19xud axle grease

[WeRJuliian]

We've had our Jayfeather 19xud for a year or so, and I want to do some preventive maintenance... in particular, top up the grease in the hubs. ... nowhere near enough miles to need repacking, but I'd like to give them a "shot".

So... what kind of grease, how do I know when enough is enough, etc?

Neither the dealer nor Lippert, the axle maker, can give me any specifics... so I'm turning to the real experts...

[mleger11]

I was told to jackup axle spin the wheel while giving it a couple pumps. No more than a couple as you will get grease into brakes.

[ttavasc]

Since it's not recommended to mix grease types and you aren't able to determine the exact grease currently in the hubs I would pull the hub, clean and inspect the bearings then re-assemble with the grease of your choice. Then going forward you will be set. When you do this if you are planning to use the EZ Lube feature I would squirt some grease in while everything is disassembled to clear out the old grease between the zirc and the back of the hub. Otherwise the first time you use the EZ Lube you'll push some old grease of unknown type into your newly packed bearings.

Lucas Red & Tacky is a popular grease choice. I've been using Ultralube LMX Red Grease from etrailer.com and have been happy with it. The Dexter manual that came with my 195RB says to clean, inspect and re-pack every 12 months or 12K miles so I do this every spring when I uncover the camper regardless of how many miles I put on it over the previous season.

As for the EZ Lube, there are videos on Dexter's web site that show the proper way to do this. I've been using EZ Lube on my small utility trailer to get a feel for it. Seems to do fine but as mentioned you need to slowly rotate the wheel while slowly pumping - and use a manual grease gun only. Too much pressure and you will blow the seal and ruin your brakes. Eventually grease will start coming out around the outer bearing and that's how you will know it's full. Be patient - it can take a lot of grease to fill the cavity between the inner and outer bearings. Once the cavity is full then just a few pumps may be sufficient, but at some point you will be pushing the old grease from the inner bearing into the outer bearing. I think it helps if the hub are warm when doing this so I usually run the trailer a few miles down the road before adding the grease.

Personally I think it wastes a lot of grease, and on my camper I like to visually inspect the brakes at the beginning of each season which requires the hubs to be pulled. Since I've already got things apart I just do the repack at the same time and I'm done with it.

[eagleback]

Lucas Red & Tacky is a popular grease choice. I've been using Ultralube LMX Red Grease from etrailer.com and have been happy with it.


X2.

[WeRJuliian]

Thank you...

Certainly more helpful than the dealer ("any general axle grease is fine. Just take the cap off and stick some in") ... or Lippert, who sent me a 50-page manual covering every single axle they make, with dozens of different options and no way to determine which is right.