2020 Imagine 2670mk wheel bearing grease

[philwa55]

I recently traded in my old Jayco for a 2020 Imagine 2670mk. On my old trailer in addition to yearly handpacking the wheel bearings, before a big trip I would also give each wheel a few squirts through the ezlube zirk just to be safe. I lost a bearing on the freeway once so I am over cautious. We are planning a cross country trip soon and I was going to add some grease to the bearings but since it is a new trailer I thought I had better check and make sure they were still using the red lithium based NLGI No.2 bearing grease in the dexter axles. I couldn't get a straight answer from Dexter so I wanted to put the question out here to see if anyone has the answer.

[Cate&Rob]

philwa55
Using the zerk fitting to add grease to the hub is a very controversial subject. Bearing grease does not go away by itself unless there is a problem with the bearing. It does not need to be replenished through the zerk fitting. Your truck wheel bearings run in the same grease for hundred of thousands of miles. Some greases are incompatible with other greases (from your comments, you already know this). Using the zerk also presents the possibility of pushing grease past the rear seal and into the brakes.

Bottom line (personal choice) . . I have never used a zerk fitting to grease wheel bearings . . . except on a boat trailer with no brakes. . Pulling the hubs, cleaning the bearings, inspecting the brakes, replacing the seals, greasing the bearings . . . is not a big job. It sounds worse than it is. I have always used the red "thick & tacky" grease. It usually looks not much different when I pull the hubs after many thousands of miles than it did when I put it in there.

Just my 2 cents worth . . .

Rob

[howson]

I recently traded in my old Jayco for a 2020 Imagine 2670mk. On my old trailer in addition to yearly handpacking the wheel bearings, before a big trip I would also give each wheel a few squirts through the ezlube zirk just to be safe. I lost a bearing on the freeway once so I am over cautious. We are planning a cross country trip soon and I was going to add some grease to the bearings but since it is a new trailer I thought I had better check and make sure they were still using the red lithium based NLGI No.2 bearing grease in the dexter axles. I couldn't get a straight answer from Dexter so I wanted to put the question out here to see if anyone has the answer.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defa...vrsn=4dee048_0

page 53

[philwa55]

https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defa...vrsn=4dee048_0

page 53

Thanks, I thought so, just making sure.

[philwa55]

philwa55
Using the zerk fitting to add grease to the hub is a very controversial subject. Bearing grease does not go away by itself unless there is a problem with the bearing. It does not need to be replenished through the zerk fitting. Your truck wheel bearings run in the same grease for hundred of thousands of miles. Some greases are incompatible with other greases (from your comments, you already know this). Using the zerk also presents the possibility of pushing grease past the rear seal and into the brakes.

Bottom line (personal choice) . . I have never used a zerk fitting to grease wheel bearings . . . except on a boat trailer with no brakes. . Pulling the hubs, cleaning the bearings, inspecting the brakes, replacing the seals, greasing the bearings . . . is not a big job. It sounds worse than it is. I have always used the red "thick & tacky" grease. It usually looks not much different when I pull the hubs after many thousands of miles than it did when I put it in there.

Just my 2 cents worth . . .

Rob

Yes, I realize this is a somewhat controversial subject and I agree that yearly handpacking is the way to go. I don't necessarily agree with those who believe it is possible to blow a seal using the zerk fitting, anyone who has actually tried getting that seal out would know that it would be very difficult to blow it out with a hand operated grease gun. I lost a bearing and almost a wheel on the freeway once and have no desire to repeat that experience so I am over cautious as I said. I have heard that the manufacturers aren't always diligent about putting enough grease in new trailers so I was thinking of making sure the hub was full of grease but since the trailer is new didn't want to go through the whole process of handpacking. Thanks for your response.

[Cate&Rob]

Yes, I realize this is a somewhat controversial subject and I agree that yearly handpacking is the way to go. I don't necessarily agree with those who believe it is possible to blow a seal using the zerk fitting, anyone who has actually tried getting that seal out would know that it would be very difficult to blow it out with a hand operated grease gun. I lost a bearing and almost a wheel on the freeway once and have no desire to repeat that experience so I am over cautious as I said. I have heard that the manufacturers aren't always diligent about putting enough grease in new trailers so I was thinking of making sure the hub was full of grease but since the trailer is new didn't want to go through the whole process of handpacking. Thanks for your response.

"Blowing out the seal" is probably a poor choice of words. Agreed that getting those seals out is not easy! The "path of least resistance" for grease getting past the seals is at the interface of the seal lips to the spindle. Those of us who endured the "greased brakes fiasco" of 2015/16/17 know this failure mode all too well. My personal opinion of the root cause of that failure is that the original seals were installed without lubrication of the seal lips to the spindle. The seal lips burned off on the spindle in the first few miles. There is a whole lot of discussion and documentation on this . . . but, that is a story for another day.

Losing a bearing and possibly a wheel, is a failure mode in the back of everyone's mind as we tow these these things up and down the interstates. Adding grease with the zerk will not tell me if I have a bearing in trouble. Cleaning and hand packing will. As you obviously know, pulling the hubs, inspecting the brakes, hand packing the bearings and replacing the seals is a "Saturday morning well spent". You will sleep better .

Good discussion !!

Rob

[Gimpyknee]

Reasons to join this forum.... +1

You all are incredible resources.