Question regarding wet bolts

[Tom in PGH]

I’m new to the “wet bolt” thing. Dug out my grease gun, got the Lock’N’Lube from Amazon, and got new grease. All ready to go. Got out the creeper, which I haven’t used in years, and slid under the trailer. Had a couple of fittings that wouldn’t take grease, so I ran the levelers up just enough to relieve some of the weight, and both worked fine. Maybe the holes aren’t at the right position? You can learn a lot reading these forums every day...

On my Reflection 303 (2019), there are three bolts/fittings for each spring. One is at the outside end (front and rear of the respective spring) and two on each of the inboard ends. Where the two bolts/fittings are, one attaches to the spring and the other attaches to a bracket which is then attached to the middle section of the suspension that is then attached to the frame. Sorry, but I don’t know the actual name for any of these parts, but you can see them in the photos, below.

The curb side went well and, after raising the trailer, the driver side went well too. Then I realized that there were six fittings on the curb side, but only five on the driver side. One of the springs that should have had two bolts and fittings had the two bolts, appearing to be the same/correct size, but only one had the zerk fitting. Doesn’t sound or look correct. Is it possible that someone could have put in a bolt without the zerk?

Also, at the top of the rocker piece that holds the two springs together, there is a bolt that attaches everything to the frame, the the middle of the suspension. There is no zerk there either, on either side. Since that area also swivels, as a part of the suspension, it looks like it should be lubed as well.

Any thoughts on either issue?

[TucsonJim]

Well. That is very odd indeed. It looks like someone replaced that one bolt that holds the shackle to the equalizer. I'd be willing to bet that the that bolt and the ones at the top of the equalizer have bushings that are probably worn out by now. Since your unit is probably getting near two years old, it's probably time to do some maintenance anyway. I'd suggest that you disassemble the suspension and put in a new MorRyde wet bolt/shackle/bushing kit. They are reasonably priced, and with a little know-how, the job could be knocked out in less than a full day.

And your Dexter equalizer is starting to show some oxidation. I'd consider replacing it with either another Dexter version or even batter, a MorRyde CRE3000. If you decide to do this, let us know and we can guide you through the parts selection process.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Tom in PGH TucsonJim
x2 on Jim’s advice. You have a “mixed bag” of bolts that makes no sense. Either the dealer was messing with this or the factory was using up old parts. MORryde makes a great kit with shackle plates more than twice as thick as OE and appropriately sized wet bolts. Also, all new bronze bushings for all locations. Well worth the price and effort to install. If you do this, make sure that the wet bolt grease holes are at 3 or 9 o’clock. MORryde drives these in randomly (despite advice to do it correctly)

Rob

[Oregon Fun-Guy]

I’m new to the “wet bolt” thing. Dug out my grease gun, got the Lock’N’Lube from Amazon, and got new grease. All ready to go. Got out the creeper, which I haven’t used in years, and slid under the trailer. Had a couple of fittings that wouldn’t take grease, so I ran the levelers up just enough to relieve some of the weight, and both worked fine. Maybe the holes aren’t at the right position? You can learn a lot reading these forums every day...

On my Reflection 303 (2019), there are three bolts/fittings for each spring. One is at the outside end (front and rear of the respective spring) and two on each of the inboard ends. Where the two bolts/fittings are, one attaches to the spring and the other attaches to a bracket which is then attached to the middle section of the suspension that is then attached to the frame. Sorry, but I don’t know the actual name for any of these parts, but you can see them in the photos, below.

The curb side went well and, after raising the trailer, the driver side went well too. Then I realized that there were six fittings on the curb side, but only five on the driver side. One of the springs that should have had two bolts and fittings had the two bolts, appearing to be the same/correct size, but only one had the zerk fitting. Doesn’t sound or look correct. Is it possible that someone could have put in a bolt without the zerk?

Also, at the top of the rocker piece that holds the two springs together, there is a bolt that attaches everything to the frame, the the middle of the suspension. There is no zerk there either, on either side. Since that area also swivels, as a part of the suspension, it looks like it should be lubed as well.

Any thoughts on either issue?

Tom,

From the model number on the equalizer, what you have installed on your rig is a Dexter E-Z Flex that is probably an aftermarket part. It should have six grease zerks, one on each of the bolts attached to the shackles and spring end. Based on your pictures it appears that one of the grease zerks has been sheared off. There are also supposed to be two zerks above the center attachment bolt between the two frame attachment pieces. The pictures doesn't show this area very well but they might have been broken off too. The shackles are a heavier size than the original stock shackles with brass bushings.

As Rob and Jim said the solution is probably to replace the the equalizer with either the same brand or Morryde or Lippert. If the center bolt grease zerks are still in place, you might get by with replacing one wet bolt.

Norm

[Country Campers]

Tom in PGH

You have the same suspension that I have. As Norm has stated above the "missing" zerk fitting is broken off.
The center bolt for the equalizer does have grease fittings , they are between the hanger as Norm says above. If you have not grease these since new you may want to check the bushings. When I greased ours after bringing it home when new there was no grease in the wet bolts, just smeared on the zerk.
Here is a picture , yours actually , with arrows showing where to look for the equalizer grease fittings.

There will be one on each side for each "arm" of the equalizer. A small ez-out will remove the broken zerk and a replacement is easy to find.

Brian

[Tom in PGH]

Thanks for the feedback from all of you. This fifth-wheel is exactly as received from the factory, through a dealer. It was custom-ordered, and to my knowledge, nothing has been changed, unless it was by the dealer, which I think is doubtful. The shackles are also original to this unit.

Norm and Brian, I found the two additional zerks. They were hiding between the spring hangers. I’ll try to hit them tomorrow. You are right about the one fitting being broken off. I don’t see any trace of grease like I am able to see on the other points. My guess is that it has been like this from the factory, and was missed both at the Grand Design inspection as well as at the dealer. I was not aware of wet bolts when we picked up the unit, so I didn’t know to look that part over.

I was awaiting a return call from Grand Design, and I was able to reach them this morning. They are sending a new wet bolt to replace the one with the broken zerk.

Thanks again.

[Cate&Rob]

Tom in PGH
Not meaning to hijack this wet bolt discussion, but the tire in your pictures looks oddly scalloped. Is this just the resolution or lighting?

Rob

[Tom in PGH]

Tom in PGH
Not meaning to hijack this wet bolt discussion, but the tire in your pictures looks oddly scalloped. Is this just the resolution or lighting?

Rob

Agreed, the tires do look a little odd. I just went out and looked at all of them and they look fine. Must have been the lighting or something else.

Thanks for noticing that, it was worth the check.

[mpking]

I just ran thru the manuals I recieved, and while the "Towable Master Manual" talks about replacing the bushings, non of them talk about "wet bolts" and greasing them. Do all trailers have these (My trailer is in storage at the moment, so I can't just pop outside and look).

[Cate&Rob]

I just ran thru the manuals I recieved, and while the "Towable Master Manual" talks about replacing the bushings, non of them talk about "wet bolts" and greasing them. Do all trailers have these (My trailer is in storage at the moment, so I can't just pop outside and look).

Wet bolts are a lot more common on recent Grand Design products than they were a few years ago. With a 2017 you may have wet bolts at some locations, but not likely all . . . particularly the outer spring to frame hanger connections. Connections without wet bolts often have the most basic nylon bushings that are good for only a few thousand miles at best since there is no way to lubricate them. Connections with bronze bushings and wet bolts were often not lubricated at assembly, so unless your dealer did this, if you haven’t, these are probably running dry.

Rob

[Tom in PGH]

After contacting Grand Design and asking that they send me a new wet bolt including the zerk, I had the plan that, at a minimum, I could back out the broken zerk and replace it with the one from Grand Design. That would leave me with a spare wet bolt, if I were to need it later.

Today, a package arrived from Grand Design. Inside was the replacement wet bolt, with the zerk included, along with a new nut. Also in the package were 5 additional wet bolts (with zerks and nuts), making a total of six, PLUS four sets of shackles and 2 wet bolts with nuts, for each. That makes a total of 8 shackles (a set for each axle) and 14 wet bolts and nuts. I think that the shackles look a little heavier than what came on our unit (haven’t crawled all the way under the unit to compare them yet) and they are stamped MorRide on the sides. Does anyone know if they have upgraded these in the recent past and I should change them out, or if it was a “goodwill gesture” in case I found a need for them in the future?

[Cate&Rob]

Tom in PGH

It is not unusual for Grand Design to send you the closest "production assembly" that includes the part you need. They deal in "production" parts, not "service" parts . . . so you have lots of spares. BTW . . . I don't know if it has been mentioned in this thread, but you should only use the nuts one time. They are torque retention "crunch" nuts and will lose their torque retention ability if removed and then used a second time.

Rob

[d2reid]

They are torque retention "crunch" nuts and will lose their torque retention ability if removed and then used a second time.

Rob

I recall some discussion about wet bolt installation. It's a bit more complicated than just regular bolts. I had Performance installers do the work so didn't get into the specifics. But apparently the wet bolts have to be oriented in a certain direction so the grease will come out, if not installed properly they will not take grease. Secondly the nuts must be torqued specifically, and I don't know the setting. Hopefully the kit came with a good set of instructions. And this is second hand knowledge so take it with a grain of salt.

[TucsonJim]

I recall some discussion about wet bolt installation. It's a bit more complicated than just regular bolts. I had Performance installers do the work so didn't get into the specifics. But apparently the wet bolts have to be oriented in a certain direction so the grease will come out, if not installed properly they will not take grease. Secondly the nuts must be torqued specifically, and I don't know the setting. Hopefully the kit came with a good set of instructions. And this is second hand knowledge so take it with a grain of salt.

The MorRyde wet bolt and shackle kit comes with instructions on orientation and torque.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

The industry experience with wet bolts (and by several on this forum) is that the grease will more easily flow into the bushing if the grease hole is located at the lightly loaded "3 o'clock" or "9 o'clock" positions. If the grease hole is located at the top or bottom "12 o'clock" or "6 o'clock" positions it is possible that the weight of the trailer will press the bushing against the hole, preventing grease from flowing. The fix for this is usually to jack the trailer frame enough that the bushing load on the grease hole is relieved and the grease will flow. Easier yet is to install the bolts with the grease holes in the correct position in the first place.

Now, here's the problem . . . while MORryde acknowledges this logic, they supply kits with the bolts pressed into the shackles at random orientations (sometimes close to 6 and 12) When I installed my MORryde heavy duty shackle kit, I pressed out the bolts located at other than 3 and 9 and relocated these correctly. I advised MORryde, but got no response. All my wet bolts accept grease with the full trailer weight on the suspension.

Rob