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Old 11-11-2012, 07:03 AM   #21
hankpage
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Originally Posted by 35mastr View Post
Wow,Just stumbled onto this thread. How many years ?? And How many miles are you guys getting before you are having these shackle failures?? Is this mostly in snow climates where there is a lot of Salt,Humidity,Temp swings that get real cold. Them pics look pretty rusty...
If you have seen the photos in my original thread you can see the wear on the bushings after I put 5000 mi. on them. (plus another 2000 for delivery to NJ from factory) Many of the new Keystones come with upgraded equalizers so it is possible they only need wet-bolts and bushings to increase reliability. The quality upgrade is obvious.
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Old 11-12-2012, 10:36 PM   #22
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Well my EZ Flex system arrived today. Did not install it yet. I was a bit disappointed in how it was shipped. As you can see from the pics... Everything was just tossed into a Dexter box n shipped inside another box. Nothing wrapped/ packaged up etc. my concern is...the brass bushings were tossed in with all the rest of the 25 lbs of metal that rattled around loose during their trip to the west coast. I hope they're not damaged/oblong. I will ck tomorrow to see if all the pieces are there. Checkout the Dexter box where the zerk fittings attached to the equalizer punched through the box as well as the shipping box.. There are at least 7 spots in the box where this occurred. I hope this is just a fluke and not an indication of the quality of their product. Tks for letting me rant. Here are the pics.


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Old 11-12-2012, 11:19 PM   #23
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Has anyone seen this for the wide track suspensions? I've been looking but no luck?
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Old 11-13-2012, 06:06 AM   #24
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WOW that must be the carrier

Mine came and not a bit of damage to the box or the inside as well.The goods are tough so I would think they will be Ok.Send a copy of the pictures to Dexter and the concerns You have and see what they say I bet the carrier will hear of this at once...Show the install when done John aka Bushman also in regards to wide spread axle use the phone to find out about that number I have is 260-636-2195 they will know go to the web they may have a 800 # I do not...
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Old 11-13-2012, 06:42 AM   #25
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Has anyone seen this for the wide track suspensions? I've been looking but no luck?
Our Cruiser came with TrailAir equalizers which are MUCH larger than the standard equalizer for the wide track and have similar cushioning as the E-Z Flex. Just need to install wet bolts and the bronze bushings. You may have to put together a kit for your suspension.

I am in the process of finding the bolts/bushings.
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Old 11-13-2012, 07:00 AM   #26
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I've seen similar comments about the packaging on other forums. I wouldn't be concerned about the bushings but I would pump some grease into each bolt before installation. Some have been shipped with bad grease fittings or the holes in the bolts haven't connected.

Alan
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Old 11-13-2012, 09:38 AM   #27
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I've seen similar comments about the packaging on other forums. I wouldn't be concerned about the bushings but I would pump some grease into each bolt before installation. Some have been shipped with bad grease fittings or the holes in the bolts haven't connected.

Alan
The Dexter kit is very good quality. Most folks don't read instructions closely enough and install the spring hanger bolt facing in the wrong direction. If the grease port is installed facing upwards the weight of the trailer pushing the bushing against the port makes it almost impossible to pump grease in. (Ask me how I know this ) If this is the case you can either jack the frame up to take the weight off every time you want to grease or remove the bolt and reinstall it as the directions tell you, facing front or rear. (Remember that the bolt is knurled so it will not turn in the hanger. If you remove it be sure to peen the hanger hole so it holds the bolt tightly when reinstalled.) In some locations you may want to use 90° Zerks to make greasing easier. JM2¢, Hank
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Old 11-13-2012, 02:51 PM   #28
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Tks for the info in the install. Will ck zerks first with a shot of grease then install facing front to rear as mentioned. Hope to get to it tomorrow. Cked the bushings and only one was tweaked. Drove a bolt in it then removed the burr. Truly seems like a pretty easy install. The jacking n supporting should take the longest in the tight parking I have her in. Tks again Gentlemen.


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Old 11-17-2012, 10:24 AM   #29
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Ok got the EZ Flex installed. Would have been a lot easier had I pulled it out from next to the house and removed all 4 tires. Really would have taken about 45 min each side less the setting up. Used air impact tools to remove all bolts. Instead of removing the tires I worked in the confined space and made due with deflating the tires to allow the axle to lower and relax the leaf springs. The first side took me 3 hours cuz I had to work from under the trailer. (Yes I had all stabilizers down plus two heavy duty jack stands and two floor jacks supporting one side). The next side took me about 2 hours. Again the extended time was due to moving all the jacks n stands to the opposite side against the fence. Realized I could only jack her up a lil cuz the opposite side of the trailer (top corner) bumped against the house...ugh. Did the install alone without help all from under the trailer. As for advice to future installers... Pull the trailer OUT remove all tires (would have been a piece of cake)..used a 1/2 inch deep well socket to drive out the old plastic bushings, the new bushings i greased and pressed them in by lightly tapping with small RUBBER mallet, used a deep well 9/16 socket to drive/pound in the wet bolts w/out damaging the zerk fittings, I MARKED the direction of the wet bolts grease hole (ground a tiny mark on bolt face at 3 or 9 o'clock position), torqued all bolts to specs, be sure you ALIGN the zerk fittings on the top of the equalizers so you can grease after install. The zerks are angled but the trailers mounting bracket can get in the way if you don't ALIGN them.
Now had I pulled the trailer out it would truly be a max 2 hour job PLUS I could have gone for a test drive!!! Here are some pics. Third pic is with my version of Xchok installed. Questions? Feel free to ask.


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Old 11-17-2012, 09:17 PM   #30
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We did one side at a time on our triple axle Fuzion. Was a physics lesson to determine lower/raise axle(s) to make equalizer, spring, and shackle alignment easier. Used a new bushing on an old bolt with the teeth ground off to knock out the old bushing and press in the new at the same time. Enjoy the quiet and smoother ride!
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