Bearing zircs

snickers104 · 05-19-2016, 08:05 AM

I have a 2016 339flqs, when we were camping last week I pulled the little cover off of the center of the wheel. There was a little rubber cap and when I pulled that out, there sat the grease zirc fitting...just like a bearing buddy. My question is how often should they be greased. I looked through all of my materials and could find anything...heck I didn't even know I had them on my wheels! Any help would be appreciated.

RedHorse1 · 05-19-2016, 08:14 AM

It's probably a Dexter E-Z Lube. The idea is to get the tire off the ground and spin the wheel by hand and S-L-O-W-L-Y pump grease in. The old grease will be pushed out the front of the metal cap and you get a re-lubed set of bearings without tearing things apart.
They get mixed reviews and folks seem to either hate or love them. The most common problem/complaint seems to be grease is forced past the rear seal (which contaminates the brakes).
I've got 'em and used 'em to lube the bearings which means I'm running on blind faith that the grease is getting where it's supposed to. I will eventually take it all apart and do it by hand just so I'll know it's done right.

snickers104 · 05-19-2016, 08:15 AM

I've had similar on boat trailers, of course they go in the water so greased them pretty regularly, so how often do you grease these?

Fingerlakes · 05-19-2016, 08:19 AM

You can go to Dexter's web site and print off the manual/info. You didn't get a Dexter book in with all the other manuals? BUT- you might be better off by removing the wheels and packing the bearings by hand. If you use the fittings and use too much grease or don't do it correctly you could blow the grease seal out and possibly have lots of problems with your brakes by getting grease on the shoes/drums. Sometimes the "old" way is still the best way.

snickers104 · 05-19-2016, 08:21 AM

Don't think they are Dexters...the little rubber cap say Lippert Corp. on it. Could they be a Lippert product?

Fingerlakes · 05-19-2016, 08:27 AM

Could be Lippert. They seem to have their name on everything now!

mike837go · 05-19-2016, 08:29 AM

Remember, you can't patent an idea, so there can be other manufacturers could build and easy-to-regrease system.

I've got the EZ-Lube (R) system and love it for making sure there is always clean lubricant in place.

Having a zerk fitting does NOT eliminate routine dismantling of the hubs, cleaning, inspecting for wear and replacing worn out components!

snickers104 · 05-19-2016, 08:30 AM

I agree....manual greasing by disassembly is required....my question is how often to disassemble and how often to use the grease zirc method?

mike837go · 05-19-2016, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snickers104

I agree....manual greasing by disassembly is required....my question is how often to disassemble and how often to use the grease zirc method?

Every other 800 mile trip gets fresh grease.

Annual disassembly, clean, etc.

Works for my habits. YMMV

snickers104 · 05-19-2016, 09:39 AM

Sounds great....thanks!

Jagiven · 05-19-2016, 10:25 AM

It is recommended to grease annually or every 12K miles, which ever comes first. With that said, I just started greasing my bearings this year for the first time, and I have over 15K miles on my HTT.

17 Oaks · 05-19-2016, 10:38 AM

I will be the contrarian here. Modern bearings little maintenance is needed compared to days gone by. And I remember carrying a kit of tin snips and a couple of empty beer cans to make axle spindle shim bearings...on the side of the roads.

Number 1 on your list is inspect inside and outside for signs of grease seeping.

Buy a high quality grease. I use Mobil 1 or Green extreme duty waterproof. There are others.

Lifting or removing wheels is a big job, but you can "S L O W L Y" inject grease in all your wheels thru the Zerk fitting if you have one and then drive forward a full wheel turn and hit it again. If at either time the bearings took a lot of grease then back up and hit it again.

Seal blowouts are rare today as are leather and hard plastic seals. But any of them can be blown out if you hit it to hard and fast. The seals are made to allow old grease to come out under moderate pressure.

Tip. Wipe the head of your Zerk fittings to remove dirt before you grease.

Jack it up every other year and check for play by moving the tire back and forth. If have then you can tighten and hand grease or just replace the bearings.

If you replace bearings remember the old ax...good don't come cheap and cheap don't come good...

Redbird7 · 05-22-2016, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike837go

Every other 800 mile trip gets fresh grease.

Annual disassembly, clean, etc.

Works for my habits. YMMV

I totally disagree on using grease every 800 miles. You will be sitting on axles with no brakes because they will be covered in grease. If you want to do it right tear them down every 12k miles (per Dexter & Lippert). The grease seals will last 1-2 years without leaking. When you pump in grease there is a 50/50 chance that the grease will go backwards instead of forward. Boat trailers are different, they need to be "pressurized' to keep water out. I tell all my customers to bring them in every year. Most people do not tow 12k miles in 12 months. Commercial customers bring them in every 15k miles usually.

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