E-Z-Lube with Auto Jacks Down?

[HouseMouse]

New/Used Laredo.... Can I use my floor jack to lift one axle at a time to rotate tire while I lubricate the E-Z-Lube axle? Or, do i have to retract the Four Jacks to do it? Thanks.

[jsb5717]

The wisdom here is to NOT use the EZ Lube system. There is too much risk of breaching the inside bearing seal and getting grease on your brakes. Most here will do it the old fashioned way…pull the wheel and hand pack the bearings.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by HouseMouse

New/Used Laredo.... Can I use my floor jack to lift one axle at a time to rotate tire while I lubricate the E-Z-Lube axle? Or, do i have to retract the Four Jacks to do it? Thanks.

I use the auto level jacks to raise the RV to rotate the tires/pack wheel bearings. I’m not sure I understand what you’re planning/trying to do based on your question. Maybe a little more explanation.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by HouseMouse

New/Used Laredo.... Can I use my floor jack to lift one axle at a time to rotate tire while I lubricate the E-Z-Lube axle? Or, do i have to retract the Four Jacks to do it? Thanks.

You can leave the jacks extended IF they are leveling jacks ie: ground control or level up. Scissors jacks aren’t strong enough.

[fjr vfr]

Please do NOT use E-Z-Lube! Pull the drum off and check your bearings...visual inspection. If they need to be re-packed do it by hand or remove them and pack the bearings with a device which forces grease through them.
You do not want to pack the whole bearing cavity with grease using E-Z-Lube. Not only can grease be forced past the grease seal and onto the brakes, but having the whole cavity packed with grease creates extra friction and heat when the wheel is spinning.

[fjr vfr]

One more thing. If you use a floor jack make sure you jack under the spring or right next to it on the axle. You can bend and distort and axle if you jack up further inwards.

[skunked again]

Why would you breach the inner seal? With no pressure on the outside, won't the grease flow out?
I did this for years on a boat trailer. With no issues. Never read anything on the fishing forums about not doing this.

[bobbecky]

You wouldn't think the seal was that weak, but there are many of us that performed the EZ lube by the numbers and got grease on the brakes anyway. The bigger issue is, if you don't pull the drums, what is the condition of the brakes? Repacking the bearings and installing new seals is just secondary to making sure the brakes are working properly. Plus, if you have filled the hub with grease, which is what you have to do to get the outer bearing lubed with the EZ lune method, what do you do with all that wasted grease when you finally do pull the drums? It's a huge mess.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by skunked again

Why would you breach the inner seal? With no pressure on the outside, won't the grease flow out?
I did this for years on a boat trailer. With no issues. Never read anything on the fishing forums about not doing this.

EZ Lube is a different type of system than the Bearing Buddies on boat trailers. Also unless you have a very large boat most boat trailers don't have brakes.

[HouseMouse]

Originally Posted by skunked again

Why would you breach the inner seal? With no pressure on the outside, won't the grease flow out?

This is an excellent point.

[skunked again]

Bobbecky- I understand the point of not being able to check the brake conditions. How often/how many miles do you recommend to inspect the brake assembly? As for the extra grease? I don’t consider it wasted. It’s a necessary evil, for the convenience of not having to pull the entire hub assembly, every year. Which I personally find very appealing. I was quite excited when we looked at this trailer, and I saw the hubs it has.

Travelin Texans - I’m not talking/asking about bearing buddies. That’s a different beast. As for trailer weight, brake requirements, isn’t the rule - anything over 3000# (or is it 3500#), that you now need brakes? My experience with that for boats, is the 20’ range and up, You can however, swap axles, or trailers, for one with brakes. If you so desire.

[skunked again]

Sorry, I’m slow! If you’re talking bearing buddies, than I could understand the risk of blowing out the inner seal. As you could over pressurize, thus causing a problem.

[notanlines]

These two horses have been led to water....

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by skunked again

Bobbecky- I understand the point of not being able to check the brake conditions. How often/how many miles do you recommend to inspect the brake assembly? As for the extra grease? I don’t consider it wasted. It’s a necessary evil, for the convenience of not having to pull the entire hub assembly, every year. Which I personally find very appealing. I was quite excited when we looked at this trailer, and I saw the hubs it has.

Travelin Texans - I’m not talking/asking about bearing buddies. That’s a different beast. As for trailer weight, brake requirements, isn’t the rule - anything over 3000# (or is it 3500#), that you now need brakes? My experience with that for boats, is the 20’ range and up, You can however, swap axles, or trailers, for one with brakes. If you so desire.

I used to use the EZ Lube every other year to pump a few shots of new grease into the rear bearings and pull the hub to hand pack the bearings and inspect the brakes on alternate years. Did that on my current and previous RVs. Never had an issue with blowing out a seal about 12 years of this process. However, I did not pump them full of grease until new grease was visible at the front. I gave each one about 5 shots, just to get new grease in the rear bearing. I guess it made me feel better and justified me not pulling and hand packing every year as recommended. I just didn’t see a need for that with only 3-5k miles. Now that I’m traveling more and putting more miles on, I hand pack every year.

That all said, I have seen enough pics to understand why people fear the EZ Lubes and recommend against using them. If you do use them, I’d just recommend doing what it did instead of pumping them full.

After so many discussions about the EZ Lube, I decided to experiment and tried pumping grease into mine this year until new grease was visible at the front bearing, just to see what happened. It was wasting grease, because I was pulling them for hand packing anyway, did it to satisfy my curiosity. I pumped 17 shots of grease into one hub. Never blew out the rear seal, but did fill the hub cavity. As mentioned before, that’s not good either. It does cause increased friction and heat. That’s hard to believe as well, grease is supposed to reduce it, but I’m not going to argue with the experts in the lubrication industry that say that.

BTW, after all of that, there was actually still quite a bit of old grease in the bearings , it did not evenly distribute the grease through them and push all the old grease out. Most of the new grease was in the hub. Knowing what I know now, I would likely just not use them and run the bearings for two years the repack Instill don’t think Avery year is needed in 3k miles.

[fjr vfr]

I have seen brakes completely destroyed using EZ lub. When it comes to breaching the rear seal, you may use them 10 times without issue and then on the 11th wonder why you don't seem to have any brakes when you turn up the controller knob all the way. Then again it might be the 4th time? It's hit and mis using them. So you practice the art of wishful thinking expecting it won't happen to you this time anyway.

Also filling the cavity completely is not a good thing. It created friction and heat.
Overall how far and how often do you travel. Most people don't cross the country with their boat trailer or full time out of it or spend a lot of time at higher speeds on the highway. So, it's not as big an overall issue for them in general.

Let me tell you when you're coming from CA headed to VA it's a bit*h breaking down in OK on an isolated stretch of interstate on a Sunday holiday. I don't wish that on anyone. Now again if I only traveled within a 100 miles or so radius from home I wouldn't have the same level of concern.
Safe travels to all

[skunked again]

Originally Posted by notanlines

These two horses have been led to water....

^ Quite helpful. ^


Everyone else, thank you.

To the op, sorry if I hijacked your thread.

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by skunked again

Why would you breach the inner seal? With no pressure on the outside, won't the grease flow out?

The point is that it has happened, and it’s happened enough times to warrant a warning. The potential of a rear seal breach as well as reported overheating due to too much grease should cause anyone to think twice before using the EZ Lube. It’s apparently a good idea poorly designed.

I too was pleased to see the EZ Lube on our new trailer but when I saw the negative reports on this and other forums I decided that the old fashioned way was the way for me.

Feel free to do as you wish…you’ve been warned.

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

The point is that it has happened, and it’s happened enough to times to warrant a warning. The potential of a rear seal breach as well as reported overheating due to too much grease should cause anyone to think twice before using the EZ Lube. It’s apparently a good idea poorly designed.

I too was pleased to see the EZ Lube on our new trailer but when I saw the negative reports on this and other forums I decided that the old fashioned way was the way for me.

Feel free to do as you wish…you’ve been warned.

I’m confused by the emogi, I believe that’s beating a dead horse, but his legs are moving. Hit him some more, he’s not dead yet.

[wrvond]

Originally Posted by skunked again

Why would you breach the inner seal? With no pressure on the outside, won't the grease flow out?
<snip>

The drum and hub are a single unit. The outer bearings and the inner bearings are in the hub with the bearing seals pressed into the hub. This assembly rides on the spindle which has a backing plate to which are mounted the brake shoes and magnet. The inner bearing and seal do not make contact with the backing plate so when grease is forced into the bearings it travels through the bearing and up against the bearing seal. The seal does not and cannot form a tight seal against the spindle because the rubber lip of the seal, which is spinning in the hub, deforms as the hub assembly moves on the spindle. When you pump grease through the Zerk fitting on the spindle it travels through the hollow spindle to two holes near the bearing race. The grease is pushed up against the bearings and cage. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction - the force required to push the grease into the metal bearings and cage is also pushing grease against the rubber lip of the bearing seal. The seal just really isn't up to the task of withstanding that pressure so grease is forced between the seal lip and spindle. Since there is no seal between the hub and the backing plate grease is free to drop from the spindle onto the inner surface of the drum where the brake shoes make contact.
Due to the lower resistance of the rubber seal as compared to the metal bearings and cage over half of every inch of grease pumped into the spindle is pressed against the bearing seal.
Something to be aware of is that double lip bearing seals have been around a lot longer than E-Z-Lube axles but they were not redesigned specifically for use with the E-Z-Lube system. So it's not at all surprising that so many people end up with contaminated brakes when they use the E-Z-Lube.

[chuckster57]

This thread has reached the end of the road. Any useful information has been posted, this thread is closed.