Oil on rim....should I be concerned

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by nellie1289

So took the rig to dealer and it was a blown grease seal. they fixed that, repacked all four bearings. cleaned the brakes, $250. I can live with that since the bearings were gong to be due for repacking anyway. Oh and my hands are nice and clean. lol

Let's see, my wheel bearing pack cost ~$8.00 for four seals and ~$4.00 for a tube of grease and maybe two hours of my time. Greasy hands were cleaned with few cents worth of hand cleaner leaving me $238 bucks to do something more interesting with that money plus my knowing that it was done correctly. Additionally our 5er never had to be towed miles somewhere, left for however long when we had no use of it then towed those miles back at whatever expense for fuel and time.

Of course, that was your choice for your RV and how you spend your discretionary dollars.

[therink]

If you don't want to fix it yourself and don't want to take to dealer (can't blame you), Google or look uup trailer repair shops in your area.. Out trailer shops specialize in axles, brakes, bearings and anything below your rv sidewalls. They will likely be cheaper and provide same dsay service for any trailer chasis service you need.

[chuckster57]

$250.00 is a very fair price, that's what we charge. There is a growing number of RV owners that have no interest in doing anything other than camping. We have done double or triple the number of axle services we did last year.

[vampress_me]

Another idea that goes along with a suggestion already posted is a local car repair shop that you trust. I don't know if it's because we live in a small town or I'm just lucky, but last week the mechanic I take our vehicles to for work did our 5er bearings. I had asked if he would do this type of work on a trailer and he said they would do it no problem.

So, $200 and two hours later the camper had repacked bearings, adjusted brakes, and one brake wiring re-attached that had mysteriously lost its wire nuts sometime in the past summer. My father gave me the stink eye when he heard that part since I grew up in his tractor repair shop and should know to check all that. I'm still not sure how the loose wiring got past me when I'd check everything over... And for me, the $200 was well worth it, there are many other things I will do and like to do, repacking bearings is not one of them.

[nellie1289]

SO further information they ended up replacing the brakes on the side with the blown grease seal too and since my trailer is just past one year they covered it under warranty. They also insisted on replacing the brakes on the other side even though they were at 85%. I was not going to argue with them since they covered it but they said the bearing pack from the factory looked "highly suspect". So I am glad I just have a reputable dealer at least willing to stand by the product. I don't have the time or the knowledge to do it myself, don't own a jack, and think of the jobs I'm creating for some fine American to help me out!

[nellie1289]

and yet another update:

Took a trip to southern California this last week, and guess what happened, looks like I blew another grease seal 1 week after the full repair and repack and new brakes all the way around.. Cant wait to see what happens this time around with the dealer. Stay tuned

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by nellie1289

and yet another update:

Took a trip to southern California this last week, and guess what happened, looks like I blew another grease seal 1 week after the full repair and repack and new brakes all the way around.. Cant wait to see what happens this time around with the dealer. Stay tuned

Is this "grease seal" in the same location (same side/same axle) as the one that you had problems with last time?

[nellie1289]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Is this "grease seal" in the same location (same side/same axle) as the one that you had problems with last time?

Yep, it sure is. it was fine the first 1000 miles, I checked all the wheels multiple times on way down, so it must of let go on way back when I checked less frequently. I don't think its remnant grease from the old blown seal or I would of seen it in the first 1000 miles I think.

[Dave W]

If the 'mechanic' that did yours hit the Zerk with a pressurized grease gun instead of hand pumping it in as noted in the Dexter/AL-KO/LCI instructions, didn't bother replacing the seal, or checking the hub or spindle for a bad area you may again have a leak. My guess is that the 'mechanic' didn't bother with the 200 or so grease gun pump strokes per wheel to fill the hub and took the quick and easy way out. Then there is the possibility he didn't use the correct spec grease with not enough flow resistance i.e. partially viscosity as well as how it is formulated

[Desert185]

Yeah. Most of the times that I have seen that was because of the grease separating the oil out, i.e. cheap grease, but it could also be a number of other factors. Who knows what the mech did? Pull it and look.

If you need a tip on good grease. Available on Amazon. Get the NLGI 2 version.

http://www.texasrefinery.com/assets/...n--chassis.pdf

[JRTJH]

Since the "purpose of rebuilding" nellie1289's axles was because of grease contamination on the brake shoes (leaking past the grease seal), it doesn't seem probable that the mechanic "used a pneumatic grease gun to fill the hub", although much "stranger things" have happened in the past. I guess only the mechanic "really knows what he did" and we'll probably never get the answer to his actions.

But, as to why it happened again ??? I've got two "good guesses":

First: There is a burr (or other damage) on the spindle that damaged the seal. Per nellie1289, it was the same axle, same side both times. My first inclination would be to disassemble the spindle/hub and closely look for a reason that spindle keeps tearing the grease seal.

Second: As Desert185 said, it's possible the dealership used "cheap grease" that doesn't maintain viscosity. Although it is "possible", I'd suspect that the dealership uses "approved, good quality" grease. Doing otherwise may save them a buck or two, but would likely risk their reputation with Dexter, AlKo and Lippert, the manufacturers of the axles for which they are a "certified repair center". My guess is they probably used "approved grease", which makes the probability that the spindle is damaged (somehow) even more likely.

Hopefully, we'll all learn the "real reason" once nellie1289 gets this resolved. It might be a "lesson on something else to inspect" for the rest of us.

[nellie1289]

John as usual you are dead on the money. I dropped it at the dealer today, there first though is bad spindle, but I am awaiting for confirmation. I will definitely post a follow up message when this disaster is resolved. I have a larger issue on the trailer which is the roof membrane tore away from the front cap, which the dealer is calling keystone about and "checking to see" if the extended warranty I have covers such an item. I will be ballistic if it does not. Given the massive amount of problems I have had with this trailer they are going to Keystone first for warranty coverage because its is only 15 months old. I have also asked for a "rebate" of my prior costs to service all the hubs and brakes if the spindle is the problem and they can turn that in on warranty too.

One more point of clarification, I actually had two blown grease seals the last time out, both on the left (drivers" side) but right now only the front one is blown. They are going to check all four again. More to follow.

Appreciate everyone's responses.

[Outback 325BH]

For those of us that wrench on our rigs, cost is only part of it. For me, knowing it got done right is 90% of it.

It may consume my time, however I am not hauling my rig to the dealer all the time either.


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[Campy]

If it's like mine is a oil coating on the outside hub where the studs are running off. I took off my wheels and cleaned the oil film off and it has not returned. Don't look like a leaking grease seal to me as it would be coming out of the drum area.

[nellie1289]

Ok, so just heard from the dealer on my brakes/grease seals: for what it is worth, at least they acknowledge it and they are in good operational condition. now on to the roof problems.

I have had the technician go through your all your wheels, bearings and brakes- What we found was that it was just residual grease from the bearing pack and failure of the that grease seal from your last visit-So basically the technician left the inside of your wheel dirty with grease from when it failed, and it got hot as wheels do and the grease liquefied and started running outward as the wheel spun, then dirt collected on it making it look a lot worse. - I had a long talk with our technician that did the job, about why he did not clean that off the inside of the wheel- Not only has this given you a bad experience, but it is costing us labor time and in turn is costing him production. He has since cleaned and adjusted your brakes, Cleaned all of the dirt off of the inside if your wheels, re set your tire pressure and torqued the lugs- This job is complete and there is no charge for this!

[notanlines]

Give 'em credit for this much: They owned up to the problem, and then fixed it!

[mike95776]

Ron, I need some advise.... I bought a new Springdale 2x axle and have about 500 miles on it... The brakes were not working well and took it in to Camping World... They tell me that the bearing seals leaked and they want to "Clean" the magnets and pads and reinstall them under warranty.... I have worked on cars and we never would do this... we always replaced brakes if we got grease on them... your advise?

[flybouy]

I'm not Ron but I can tell you that you cannot clean oil or grease from a brake surface and reuse it. At least I'm not aware of any chemical or process that's acceptable to do that.

[chuckster57]

You can clean the drum and magnets, you’ll never get the shoes clean. If it’s warranty, they should replace the entire backing plate assembly.

[gearhead]

I'd be looking at what caused the seals to leak. Have a discussion with them about taking a close look at the seal areas on the spindle. Wouldn't be the first time there was weld splatter on the seal area.