Dexter 7k EzLube Maintenance

[Cummins12V98]

Replaced with these Dexter products.

 

[GCroyle]

A leaky grease seal would have prevented all of that salt corrosion.

Ex boss had a salt trailer with disc brakes I'd never seen anything like it absolutely destroyed.

 

[NIsaacs]

A leaky grease seal would have prevented all of that salt corrosion.

Ex boss had a salt trailer with disc brakes I'd never seen anything like it absolutely destroyed.

Like this dump trailer.

 

[bcbender]

I'm wondering if you understand how the hubs work.

Yes... 35y of engineering and more than that of working on equipment thank you.

I can only conclude that you have never really purged the old grease from both bearings in all the hubs on the trailer, instead pumped a couple shots into each zerk and called it a day.

You know what they say about "assumptions".... I did first year I had it and annually since.. when new as Ron said they had no grease in them, took almost 1/2 a tube each... since then my son rotates the tire and we pump in and wipe until running red (Lucas Red & Tacky) is the only grease I use with a high drop point.

As I stated, I plan to pull the hubs this summer since the trailer is 10y old, I bought it new and have done all the service with 3 cross country trips,. no issues

Bottom line, just because it doesn't work for you is not an indicator that it is no good or not possible.

 

[Tuesdak]

@GAmes Thanks for sharing. Our 28' cargo trailer had the brakes fade away after we rented it out for daily cargo use. It had blown off a grease cap and painted the side of the trailer with grease. I would agree that they were overfilled with grease and frankly way overdue for maintenance. We didn't keep it long enough after we got it back to see if the brakes/magnets had worn out or if it had bad seals. Hauling cargo daily we had worn out through several sets of ST tires aside of the OEM ones that made two weeks before separating.

Other cargo trailers we used from the broker had the magnets wear clean through and short out, broken springs, and all the other fun of high mile daily use of a trailer with light duty axles.

I pulled the bearings on a smaller single axle cargo trailer I had for years and wound up replacing all of the bearings as the races were fatigue flaking.

The warning about grease from Dexter's site is interesting.

The maintenance schedule to inspect brakes and bearings is suggested 12,000 miles or 12 months. I don't see many people following that. Page 84.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/user_area/content_media/raw/600-8k_complete_service_manual.pdf

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Contact/FAQ/Bearings

WARNING: It is important NOT to mix different types of grease thickeners. The grease that Dexter Axle uses has a Lithium Complex thickener. Mixing our grease with a Barium, Calcium, Clay, or Polyurea soap based thickener agent will cause adverse effects. This may include causing the two greases to harden, separate, become acidic, or pose other hazards and damage to the bearings.

 

[Timd32]

@GAmes Thanks for sharing. Our 28' cargo trailer had the brakes fade away after we rented it out for daily cargo use. It had blown off a grease cap and painted the side of the trailer with grease. I would agree that they were overfilled with grease and frankly way overdue for maintenance. We didn't keep it long enough after we got it back to see if the brakes/magnets had worn out or if it had bad seals. Hauling cargo daily we had worn out through several sets of ST tires aside of the OEM ones that made two weeks before separating.

Other cargo trailers we used from the broker had the magnets wear clean through and short out, broken springs, and all the other fun of high mile daily use of a trailer with light duty axles.

I pulled the bearings on a smaller single axle cargo trailer I had for years and wound up replacing all of the bearings as the races were fatigue flaking.

The warning about grease from Dexter's site is interesting.

The maintenance schedule to inspect brakes and bearings is suggested 12,000 miles or 12 months. I don't see many people following that. Page 84.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/user_area/content_media/raw/600-8k_complete_service_manual.pdf

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Contact/FAQ/Bearings

WARNING: It is important NOT to mix different types of grease thickeners. The grease that Dexter Axle uses has a Lithium Complex thickener. Mixing our grease with a Barium, Calcium, Clay, or Polyurea soap based thickener agent will cause adverse effects. This may include causing the two greases to harden, separate, become acidic, or pose other hazards and damage to the bearings.

I did read that and they do have a large list of grease listed by MFG and name of product.

We have a similar issue in our equipment that uses this stuff call Reolube and other stuff that uses Mobil 28, they turn rock hard when you mix them, they provide many years of service if you clean it all out pretty well and use either.

 

[GAmes]

As I stated, I plan to pull the hubs this summer since the trailer is 10y old, I bought it new and have done all the service with 3 cross country trips,. no issues

I'm confident that when you pull the drums you will let us know if there is any leakage, or not.

 

[Cummins12V98]

A leaky grease seal would have prevented all of that salt corrosion.

Ex boss had a salt trailer with disc brakes I'd never seen anything like it absolutely destroyed.

My salt water setup looks great after 3 seasons.

 

[bcbender]

I'm confident that when you pull the drums you will let us know if there is any leakage, or not.

Yes Sir... I expect to see some after this much use and plan to do seals and brake, but its been really good up until now.

 

[crispyboy]

Personally I am not that comfortable using the easy lube system. I have always had a fear about pushing grease past the seal and onto the brake shoes. I understand how the system works but I am just old school and I like to pull the hub, wash the old grease from the hub and bearings, blow all the dust and wash the drum brakes with brake cleaner and air dry. The best maintenance is first hand inspection but this does take time and effort.
This is a timely thread as I just serviced the street side bearings on our travel trailer two nights ago and will do the curb side tonight. The brake shoes were pretty good but you could tell the brake dust grit was wearing into the leading edge of the brake shoes. There was plenty of grease and the bearings looked new. I did change out the chinesium bearings about 8 years ago with Timken bearings when I replaced the torsion axles. My friend who is an Axle Surgeon tells me about all the horror stories he sees with cheap bearings.
I started handing my dad tools at age 7 and have been doing a lot of my own maintenance for years.
I think my next tool purchase will be a wheel stud cleaner brush. Any recommendations?

 

[Signal73]

I figured Lucas red and tacky was a good wheel bearing grease but it’s not on the list. I believe my camper has lippert axles anyway.

 

[Timd32]

I figured Lucas red and tacky was a good wheel bearing grease but it’s not on the list. I believe my camper has lippert axles anyway.

I think they list the compatible grease in the book, just don't want to mix up the different types is what it was looking like.

Lucas might be able to answer that question on their tech line.

https://lucasoil.com/contact?gclid=...Zo8RRCLwpqikLjSrv9e960U978ib4pahoCyBgQAvD_BwE

 

[Cummins12V98]

I have used this for many years without a single bearing issue. Original tire rod ends at 350k on my 98 12V.

 

[GAmes]

Nothing special about that. I still have my original tie rod ends using Valvoline grease.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Nothing special about that. I still have my original tie rod ends using Valvoline grease.

Per my Frame and Axle guy he said my truck should be the poster child for Dodge ram 2nd gen at 300k he said all the others were shot he worked on at much lower mileage.

 

[GAmes]

Per my Frame and Axle guy he said my truck should be the poster child for Dodge ram 2nd gen at 300k he said all the others were shot he worked on at much lower mileage.

He has never seen mine.

 

[NIsaacs]

Two things I wanted to quick comment on.

My front hubs are just like the trailer axles. Bearings and how to install them are exactly the same procedure. I have my truck on a 50,000 mile inspection and repack schedule.

Also, this is an EZ lube brake drum from my brand new 5er that had poor braking when I brought it home. As you can see "from the factory" isn't always good. Three of the four brake drums had grease in them.

View attachment 133467 View attachment 133468

What Gary is talking about....

 

[Cummins12V98]

How many tubes ya suppose someone pumped into that????

 

[Timd32]

Yeah that's a bit excessive for sure, not sure what exactly is happening there.

 

[GAmes]

Nick, where did you find that hub assy?