displacing the old grease with the new grease. That is impossible with this type of system, nor necessary within the annual 12k rebuild. The old grease is likely perfectly functional unless it is contaminated with moisture or has metal shavings in it. In both those cases you have bigger problems than replacing the grease. Grease quickly loses its red color due to heat and normal bearing wear. Just a few ppm of normal wear contaminates along with heat and oxidation will turn the red grease grey. It is still good, just discolored. If the grease ever looks thick and creamy like cream cheese, then water has emulsified in the grease, and the entire bearing MUST be disassembled, inspected and repacked with new seals at the earliest.opportunity.
The EZ bearing was never intended to replace the annual or 12k rebuild. That is still mandatory with the EZ lube system. Bearings, brakes, magnets, etc. need to be fully inspected annually to prevent potential issues. And THIS is when the full repack with fresh grease happens.
What the EZ lube system is intended for is to allow for a user to add grease to a warm bearing before it gets hot enough to fail. This will buy time until they get to a place where the bearings can be rebuilt. This is where adding a pump or three every 500 miles or so can help prevent hot bearings until the annual or 12k rebuild. It helps keep the system operating smoothly between the regular scheduled maintenance. That all.
Just my opinion.
Great instructional video. One thing I would add is when completely replacing grease by pumping is don't do it in cold weather. I think there is a better chance of blowing out the inner seal.
Hey can you do a video on how to properly torque down the castle nut? How do you do it. Thanks
My trailer has EZ Lube, but I would rather tear everything down and inspect bearings, seals, brakes, etc. and then repack the bearings. It’s cheap insurance.
Just bought a pontoon boat and its got these on it and was needing to service them I've never dealt with them before but now im waiting to replace them with something. Do you recommend using bearing buddies are something else? Thanks for your help!
Both times I've done this on my boat trailer it ended up blowing out the seals and I lost wheels and due to the design of my boat trailer I had to replace the entire axle. I'm disassembling and repacking annually from now on.
May not be the best, but if you were on a long outback trip say in Australia where there is no service centre. May be good to do between services is nothing else available. For some extended trips the service intervals are shorter than the distance between service centres.
When I see trailer bearing service intervals 5000 Km, that makes them unusable in a lot of cases unless you have something this this.
I bought my Utility Trailer from Master Tow in Fayetteville, NC in 2004. It came with EZ Lube installed. Is it possible to remove the Zerk Fitting from the Spindle and install Bearing Buddies? I live in the Northeast and use my Trailer quite a bit in the Winter… At present I removed the EZ Lube Cap and just use a Dust Cap because I use a Bearing Packer. However it gets a bit much because I don’t have a Garage and the Winters are Cold, lol…
I always heat the grease to about 100 degrees before using, thick cold grease will blow those seals quickly.
It's a good thing the inside diameter of the hub isn't 4" !!! What a huge waste of grease. Even this smaller inside diameter of the hub you did your demonstration with is a huge waste of grease. I've been a machinery builder for decades and have followed the practice of never over-lubricating bearings, ball or roller. Too much grease can interfere with the rolling of the balls or rollers and in the blink of an eye, you've spalled the bearing surface, leading to a possible frozen bearing. I prefer doing the hand-packing and a glob of grease in the hub area...that's it.
Great video, I tear down my a axles, clean and re-pack the bearings by hand and install them. When I am done, I know what the condition the bearing,rollers and cage are in. When I put that grease cap back on I know what lies beneath, and I use way less grease to get it done. Seems like the EZ lube wastes a lot of grease,which eventually finds its way to the brakes…
I didn't understand how the system worked after I realized I actually had it. I personally would rather tear it down and look at everything. We have had our travel trailer 3 years and I have not done this yet 😣
I does not have many miles on it, maybe 2500, we don't go too far. But it IS going to be done after this holiday weekend outing. Want to inspect the brakes and bearings so I will NOT be using the system.
Main question, do I need to do anything with this "system" considering I do not plan on using it? Remove zerk and buy a regular cap?
Man you listed all the things that worry me about easy lube. I have easy lube on my 2019 Geo Pro 12SRK, 12 ft long, Sofa bed and Rear Kitchen. I'm in my 6th camping season (200 nights in it off grid for most of it) living in northern Alberta Canada. If there was a person who could use easy lube it would be this RV, but I don't use it for all the reason's you stated. I store this small trailer in a heated garage, it is maintained by a local RV dealer that I trust. I have just over 10,000 miles on the trailer and have had the bearings done 3 times now for the reasons you have mentioned, the inspection of the whole brake system. I just had the brakes done as the manufacture suggest this to be done every 12,000 miles but I like to be proactive, so it's done now and I feel confident that I will have no to little brake issues. I guess you can call it peace of mind. Thanks for the info. I enjoyed the video and I have now subscribed to your channel. It seems like a wealth of knowledge to tap into, thanks.
i had the choice of ez lube or the standard spindle, and i chose the standard spindle. i think for longevity, it's very wise to occasionally tear the hub down and do a full repack, and being that i only plan on doing this once a year, theres really no reason to go w/ ez lube. i think fully repacking the hub every year, religiously, will ensure it's all clean grease and theres also the correct amount of grease. i think if i chose the ez lube, i would get lazy and eventually damage my spindle.
great video! thank you.
I just bought a new travel trailer with EZ lube axles. I want to use the EZL fitting to put some red high temp grease in just to see if they are low on grease from the factory. My question is am I going to potentially do more harm than good mixing different greases?
Great video. I hand pack my bearings! I am much older than you 78!
The grease in the middle of the hub in my opinion only makes for a better fire when it gets hot, it does not have any lubrication purposes !! What about oil hubs like the big trucks have , seen then on Lippert axels? Cost ?
Do bearings need to be repacked every 12,000 miles on a 3000 pound camper trailer? I have an EZ lube system, but I don't know what the previous owner has done to it.
Dexter should market easy lube as really messy lube, no thanks, I do it old school in about the same time.
Great video.
My last 5th wheel had ez lube and I just pumped a couple squirts of grease twice a year, after 4 years I lost the complete hub assy. going 67 MPH. my new trailer will be torn down and inspected, repacked each year.
I thought they were great until I noticed my rims covered in it last fall. Always just a few pumps in the spring and like you said…liquified grease contamination. Won’t be using ez lube anymore.
I clean and hand pack my bearings every year ...........I don't trust easy lubes i want to inspect those bearings and replace the deals every spring .......also I was told years ago that you shouldn't fill the hub with grease because the air space provides cooking for the hub
Thank you so much for the clear, concise, easy to understand info on ez lube! I am old school also and have repacked a number of hub bearings. I purchased a new travel trailer several years ago. First time I had seen ez lube, but nowhere in any documentation, did it discuss how it was maintained...so I was one of those 3-4 pump people. I have not had any trouble, but I will be changing to the pull it apart method. Thanks, I subscribed!
It’s cheaper to disassemble and repack the bearings.
I have only used the easy lube when I get new drums with bearings pre installed to make sure they are full of grease..
You make a great point!