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Old 01-01-2019, 08:34 AM   #21
travelin texans
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JRTJH View Post
I'd simply answer your question by saying that I've seen far too many brake shoes impregnated with grease from failed rear seals and don't want that to happen on my trailer. I do my own maintenance, but if I were to take my trailer to a commercial repair service, I would specifically instruct the service writer to "hand pack my bearings and replace the seals" I'd further instruct him/her that I DO NOT want the EZ Lube system used on my trailer....

So, if I find that someone "uses the EZ Lube system" on my vehicle, they'd be "fired on the spot" .... Some things, whether they "are in the book" or not, I simply don't/won't do.

I'd do the same at the Ford Service Department if I took my truck in to have the radiator flushed and when I picked it up, the service writer told me that it didn't need flushing, they just added a quart of "coolant revitalizer".... When I pay someone to do a job, I expect them to do what I ask them to do, not to take shortcuts, even if "the book" says the shortcut is OK.

Hard headed? Burned by experience? or call it what you want. My money, do it my way or don't do it...... YMMV
I totally agree! If a service tech used the EZ lube to grease my bearings when I took it in to be repacked they would, at their expense, tear them back down & prove to me that they DID NOT blow past the seals & contaminate the brakes.
They can torque the nut, use pliers or whatever tool they choose, but they WILL NOT use the EZ lube system on mine for any reason.
If I had a boat trailer or utility trailer with EZ lube system & no brakes they can pump grease into them all day long, but not my rv.
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Old 01-01-2019, 01:09 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
I totally agree! If a service tech used the EZ lube to grease my bearings when I took it in to be repacked they would, at their expense, tear them back down & prove to me that they DID NOT blow past the seals & contaminate the brakes.
They can torque the nut, use pliers or whatever tool they choose, but they WILL NOT use the EZ lube system on mine for any reason.
If I had a boat trailer or utility trailer with EZ lube system & no brakes they can pump grease into them all day long, but not my rv.



There is a difference between telling the service adviser how you would like them packed and not. If the tech hasn't been told or has it written down on the repair order, he wouldn't know how you want it done. so who's fault would it be, the service advisor that didn't inform the tech or the uninformed tech. I've been down that road before. It's not a very pleasant situation to be blamed for something that some else forgot to do. If the tech use the grease gun instead of hand packing like is requested, then the tech should redo the job at his expense, meaning no pay. I my self don't care for the EZ lube system either and will always hand pack, but don't blame the tech for the writer failure to communicate the information.
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Old 01-01-2019, 02:11 PM   #23
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Here is a couple pictures from our previous trailer after I brought it home.
As you can see the previous owner liked to use the grease zert to pack the bearings!
I personally hate those things and would NEVER use them. Hand packing every time.

BTW, many, many years ago I worked as a truck mechanic and no one I ever saw in the garage ever used a torque wrench tightening bearings. I always use slip joint pliers and like most people here, tighten down and then back off then bring the nut up finger tight. Been working for me since I started working on vehicles in the early sixties.
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Old 01-01-2019, 02:34 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by ubetcha View Post
There is a difference between telling the service adviser how you would like them packed and not. If the tech hasn't been told or has it written down on the repair order, he wouldn't know how you want it done. so who's fault would it be, the service advisor that didn't inform the tech or the uninformed tech. I've been down that road before. It's not a very pleasant situation to be blamed for something that some else forgot to do. If the tech use the grease gun instead of hand packing like is requested, then the tech should redo the job at his expense, meaning no pay. I my self don't care for the EZ lube system either and will always hand pack, but don't blame the tech for the writer failure to communicate the information.
If I take my trailer or truck (or anything else for that matter) in and simply say, "It's making a funny noise, fix it" then whatever the service writer and the mechanic do is "on them" and if they don't do it the way "I would have", then that's "on me".....

However, if I specifically give the service writer instructions on what I want done and HOW I want it done, if he agrees to do the work and then "forgets/fails to relay the specific instructions to the mechanic, that's not my problem, rather it's an internal problem that is not my concern. If, as you say, the service writer "forgets" to tell the mechanic, if I were that mechanic, I'd be taking the service writer to the shop supervisor and the two of them can decide who gets to redo the customer's work.....

I think that you and I are talking about two entirely different situations. One, dropping something off with instructions to "fix it" and the other, relaying very specific instructions on what AND how the customer expects it to be done. If the shop accepts the job, then it's their responsibility to follow the customer's instructions or refuse the job order..... Saying OK, then not doing what is expected is not an acceptable action.
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Old 01-01-2019, 03:14 PM   #25
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Originally Posted by fjr vfr View Post
Here is a couple pictures from our previous trailer after I brought it home.
As you can see the previous owner liked to use the grease zert to pack the bearings!
I personally hate those things and would NEVER use them. Hand packing every time.

BTW, many, many years ago I worked as a truck mechanic and no one I ever saw in the garage ever used a torque wrench tightening bearings. I always use slip joint pliers and like most people here, tighten down and then back off then bring the nut up finger tight. Been working for me since I started working on vehicles in the early sixties.

Those look great!! Looks like the grease zerk was working like it should...lubing I'll bet those shoes and drum will last 300k miles. Braking power? Well, I wouldn't bet on that
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Old 01-01-2019, 05:07 PM   #26
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Wish I would have taken pics of some I have seen. Those are clean in comparison.
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Old 01-01-2019, 06:47 PM   #27
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How often do you repack? Miles or time?
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Old 01-01-2019, 07:58 PM   #28
fjr vfr
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How often do you repack? Miles or time?

I do mine once per season after returning from our 5 month snow bird migration.




All four wheels looked like the previous pictures. Everything got replaced.
When I picked up the trailer I wondered why it didn't seem to stop well even with the brake controller turned up all the way. I soon found out after pulling the drums.
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Old 01-01-2019, 08:40 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by fjr vfr View Post
Here is a couple pictures from our previous trailer after I brought it home.
As you can see the previous owner liked to use the grease zert to pack the bearings!
I personally hate those things and would NEVER use them. Hand packing every time.

BTW, many, many years ago I worked as a truck mechanic and no one I ever saw in the garage ever used a torque wrench tightening bearings. I always use slip joint pliers and like most people here, tighten down and then back off then bring the nut up finger tight. Been working for me since I started working on vehicles in the early sixties.
Six months after the only time I used the zerks to lube the bearings, three of the four brakes and drums looked like yours in the photo. By the time I was done, replacing all the brake/backing plate assemblies, getting the drums turned, and all the other parts, I was into the repair about $500, and that's not counting my labor. I was fortunate that all the drums were able to be turned, both the brake surface and the armature surface, which there are not that many shops that are setup to turn the armature surface. I failed to take photos of the "before", but did get after photos.
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Old 01-02-2019, 09:03 AM   #30
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Looks much better.

When I replaced everything I paid around $400 buying drums and brake assemblies from etrailer.com. I also upgraded to the self adjusting assemblies.
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