Reasons why not to use Easy Lube

concours · 05-07-2015, 03:16 PM

Our trailer now has travelled 16,000KM 10,000 Miles I decided as we had just completed our Snowbird Trip I would inspect the brakes and pack the bearings. The pictures show what I found and what would have happened if I had just pumped grease in them and not pulled them apart.
1 picture is of a RF 12 by 2 Dexter electric brake just so that we all know what I am describing all looked good except for the front shoe which was delaminating see picture. The picture of the LR actuator shows that the square block on the actuator had broken and fallen off, this brake was not working. The picture of the bearing is from the LR outer and was failing. My point is that we must inspect our brakes and bearings. Also take the time to do a good inspection. And before someone says I over heated the brakes close examination shows that the shoe was never bonded correctly the drums and all other shoes were fine also note that all was good on last years inspection.

notanlines · 05-08-2015, 03:49 AM

Thanks for the heads up. Did you replace the entire brake assembly or just new bearings and shoes? I also agree with you that it is never a good idea to use the grease zerk and lube the bearings. It gives a false sense of security.

Dave W · 05-08-2015, 05:02 AM

That's a repeat Dexter problem with the brakes - at least it was a problem few years ago and it looks like they again have vendor screw up if yours is any indicator.

When I replaced the Nevr-Lube axles on the now gone Titanium with Eze-Lubes, I also replaced the very rough Chinese bearings with US made Timkens sourced via Rock Auto Parts along with some new seals which had no name but were double lip sealing. The current 5er brakes and bearings will be looked at in the next couple months before an in-planning long trip. I'll most likely replace at least the outer bearings and the inners if I can identify them beforehand on our Montana's puny 5200 pound axles. Oh and those Eze_Lubes - never lubed the current or past units via that zerk and am looking for solid caps just to make sure I don't have a brain gas event one morning

Lee · 05-08-2015, 05:26 AM

Hi,

I'm not sure I follow you on this thread, based on the title you gave it.

Had you greased the bearing before using the EZ lube zert and then found the dry bearing? Or ? The picture you provided appears that the bearing was never lubed at assembly or anytime past that.

From all of the reading I have read here and elsewhere the "use the EZ zert" and "don't use the EZ zert" reminds me of the Ford vs Chevy or Coke vs Pepsi debates.

Personnaly, I don't have a problem using the EZ lube feature as long as it's performed correctly. Meaning, rotating the tire as the grease is SLOWLY injected until new grease can be seen exiting the outboard hub.... but it's also vital that the drum be pulled every other year for inspection,.... or sooner based on mileage.

YMMV
Lee

concours · 05-08-2015, 07:33 AM

to answer the above questions I replaced the brake assembly on the side that had the broken actuator and used one of the shoes to replace the delaminated shoe on the other brake. The picture of the bearing is after it was cleaned for inspection, lack of grease or adjustment was not the cause of it's premature failure. I have never used the Grease Zerk. and as said I inspected and repacked 1year ago and all looked good. If I find any bearing problems on the next inspection all the Made in China bearings will be gone

gearhead · 05-08-2015, 11:59 AM

I called Dexter a couple months ago. I wanted to buy a kit with both bearings and a seal for spares. They didn't have one listed for the 5200 axles. But the lady did give me the bearing and seal numbers. My local auto parts shop didn't carry the Timkens that I wanted, so I bought Nationals. I packed the bearings and "buried" them in a small well sealed Tupperware tub with the same grease. Then put that in a zip lock bag.
I'll pull the hubs and inspect this summer before our fall travels.
I have used the EZ Lube zerks just to assure myself that there is some grease in there.

gearhead · 05-08-2015, 12:05 PM

How did the spindle look where that bearing came from? Looks like some pitting going on there on the inner race. I can't see the rolling elements too good in the pic, did they have any "color" in them?

RdRmr · 05-08-2015, 12:23 PM

In Dexter's manual regarding their E-Z lube system they still state/require an annual visual inspection. In my opinion that is a good system for boat trailers but not travel trailers or 5TH wheels that are never submerged in water. Too easy to rupture a rear seal if you aren't careful and end up with grease on the brake shoes. Call it old school or what ever, I'll take them apart once a year E-Z lube or not. Hasn't failed me yet in over twenty years. Just my thoughts.
Happy Campin,,,,

Dave W · 05-08-2015, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RdRmr

In Dexter's manual regarding their E-Z lube system they still state/require an annual visual inspection. In my opinion that is a good system for boat trailers but not travel trailers or 5TH wheels that are never submerged in water. Too easy to rupture a rear seal if you aren't careful and end up with grease on the brake shoes. Call it old school or what ever, I'll take them apart once a year E-Z lube or not. Hasn't failed me yet in over twenty years. Just my thoughts.
Happy Campin,,,,

The Eze-Lube seals are really pretty hard to blow grease by unless you are using a garage many thousand psig high pressure high volume grease gun. That seal rides against a machined land on the spindle which tends to capture the seals rubber lip. My dislike for that system is not based so much on the design but the fact that it is messy and even more, it doesn't give you the chance to do an inspection of the bearings regardless of the fact Dexter's manual calls for a 12000 mile or yearly inspection. That to me is ludicrous when you recall that the outer bearing is a common automotive piece and the inner is pretty big for the load it carries and is most likely used on a pickup. A boat trailer? Of course I'll agree as it's submerged - I've been there with that problem.

This is a not so pretty brand new Dexter 6000# Eze-Lube spindle. The seal rides very close to the last land. That forging flaw was no problem as there is no load or bearing race there. The grease outlet hole is visible and is just ahead of the seal. What you don't see is where I cross drilled an identical 'out' grease hole 180* opposite that visible one. Strength loss - negligible for that little hole. Chinesium bearings =

RdRmr · 05-08-2015, 01:37 PM

Dave W,
Makes you wonder how reliable things are today. When I took delivery of my current unit, drove it home 180 miles, the following day I took all four wheels and hubs off and low and behold three of the four seals were blown direct from the factory and the right front brake shoes were installed backwards on the front axle. Grease was running all down the backing plate and just about to hit the braking surface on those three hubs. I'm just speaking from my experiences. Call it over cautious or what ever but in doing what I did I think it saved my bu**. Happy Campin....

Dave W · 05-08-2015, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RdRmr

Dave W,
Makes you wonder how reliable things are today. When I took delivery of my current unit, drove it home 180 miles, the following day I took all four wheels and hubs off and low and behold three of the four seals were blown direct from the factory and the right front brake shoes were installed backwards on the front axle. Grease was running all down the backing plate and just about to hit the braking surface on those three hubs. I'm just speaking from my experiences. Call it over cautious or what ever but in doing what I did I think it saved my bu**. Happy Campin....

These are from warranty replacement axles from my now gone Titanium - the other axle was worse. A phone call and a few photos got me another complete set of brakes:

Not looking forward to pulling the latest apart but before we take our long fall trip, cleaned and hand greased wheel bearings with the outers replaced regardless of condition with Timkens or other US made

gearhead · 05-08-2015, 02:55 PM

I dug my spare bearings out of the bay and here are the Federal Mogul National Chinese numbers:
A6, smallest box so must be the outer bearing.

25520 outer race.
25580 bearing.
Hopefully they are correct from Dexter.
I'll be crossing these numbers to Timken later this year.

I had EZ Lube on a previous boat trailer. One spindle never would take grease. I think the seal was sitting on the cross drill. Currently running UPF/Dexter Vault hubs on the new boat. Seal runs on what we used to call a speedy sleeve....super slick stainless band. Hubs have O rings. Lucas hybrid grease. No maintenance for 7 years. Just about all new trailers on the Texas coast are using them. No reports of issues.

gearhead · 05-08-2015, 04:01 PM

The 25520 and 25580 is Timken numbers as well.
The Fed Mogul A6 is a Timken SET6.
Rock Auto is a couple bucks cheaper than Amazon.

bobbecky · 05-08-2015, 10:22 PM

Those numbers, 25580/25520, bearing and race, are the inner bearing numbers. These are for the 7,000 lb axle, not sure if the same for the 5,200 lb axle. For the 7,000 axle, the outer bearing/race numbers are 14125A/14276. When I went to the Dexter catalog online, it shows, for axles between 4,100 lbs to 6,000 lbs, the inner bearing and race is L68149/L68111, and the outer bearing and race is LM67048/LM67010. The best way to verify this, is to get the number stamped on the axle tube, and call Dexter. They are very helpful providing information about their products. Their prices are on the high side, so going to your favorite supplier may be the best.

rjsurfer · 05-09-2015, 01:33 AM

One of the happiest moments of owning my 08 Cougar was dumping my second set of drum brakes, backing plates and drums into the rear of the metal scrap guys trailer when he came down my street. I had tears of joy when I waved good bye to them.

After numerous attempts of trying to clean off grease soaked linings changing out grease seals and even swapping out to all new drum brake assemblies they where never right. Those drum brakes always squealed, pulled and required constant adjustment of the brake controller when going from highway to city traffic.

Disc brakes for me now woo hoo....

Ron W.

gearhead · 05-09-2015, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobbecky

Those numbers, 25580/25520, bearing and race, are the inner bearing numbers. These are for the 7,000 lb axle, not sure if the same for the 5,200 lb axle. For the 7,000 axle, the outer bearing/race numbers are 14125A/14276. When I went to the Dexter catalog online, it shows, for axles between 4,100 lbs to 6,000 lbs, the inner bearing and race is L68149/L68111, and the outer bearing and race is LM67048/LM67010. The best way to verify this, is to get the number stamped on the axle tube, and call Dexter. They are very helpful providing information about their products. Their prices are on the high side, so going to your favorite supplier may be the best.

The bearings I mentioned are the bearing numbers Dexter quoted me for my 5200 pound axles. I read them the numbers off the axle tag. The 25580/25520 are inner, and A6 are the outer. I haven't confirmed that by looking at my bearings though.

Larry1013 · 05-09-2015, 09:00 AM

Here are the bearing pages from the Dexter Parts Catalog. The standard bearing numbers one can use in the parts store, Amazon, eBay, etc are in the descriptions.

Larry1013 · 05-09-2015, 09:10 AM

One page X-ref on bearings

Seal information

Dave W · 05-09-2015, 10:19 AM

Larry - your efforts on supplying those pages are appreciated but I do have a few words of warning. Those are - only believe what Dexter says when you can actually read numbers off of an existing part to confirm or, in the case of seals, can measure the outer diameter and bore size. That axle I show in a photo above did NOT have the inner bearings or grease seals as noted in that maintenance manual for an Eze-Lube 6K axle but any records I had went down the road with the trailer. I only recall the pain. One consolation is that whatever they are - they are standard automotive parts and can be found many places. Dexter's supply will be Chinesium at 2-3X the cost of a good brand name.

bdaniel · 05-09-2015, 01:49 PM

Definitely check your axles if you have a new unit. I found three seals out of four damaged on a brand new unit. One drum had grease on the brake shoes. I don't have a write up yet but you can see some photos on my website. Very sloppy assembly. Someone was in a bad mood or just did not care. The seals were very visibly damaged during axle assembly.

http://bobbystuff.com/RV/index.php?b...als-and-brakes

Bobby

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