Repacking Hubs

[Mark Northcutt]

Hey guys, I am planning to repack the hubs on my 99 model trailer and was wondering how you dissasemble the EZ-Lube hubs? I know it may not need it yet , but it will give me a little better piece of mind knowing its done like I did on other hubs. Do I unsrew the grease zerk fitting first? How do you knock the bearing buddy style cap off, rubber mallet?

The bearing buddies I just knocked off the cap to get to the cotter pin and washer, but these Im unsure about. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks, Mark

 

[Frank Daniel]

Mark, leave the zerk fitting in place. Just remove the cap

any way you can without damage. A rubber hammer should work.

After that it's the same job as with a standard hub.

There's really no reason to pull the hubs apart just to

repack them. You are repacking them every time you pump grease through the zerk fitting. The only reason to pull it apart would be to check for bearing wear. If your seals are good and no water is apparent in the grease your bearings should be in perfect condition. That's the great thing about the EZ Lube system.

I've only taken mine apart once in 12 years and that was to replace defective seals. It was 7 years old then and the bearings still looked new. I put them right back in and they're still going strong.

Sorry if I got carried away there but, I hope this helps.

Frank

 

[Frank Daniel]

Mark, leave the zerk fitting in place. Just remove the cap

any way you can without damage. A rubber hammer should work.

After that it's the same job as with a standard hub.

There's really no reason to pull the hubs apart just to

repack them. You are repacking them every time you pump grease through the zerk fitting. The only reason to pull it apart would be to check for bearing wear. If your seals are good and no water is apparent in the grease your bearings should be in perfect condition. That's the great thing about the EZ Lube system.

I've only taken mine apart once in 12 years and that was to replace defective seals. It was 7 years old then and the bearings still looked new. I put them right back in and they're still going strong.

Sorry if I got carried away there but, I hope this helps.

Frank

 

[Frank Daniel]

Sorry for the double post.

Stupid fat fingers

 

[James D.]

MarkN,



the dust cap comes off real easy if it is like the one on my trailer 98'. i used some channel locks and found i did not really need them. the metal is real thin and bends easily. tapping it with a rubber mallet like Frank says should work. i'm thinkin of replacing mine also as it seems the grease in mine liquifies a lot and sprays all over my wheels. i'm not fond of the system as far as spraying grease is concerned. i'm not sure if i'm right or not but cabelas and bass pro in their new catalogs have a "super lube" hub kit that has the bearings and everything. if anybody knows how to keep your bearings lubed good and not throw grease, please let me know. i can keep the sparkles sparklin but the wheels is ugly.

jd

 

[Frank Daniel]

James, where is the grease coming from? Is it on the outer(visible) side of the wheel or on the inside? The only way for the grease to come out is around a bad seal and that would be on the back side of the wheel. That's what happened to mine.

If the grease liquifies, and runs out the front, it means that your hubs are running too hot. That would indicate a potentially serious problem with the bearings.

I hope I'm making sense here.

Good luck.

Frank

 

[Frank Daniel]

Well I did it again.

Just call me fat fingers

 

[Mark Northcutt]

Thanks Guys!!

 

[James D.]

the grease is all over the outside of the tires and occassionally after i fill them up splatters the side of the boat. i spoke with the tracker guys and they said to put a new rubber cap on and i did that and no change. i just figured they were cheap and they all did that. thinkin of painting my rims olive brown so they don't look so bad. i use the lubrimatic lithium grease and was wondering if that has something to do with it. don't know about the inside of the wheel as i will check and see.

jd

 

[Frank Daniel]

James, I've not tried the lithium grease however, I really don't believe that would make a difference.

My next guess would be that the grease is coming out from under the base of the metal cap. You might try removing the caps and putting a bead of silicone caulk on them as you put them back in. If that doesn't work you may have to replace the whole cap.

I'm just guessing here. I've done a lot of bearing work in the past and I've never run into this problem before.

Good luck

Frank

 

[James D.]

sounds like there is hope for my wheels after all. i'll try the silicone and see what happens. i've felt the hubs after runnin pretty hard and they don't feel warm to the touch. i know something is amiss as the grease shouldn't be splattering out so much. thanks again.

jd