Without having the hub on, this test doesn't seem valid. If you had the pressure of the hub and the preload, the grease would have to squeeze around to get back out. I'd be willing to bet the previous owner never spun it which would blow out the inner seal. As long as this is spun while the grease is going in there, it will be applied to the innermost area and pushed toward the least resistance (the open hole in the hub where it's designed to come out) but the only way it can get to that least resistance area and escape is by pushing all the old grease out that in the way of the new grease, hence why it comes in at the innermost area.
I've seen numerous seals blown out because owners just keep pumping in grease, even when they do spin the wheel. They don't realize they created a problem until the brakes start fading, then they take it to a shop and the shop finds the blown seal.
@@deltabravo1257 I'm about to grease the bearings on my trailer and the manual specifically indicates to spin the tire and only do three pumps of the grease gun per wheel. This is to avoid blowing the seal. Unfortunately RUclips has countless videos where the person greasing the bearings is pumping countless times and until the grease spews out.
The inner seal fails overtime and ultimately it blowns out the seal. The is especially true if the tire is not jacked up off the ground and spun while greasing the zerk fitting. My used trailer had the exact same issues due to improperly greasing the easy lube hubs and never replacing the inner seals. I am ordering complete backing plate assembies and inner seals. I will only be hand packing my bearings from now on.
@@ed9095 I am trying to find in my manual where it tells you to only do three pumps of the grease gun. Where or what manual? Any info would be helpful. Thanks!
You have the wheel off so no grease is going to move forward. The old owner did not rotate the tire while pumping grease in which forced it out the back.
Although I agree with the idea of disassembly and repacking manually on a regular basis, whatever that might be, I don't think your video supports your argument that the EZ Lube system is bad. The hub, bearings, and seals need to be fully assembled to truly test the system. Perhaps you should make a video where you disassemble everything, replace the bearings and seals, and reassemble. Then you can pump the grease per manufacturer's recommendations, disassemble once again, and then evaluate whether the bearings and axle got sufficient grease. Marine applications require more frequent maintenance, and repacking the bearings every time grease should be refreshed would be an unreasonable expectation. The EZ lube and Super lube systems save a lot of boat trailers from premature failure.
The rear axle seal is what makes the grease go into the bearing. Once the bearing starts to warm up the grease will thin out, go to the bottom of the bearing and then go inside. Always start with a prepacked bearing and lube depending on the amount of use.
If you have a nice warm or hot day and you raise the wheel and rotate it as you grease with nice slow pumps you should have no problems purging one wheel bearing assembly with one tube of warm grease. If you don't rotate the wheel while you grease, pick a cold day to try and squeeze cold grease in your bearing assembly, you will blow the seal and end up with grease everywhere. I always pick a hot day, or bearings that have just finished a long haul and are still warm, and I use grease that has been kept warm in anticipation of the job. I have never had any problems with these Dexter E-Z Lube systems.
That's exactly what I said in a couple of posts about putting the grease in. I had a mechanic tell me to do it on a hot day so the grease will flow more smoothly. I can see that. He also said don't go crazy and keep pumping the grease gun like there's no tomorrow. Put some in, spin the tire for a bit and let it work around.
I think, people pump grease with tires on the ground and blow out the seal or they used a pneumatic or electric grease gun over a recommended hand held grease gun. Dexter EZ lube, to this date, has a step by step video on how to use their product. Stop being lazy and repack by hand, then no worries? Nothing is EZ.
I use my EZ lubes every year, and the grease immediately come out the front of the hub. I've never had any problem with a "blown rear seal" or grease on my brake surfaces. I suspect your method of testing has some kind of fault.
If you always us the EZ-Lube hub and never disassemble the hub, how do you know that the rear seal isn't blown? The problem with EZ-Lube hubs is people treat them like they are Bearing Buddies (on boat trailers) and continually pump grease in. It's just a matter of time before the rear seal blows out when doing this.
The Ez Lube axles can push the inner seal out. BUT #1 Dexter says do NOT use a pneumatic grease gun because they are more likely to push out the seal ( you are not using a pneumatic grease gun in the video so you are good there ) #2 I ALWAY grease put grease into EZ lube hubs on a very hot day and i leave the trailer in direct sun and also leave the grease and grease gun in the sun for a little bit because the more liquid the grease is the less likely it is to push the inner seal out. I also constantly spin the wheel and have the wheel jacked up off the ground. #3 no EZ lube hubs do not work 100% of the time but if done correctly they will work 95% of the time and it is a LOT easier and cheaper then taking everything apart every year just to repack bearings. #5 it does take a kind of long time because I i keep pumping in the grease until i see nothing but clean new grease coming out of the front of the hub.
Put the rear seal in place as you can see by the clean spots it sits threeeights of an inch farther onto the hub and if the rear seals in good shape the grease has to go forward! That being said I have to pull them apart once in a while and make sure that the rear seal is actually doing its job! Good video thank you
Even with a new rear seal you can blow grease past it - I speak from experience. ALWAYS rotate the wheel, pump grease slowly, and do it in warm (overnight) weather when the grease flows more easily.
Just follow the ez lube manufacture directions. Who knows if the previous owner even jacked up the trailer, spun the tire when putting the grease in, or used enough grease to drive the old grease out, or even did it at all for that matter.
I'm not sure what the previous owner did when greasing the EZ-Lube hubs, but the hubs were packed full of grease and the rear seals were blown out, wrecking all four brakes.
I have to agree with some of the other people that commented. If you take your time and don't pump grease like a madman and spin the tire, you shouldn't have a problem. I've been doing this on our travel trailer the last 5 years with no issues. When I'm doing this, if I pump one shot of grease into the fitting, I'll see about a squirt of old grease coming out. Obviously, it's working. It's a nice video to show where the grease exits on the spindle. I had no idea about that.
Some people use a power grease gun also which is a no no . I don't believe the grease could move fast enough , so it blows the seal out. Just a thought I could be all wrong .
Wrong conclusion. If a good seal is in place, the path of least resistance is through the bearing. The actual problem is that the hole where grease exits from is razor sharp an it cuts the seal every time the hub is installed. Soften the edge of that hole with 600 grit sandpaper, then take care not to overdo it with the grease gun and it works fine. Also, I make sure that the bearing cap has a very small hole in the center of it - the bearings can heat up very quickly under braking, and this makes sure that pressure does not build at the inner seal.
If you really want to see how it works assemble everything as you would with seal and all and new clean bearings. And grease with the zerk as you are supposed to while rotating then pull it apart and see how the bearing packed. The way your video shows is like trying to complain that a tire not mounted on a rim doesn’t hold air. Your trailers PO probably didn’t grease correctly. I see lots of people just jam grease in the and not turn the wheel and it builds too much pressure in one spot and blows the seal.
Excellent video! You have produced some great stuff ,but this was so educational. I am so paranoid about being stuck on the highway between Spokane and the coast with camper and boat. This is fantastic. Thank you!
Thanks I just took mine apart and I needed to see this. I was trying to figure out why my seals were blown and the grease was all flinging out. Previous owner over pumped it and blew them out...
The rear grease seal will hold the grease in, and the grease will begin to travel forward while the wheel is spinning. The way I understand it, the rear grease seal shouldn't blow out, if the wheel continues to spin while using EZ Lube.
I noticed you dont have a hole in axel for cotter pin, that goes through the castle nut. I think i have the same system on my kendon motorcycle trailer i just picked up used. I believe you have what i have on my axel, instead of cotter pin. I have a retainer clip that goes over the nut, my question is does that just go on any way. Or does it go on a certain way. Thank you if you could answer that
This was very informative. Sometimes I can't seem to get the zerk to take any grease from my grease gun. I'd had always thought..'well it must be full then'. But I can now see how these hubs work, that there could be many places where things could be blocked up. Thank you for this!
I've told many of my friends that all that spindle bearing grease zert is a marketing gimmick for guys that don't know how to repack bearings. Pumping all that grease in there just blows out that rear seal, and gets on the brake pads.
so many good comments on why this is NOT a valid demonstration. its a system meaning more that one part. each component needs the other for the system to function correctly. i was guilty of being a couple pumps/month guy and calling it good with the wheels on the ground until grease was everywhere and my truck was getting pushed around. unfortunately, some of us have a bd habit of learning the hard way.
I believe he’s trying to explain that the grease hole is between the seal and inner bearing. Getting heavy handed with the grease gun can possibly damage the seal and rotation will evenly distribute the grease instead of pushing all in one spot. I just shoot a few pumps in slowly while stationary and have never had an issue. After several times of that I eventually manually clean everything and install new seals.
Many years ago I had the bearings "repacked" at a dealer service. I wanted the bearings removed, cleaned and inspected for damage and wear. But they never did any of that. They just pumped grease in the EZ Lube fitting. Headed out to Maine and nearly lost the whole rig because I had NO BRAKES! At the campground I pulled a wheel and found the entire brake unit full of grease. Three of the four wheels were ruined! A one night stay ended up being three nights, two full days of cleaning and rebuilding and about $150 in material. Campground owners were very gracious letting me do the work on my site. EZ Lube is NOT a good idea in my book.
I agree about EZ Lube not being a great idea for people that think it's a substitute for a "bearing repack", which sadly is the case for many people. The photos I show in the video are from a cargo trailer I bought. The brakes were ruined and required a complete rebuild before I was able to use the trailer.
He clearly used a pneumatic or electric grease gun and went to town, of course the rear seal will blow out in that scenario! I install oil and grease seals every other day just think of the pressure it takes to beat it in.... 1 to 2 hand pumps will never blow that out you couldn't pump fast enough. Unless some old grease hardened and let loose but that's a long shot most people don't have the knowledge or patience and just start squirting with power tools. Not to mention if there was a blockage the hand grease gun would let you know right away you should stop and disassemble asap if it's not taking the grease. The way it works low pressure grease hits that rear seal bounces off goes thru the rear bearing into the cavity then thru the front bearing and out the front hole. It's not rocket science!
I pull my hubs apart and replace seal and hand pack bearings once a year anyway even with grease zeros it is a good idea to inspect the bearings and also retighten the bearings anyway and like this year have found thay one bearing cage had come apart on my trailer and so was able to catch it before having a major issue
Are you serious? It's not going to go through the bearing until the hub is sealed. It blew the seal out because the grease was probably hard or the seal was bad. That's all.
I also have the EZ lube system on my utility trailer. At what mileage does everyone suggest I repack the bearings? I put 2000-3000 miles a year on this trailer
Wanna know what's even worse? A sure lube system with a cotter pin instead of a tab washer. The grease doesn't even travel through the back hole, it simply squishes out the cotter pin hole. I just discovered this after owning the trailer for 12 years. If I plug the pin holes I can watch it come out the back. Otherwise does zip, squat, nadda...
I never would suggest to my customers with travel trailers and electric brakes to use the ez lube axle, too many issues with over greasing, I always reccomend a yearly disassemble and repack of the bearings pending the mileage the customer is traveling each season
Great point. This is exactly why I am not a fan of people continuously pumping grease in the EZ Lube either. I've experienced over greased hubs and ruined brakes on a used trailer I bought. I also have seen photos and stories of other people doing the same thing.
I have this system on my boat trailer. One wheel works as advertised, the other not so much. No matter what I do, the grease on that side, goes out the rear seal. Not using a high pressure gun, I am spinning the wheel... I hate the spindle washer system. Not so bad getting it on and the "ear" on the castle nut; getting it off is, for me, an exercise in futility! Why they didn't use a cotter pin makes no sense...unless it would have to go through that grease channel. I have real mixed feelings on the whole system.
How are they going to drill a hole for the cotter pin...? That would intersect with the grease channel and when you pumped grease in it would come out @ the cotter pin and not travel back to the inner bearing 🙄
Not as good as packing the bearings, but once you have the hub assembled and the axle jacked up and the tires spinning,,, it is gonna be way better than what you are showing. I like the system they have even though i know tear down and repack is better.
No kidding the bearing isn't getting grease. If it was in the sealed hub the grease would be willing and pushing all the old grease. Even if it doesn't pushed the old greas out of the inside of the bearing as the axle rotates it wil l grab new grease from the outside and coat the rollers. One of the issues I see with manually packing is it doesn't fill in the axle with grease so you aren't really doing much once what you packed in there wears out.
Probably so, but I don't know how much good it would do because the grease will flow straight through the spindle bore hole before it "makes a 90 degree turn" and flows through the cross drilled hole.
Invalid conclusion due to the fact that all of the components aren't in place for you grease the bearing as Dexter is designed. I still would hand pack the bearings, but your test is flawed.
The hole placement is poor. But EZ Lube recommends repacking and doing the works every 12 months or 12K miles. Then I ask, what's the benefit of EZ lube then? My problem is that I put about 3K miles per year. And then, on cars, you can go 50K miles easily without ever touching their bearings. No grease, no inspection, nothing. Except you might shake the tire every 6 months on tire rotations to check the status.
Hmm not sure here…. I’ve had these hubs since 2019 on a 23’ travel trailer… use this exact unloaded greasing technique…hauled our trailer all overMI …1000 mi trips… on to Canada same miles. …..over4 Years of travel……if… If a failure would of occurred it Would!!!! Follow rules asDexter says …. Take short cuts and you will be on the side of the 😂.
I will never use those grease fittings .............I remove all bearings and clean and INSPECT every year and install new seals ...........anyone who doesn't is a gambler
No evidence of grease going through the bearing?? hmm with hub and seal in place it would be forced through the rollers of the bearing, first through the inner bearing, then outer bearing. The problem with grease seals on these axles is that most people replace them with the cheapest seals that come in a package from tractor supply. The correct seal from dexter is much more robust and is much harder to push out. It's generally not a good idea to push grease in too fast when it's cold either. The general design of the axle is not an issue.
That's exactly what I said in another post about people that say you will blow the seal out using the ez lube system. I had a mechanic friend tell me to do it on a hot day so the grease will flow easier and not to go crazy pumping the grease gun. He said take your time and do it slow and you should have no problems.
Excellent video. I've been told by more than 1 brake tech that while EZ lube does ok a job, it never really does a good job of pressing grease into the bearings. They also all stressed the importance of replacing the seals to ensure there's no brake contamination. Every 2 yrs depending on mileage. I was surprised how little grease was left after 1500 miles over 2 summers.
I have the sup R lube hubs on my boat trailer and I always hit them with a grease gun after a trip but I spin the wheel. Thousands of miles on that trailer with yearly bearing replacement. The marine hub uses a double lip seal and I have never had a blown seal but YMMV
Without having the hub on, this test doesn't seem valid. If you had the pressure of the hub and the preload, the grease would have to squeeze around to get back out. I'd be willing to bet the previous owner never spun it which would blow out the inner seal. As long as this is spun while the grease is going in there, it will be applied to the innermost area and pushed toward the least resistance (the open hole in the hub where it's designed to come out) but the only way it can get to that least resistance area and escape is by pushing all the old grease out that in the way of the new grease, hence why it comes in at the innermost area.
I've seen numerous seals blown out because owners just keep pumping in grease, even when they do spin the wheel. They don't realize they created a problem until the brakes start fading, then they take it to a shop and the shop finds the blown seal.
@@deltabravo1257 I'm about to grease the bearings on my trailer and the manual specifically indicates to spin the tire and only do three pumps of the grease gun per wheel. This is to avoid blowing the seal. Unfortunately RUclips has countless videos where the person greasing the bearings is pumping countless times and until the grease spews out.
@@ed9095 Dexter themselves has a video up that says to pump until you see the new grease. Of course while spinning the wheel.
The inner seal fails overtime and ultimately it blowns out the seal. The is especially true if the tire is not jacked up off the ground and spun while greasing the zerk fitting. My used trailer had the exact same issues due to improperly greasing the easy lube hubs and never replacing the inner seals. I am ordering complete backing plate assembies and inner seals. I will only be hand packing my bearings from now on.
@@ed9095 I am trying to find in my manual where it tells you to only do three pumps of the grease gun. Where or what manual? Any info would be helpful. Thanks!
I think you would need the inner axle seal installed to force the grease outward.
You have the wheel off so no grease is going to move forward. The old owner did not rotate the tire while pumping grease in which forced it out the back.
I'm not sure what technique the old owner used.
Although I agree with the idea of disassembly and repacking manually on a regular basis, whatever that might be, I don't think your video supports your argument that the EZ Lube system is bad. The hub, bearings, and seals need to be fully assembled to truly test the system. Perhaps you should make a video where you disassemble everything, replace the bearings and seals, and reassemble. Then you can pump the grease per manufacturer's recommendations, disassemble once again, and then evaluate whether the bearings and axle got sufficient grease.
Marine applications require more frequent maintenance, and repacking the bearings every time grease should be refreshed would be an unreasonable expectation. The EZ lube and Super lube systems save a lot of boat trailers from premature failure.
Thanks for watching.
The rear axle seal is what makes the grease go into the bearing. Once the bearing starts to warm up the grease will thin out, go to the bottom of the bearing and then go inside. Always start with a prepacked bearing and lube depending on the amount of use.
in theory thats how it should work. but it doesn't...
If you have a nice warm or hot day and you raise the wheel and rotate it as you grease with nice slow pumps you should have no problems purging one wheel bearing assembly with one tube of warm grease.
If you don't rotate the wheel while you grease, pick a cold day to try and squeeze cold grease in your bearing assembly, you will blow the seal and end up with grease everywhere. I always pick a hot day, or bearings that have just finished a long haul and are still warm, and I use grease that has been kept warm in anticipation of the job. I have never had any problems with these Dexter E-Z Lube systems.
That's exactly what I said in a couple of posts about putting the grease in. I had a mechanic tell me to do it on a hot day so the grease will flow more smoothly. I can see that. He also said don't go crazy and keep pumping the grease gun like there's no tomorrow. Put some in, spin the tire for a bit and let it work around.
I think, people pump grease with tires on the ground and blow out the seal or they used a pneumatic or electric grease gun over a recommended hand held grease gun. Dexter EZ lube, to this date, has a step by step video on how to use their product. Stop being lazy and repack by hand, then no worries? Nothing is EZ.
I use my EZ lubes every year, and the grease immediately come out the front of the hub. I've never had any problem with a "blown rear seal" or grease on my brake surfaces. I suspect your method of testing has some kind of fault.
If you always us the EZ-Lube hub and never disassemble the hub, how do you know that the rear seal isn't blown?
The problem with EZ-Lube hubs is people treat them like they are Bearing Buddies (on boat trailers) and continually pump grease in. It's just a matter of time before the rear seal blows out when doing this.
The Ez Lube axles can push the inner seal out. BUT #1 Dexter says do NOT use a pneumatic grease gun because they are more likely to push out the seal ( you are not using a pneumatic grease gun in the video so you are good there ) #2 I ALWAY grease put grease into EZ lube hubs on a very hot day and i leave the trailer in direct sun and also leave the grease and grease gun in the sun for a little bit because the more liquid the grease is the less likely it is to push the inner seal out. I also constantly spin the wheel and have the wheel jacked up off the ground. #3 no EZ lube hubs do not work 100% of the time but if done correctly they will work 95% of the time and it is a LOT easier and cheaper then taking everything apart every year just to repack bearings. #5 it does take a kind of long time because I i keep pumping in the grease until i see nothing but clean new grease coming out of the front of the hub.
Very good tips. Thanks for sharing.
What happened to #4 haha
@@dadswayorthehighway3300 I don't know what happened. I ant so good with numbers i guess.
Put the rear seal in place as you can see by the clean spots it sits threeeights of an inch farther onto the hub and if the rear seals in good shape the grease has to go forward! That being said I have to pull them apart once in a while and make sure that the rear seal is actually doing its job! Good video thank you
Even with a new rear seal you can blow grease past it - I speak from experience. ALWAYS rotate the wheel, pump grease slowly, and do it in warm (overnight) weather when the grease flows more easily.
Just follow the ez lube manufacture directions. Who knows if the previous owner even jacked up the trailer, spun the tire when putting the grease in, or used enough grease to drive the old grease out, or even did it at all for that matter.
I'm not sure what the previous owner did when greasing the EZ-Lube hubs, but the hubs were packed full of grease and the rear seals were blown out, wrecking all four brakes.
I have to agree with some of the other people that commented. If you take your time and don't pump grease like a madman and spin the tire, you shouldn't have a problem. I've been doing this on our travel trailer the last 5 years with no issues. When I'm doing this, if I pump one shot of grease into the fitting, I'll see about a squirt of old grease coming out. Obviously, it's working. It's a nice video to show where the grease exits on the spindle. I had no idea about that.
Some people use a power grease gun also which is a no no . I don't believe the grease could move fast enough , so it blows the seal out. Just a thought I could be all wrong .
Power grease gun will definitely blow the inner seal.
Power grease guns are intended for heavy duty equipment
Wrong conclusion. If a good seal is in place, the path of least resistance is through the bearing. The actual problem is that the hole where grease exits from is razor sharp an it cuts the seal every time the hub is installed. Soften the edge of that hole with 600 grit sandpaper, then take care not to overdo it with the grease gun and it works fine. Also, I make sure that the bearing cap has a very small hole in the center of it - the bearings can heat up very quickly under braking, and this makes sure that pressure does not build at the inner seal.
Look at the photos again and you will see how the previous owner of a trailer I had blew out the rear seal and ruined all the brakes.
Have you done an updated video with the hub and seal on the axel?
If you really want to see how it works assemble everything as you would with seal and all and new clean bearings. And grease with the zerk as you are supposed to while rotating then pull it apart and see how the bearing packed. The way your video shows is like trying to complain that a tire not mounted on a rim doesn’t hold air. Your trailers PO probably didn’t grease correctly. I see lots of people just jam grease in the and not turn the wheel and it builds too much pressure in one spot and blows the seal.
Where in this videos was I complaining about a tire not mounted on a rim not holding air?
Excellent video! You have produced some great stuff ,but this was so educational. I am so paranoid about being stuck on the highway between Spokane and the coast with camper and boat. This is fantastic. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks I just took mine apart and I needed to see this. I was trying to figure out why my seals were blown and the grease was all flinging out. Previous owner over pumped it and blew them out...
Glad my video helped. :-)
If you only pump a few pumps of grease in though your grease buddy how do you get your outer bearing greased
The rear grease seal will hold the grease in, and the grease will begin to travel forward while the wheel is spinning. The way I understand it, the rear grease seal shouldn't blow out, if the wheel continues to spin while using EZ Lube.
This person understands it. The person in the video completely doesn’t.
I noticed you dont have a hole in axel for cotter pin, that goes through the castle nut. I think i have the same system on my kendon motorcycle trailer i just picked up used. I believe you have what i have on my axel, instead of cotter pin. I have a retainer clip that goes over the nut, my question is does that just go on any way. Or does it go on a certain way. Thank you if you could answer that
The retainer clip just snaps over the spindle nut.
This was very informative. Sometimes I can't seem to get the zerk to take any grease from my grease gun. I'd had always thought..'well it must be full then'. But I can now see how these hubs work, that there could be many places where things could be blocked up. Thank you for this!
Glad my video helped you. :-)
I've told many of my friends that all that spindle bearing grease zert is a marketing gimmick for guys that don't know how to repack bearings. Pumping all that grease in there just blows out that rear seal, and gets on the brake pads.
Yep, it will blow the rear seal. I've never heard of a "zert" though. It's a "zerk" fitting.
Bring back the thumbs down counter. This guy has valid concerns, but this video was a waste of my time.
Glad you enjoyed the video and found it useful.
so many good comments on why this is NOT a valid demonstration. its a system meaning more that one part. each component needs the other for the system to function correctly. i was guilty of being a couple pumps/month guy and calling it good with the wheels on the ground until grease was everywhere and my truck was getting pushed around. unfortunately, some of us have a bd habit of learning the hard way.
I believe he’s trying to explain that the grease hole is between the seal and inner bearing. Getting heavy handed with the grease gun can possibly damage the seal and rotation will evenly distribute the grease instead of pushing all in one spot. I just shoot a few pumps in slowly while stationary and have never had an issue. After several times of that I eventually manually clean everything and install new seals.
That's EXACTLY what I'm trying to explain.
Many years ago I had the bearings "repacked" at a dealer service. I wanted the bearings removed, cleaned and inspected for damage and wear. But they never did any of that. They just pumped grease in the EZ Lube fitting. Headed out to Maine and nearly lost the whole rig because I had NO BRAKES! At the campground I pulled a wheel and found the entire brake unit full of grease. Three of the four wheels were ruined! A one night stay ended up being three nights, two full days of cleaning and rebuilding and about $150 in material. Campground owners were very gracious letting me do the work on my site.
EZ Lube is NOT a good idea in my book.
I agree about EZ Lube not being a great idea for people that think it's a substitute for a "bearing repack", which sadly is the case for many people. The photos I show in the video are from a cargo trailer I bought. The brakes were ruined and required a complete rebuild before I was able to use the trailer.
I wish we knew exactly what the old owner did. Then we could all not do that.
He clearly used a pneumatic or electric grease gun and went to town, of course the rear seal will blow out in that scenario! I install oil and grease seals every other day just think of the pressure it takes to beat it in.... 1 to 2 hand pumps will never blow that out you couldn't pump fast enough. Unless some old grease hardened and let loose but that's a long shot most people don't have the knowledge or patience and just start squirting with power tools. Not to mention if there was a blockage the hand grease gun would let you know right away you should stop and disassemble asap if it's not taking the grease. The way it works low pressure grease hits that rear seal bounces off goes thru the rear bearing into the cavity then thru the front bearing and out the front hole. It's not rocket science!
EZ Lube should not be used to service wheel bearing. Clean, pack, and properly adjust bearing end play.
Exactly my point, but people don't understand that concept and continue to pack the hub cavity full of grease and blow out the inner seal.
I pull my hubs apart and replace seal and hand pack bearings once a year anyway even with grease zeros it is a good idea to inspect the bearings and also retighten the bearings anyway and like this year have found thay one bearing cage had come apart on my trailer and so was able to catch it before having a major issue
Inspecting the bearings is important.
Are you serious? It's not going to go through the bearing until the hub is sealed. It blew the seal out because the grease was probably hard or the seal was bad. That's all.
Seal was good, grease was good.
I also have the EZ lube system on my utility trailer. At what mileage does everyone suggest I repack the bearings? I put 2000-3000 miles a year on this trailer
Dexter recommends 1 year or 12,000 miles I believe. I go 2-3 years or so on my cargo trailer because I also only do about 2-3k miles per year.
@@deltabravo1257 Thank you
I recommend atleast once a year and even if you have a system like in the video replacing the seal once a year
Wanna know what's even worse? A sure lube system with a cotter pin instead of a tab washer. The grease doesn't even travel through the back hole, it simply squishes out the cotter pin hole. I just discovered this after owning the trailer for 12 years. If I plug the pin holes I can watch it come out the back. Otherwise does zip, squat, nadda...
I never would suggest to my customers with travel trailers and electric brakes to use the ez lube axle, too many issues with over greasing, I always reccomend a yearly disassemble and repack of the bearings pending the mileage the customer is traveling each season
Great point. This is exactly why I am not a fan of people continuously pumping grease in the EZ Lube either. I've experienced over greased hubs and ruined brakes on a used trailer I bought. I also have seen photos and stories of other people doing the same thing.
craigd51 -what mileage would you suggest to disassemble and repack?
I have this system on my boat trailer. One wheel works as advertised, the other not so much. No matter what I do, the grease on that side, goes out the rear seal. Not using a high pressure gun, I am spinning the wheel... I hate the spindle washer system. Not so bad getting it on and the "ear" on the castle nut; getting it off is, for me, an exercise in futility! Why they didn't use a cotter pin makes no sense...unless it would have to go through that grease channel. I have real mixed feelings on the whole system.
How are they going to drill a hole for the cotter pin...?
That would intersect with the grease channel and when you pumped grease in it would come out @ the cotter pin and not travel back to the inner bearing 🙄
Not as good as packing the bearings, but once you have the hub assembled and the axle jacked up and the tires spinning,,, it is gonna be way better than what you are showing. I like the system they have even though i know tear down and repack is better.
Good tip!
No kidding the bearing isn't getting grease. If it was in the sealed hub the grease would be willing and pushing all the old grease. Even if it doesn't pushed the old greas out of the inside of the bearing as the axle rotates it wil l grab new grease from the outside and coat the rollers.
One of the issues I see with manually packing is it doesn't fill in the axle with grease so you aren't really doing much once what you packed in there wears out.
That grease port is also where the spindles crack and fail
I haven't heard of that before.
@@deltabravo1257 Just from experience
@@deltabravo1257 At the inner bearing
Can a very small hole be drilled before the bearing
Probably so, but I don't know how much good it would do because the grease will flow straight through the spindle bore hole before it "makes a 90 degree turn" and flows through the cross drilled hole.
Invalid conclusion due to the fact that all of the components aren't in place for you grease the bearing as Dexter is designed. I still would hand pack the bearings, but your test is flawed.
Glad you enjoyed the video and found the information useful.
The hole placement is poor. But EZ Lube recommends repacking and doing the works every 12 months or 12K miles. Then I ask, what's the benefit of EZ lube then? My problem is that I put about 3K miles per year. And then, on cars, you can go 50K miles easily without ever touching their bearings. No grease, no inspection, nothing. Except you might shake the tire every 6 months on tire rotations to check the status.
Hmm not sure here…. I’ve had these hubs since 2019 on a 23’ travel trailer… use this exact unloaded greasing technique…hauled our trailer all overMI …1000 mi trips… on to Canada same miles. …..over4 Years of travel……if… If a failure would of occurred it Would!!!! Follow rules asDexter says …. Take short cuts and you will be on the side of the 😂.
I will never use those grease fittings .............I remove all bearings and clean and INSPECT every year and install new seals ...........anyone who doesn't is a gambler
I totally agree! I never use them either.
No evidence of grease going through the bearing?? hmm with hub and seal in place it would be forced through the rollers of the bearing, first through the inner bearing, then outer bearing.
The problem with grease seals on these axles is that most people replace them with the cheapest seals that come in a package from tractor supply. The correct seal from dexter is much more robust and is much harder to push out. It's generally not a good idea to push grease in too fast when it's cold either. The general design of the axle is not an issue.
That's exactly what I said in another post about people that say you will blow the seal out using the ez lube system. I had a mechanic friend tell me to do it on a hot day so the grease will flow easier and not to go crazy pumping the grease gun. He said take your time and do it slow and you should have no problems.
Does nothing for the outer hub bearing.
Excellent video. I've been told by more than 1 brake tech that while EZ lube does ok a job, it never really does a good job of pressing grease into the bearings. They also all stressed the importance of replacing the seals to ensure there's no brake contamination. Every 2 yrs depending on mileage. I was surprised how little grease was left after 1500 miles over 2 summers.
I would say that 97% of fisherman just shoot grease into the hub assemblies. I owned a mud boat trailer for 10 years and never. Greased the hub ever.
Boat trailers are different, they have a different rear seal on the back as well as a device on the hub called a Bearing Buddy.
I have the sup R lube hubs on my boat trailer and I always hit them with a grease gun after a trip but I spin the wheel. Thousands of miles on that trailer with yearly bearing replacement. The marine hub uses a double lip seal and I have never had a blown seal but YMMV
A special Double Lip seal is what is spec'd out for boat trailer axles.
Pretty sure you just wasted a bunch of grease
@kidrocking79
Nope. I re-used it when I packed the bearings.
Great job on the video👍🏻
Thanks!
Ez lube = weaker hub.....shafts snapped right at the hole
Son, It looks like didn;t have a clue..
The sun is hidden behind the clouds today,
How very unfair. I don't trust EZ Lube, but your test is not realistic.
Thanks for watching. Glad you found the video useful.