Repack wheel bearings

[drice522]

I have a 19H. My question: is it necessary to re-pack wheel bearings if there is a zerk grease fitting? If so, how often? I currently lube it 2x per year with the grease fitting, more if doing alot of traveling.

[Doug]

Zerk fittings work fine to keep grease in your bearings. That's their purpose.
I've never had to remove and re-pack bearing that had Zerk fittings and never had a problem.
Doug

[gdiep]

Some will argue that you cannot tell the condition of the bearings without pulling them out and inspecting them. Also, they will say that if you push too much grease in through the zerk fitting, it will blow out the rear seal and grease will get into the drum brake.

I just bought a used Hybrid. This past weekend, I took all 4 tires off and had them replaced. While I had the wheels off, I pulled out the hub and checked the bearings. The bearings looked good and I repacked them. The rear seals looked a little dried but not torn or concerning. Now that I know the condition of everything, I would feel comfortable using the zerk fitting this year and maybe even next year without repacking the bearings. However, depending on how many miles we put on the trailer, I will plan to repack the bearings and replace the rear seals next year.

[Marcm157]

I think of it as cheap insurance to replace axle seals and remove / inspect / replace bearings on an every other year schedule. I am not comfortable towing a nearly 8k box without knowing the condition of my wheel bearings...

[bankr63]

Nothing wrong with using the zerk fitting, and an occasional full pack and inspection. Just be sure you add the grease properly. The axle still needs to be lifted off the ground, and the wheel rotated while the grease is slowly pumped through. I think one of the biggest causes of blowing out the back seals is not following correct procedure.

[Jagiven]

With a zyrks you just have to be careful. I have blown the rear seal, many years ago, by pumping in the grease too fast and not rotating the wheel as I was pumping in the grease. Leasing learned, rotate the wheel as you are slowly pumping in the grease. This means the wheel is jacked up. What I have found with my utility and canoe trailers, when a bearing is going bad, there is a lot of wobble in the tire, that can be felt when rotating the tire.

I now pull the wheels and fully clean the bearings and races. It does take longer to grease them up.

[sennister]

It should be noted that we don't have enough information. Just because there is a grease zyrk doesn't tell us how it works. There are basic bearing buddy type systems which just keep grease in the hub. Then there are systems that actually push the grease down an opening to the back bearings and then work the grease out the front of the hub. In the latter design, you keep pushing the grease out until the new stuff starts to come out. If you try that with a bearing buddy you will probably blow the rear seal.

I agree that you can't keep an eye on the bearings with the hubs that flush the grease out unless you break them down and inspect from time to time. In the mean time keep an eye on the temps of the hubs for signs of problems.

Bottom line, you are best looking at what kind of axles you have and see what the manufacturer recommends.

[Jagiven]

The easy lube system, has a hole drilled down the center of the axle, with a second hole drilled to intersect the center bore. it comes out close and is aimed at the rear seal. It is a small hole.

I would expect due to the location and angle it can easily push off a seal. The relief area for the grease is upfront near the zyrk. To much grease, to fast without encouraging it's flow to the front, and pop goes the seal.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by Doug

Zerk fittings work fine to keep grease in your bearings. That's their purpose.
I've never had to remove and re-pack bearing that had Zerk fittings and never had a problem.
Doug

X2, I bought used going on 4 years now and did a repack when I bought it I'm now over 20k and not a problem.

[Seann45]

Do not use an air operated grease gun when doing this.. use a manual gun and s-l-o-w-l-y pump in the grease

[mike837go]

Yes, the zerk fittings are great for re-greasing the hubs. When done properly.

But NOTHING beats pulling the wearing parts out, cleaning, inspecting and, if necessary, replacing them.

I've got the EZ-Lube hubs. Mid-season the grease is flushed. Springtime they get a teardown.

I put too many miles on the bearings on my previous trailer. Left me on the side of the highway on a sunday afternoon just south of Scranton, PA. Damaged the brake drum and tire.

So, yeah, I'm a bit paranoid about doing wheel bearings properly.

[schrederman]

I hate being on the side of the road! There are two schools of thought on the EZ-Lube (zerk) axles. Old curmudgeons like me will usually tell you they're only good for getting grease all over your brakes by blowing your seals. Others will tell you that they're great and they've never had a problem. As said already, never use an air powered grease source. Use a grease gun and add grease slo-o-o-o-owly... with the wheel spinning. The movement of the bearings means the grease is already moving, too, and it won't take near as much pressure to get the grease to move through the bearings. I think this is why people blow the seal... not using enough care when doing this.

I'm in the middle. I add grease with the wheel turning until new grease comes out. It takes a lot of grease. I do this a couple of times per year. The old grease will tell you if you have bearing problems or a busted seal. If it comes out looking like metallic paint, your bearings are going bad. If it doesn't come out at all, your seal has failed. In either case, need to tear down that axle. Every other year, I do a full tear down and clean, inspect, replace as necessary, and always replace the seal any time the wheel hub comes off.

I've been doing this for about 8 years now, and this method has shown me one bad bearing, and I've never blown a seal. It has kept me from being on the side of the road with bearing failure. Did I mention that I really don't like being on the side of the road for any reason.

[NVGun40]

I share a bit of what Mike837go handles things. I have used the EZ Lube and Bearing Buddy type of systems on all my trailers. I have regularly given them a bit of grease at the beginning of the season every year. Think of this as "preventative maintenance".
Then every third year, I pull the wheels and flush and clean the bearings, check the brakes, and seals. Replace as needed, then repack the bearings, and re-assemble (when I do it this way, I actually repack the bearings, I do not just put them back and utilize the zerk fitting).


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