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  1. #1
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    1st Wheel Bearing Repack on 2019 Solitude 3350RL

    Well she is turning one year old come February, what a great year! Thought I would repack the wheel bearings. This unit has Dexter 7000# axles, inner bearing 25580, outer bearing 14125A, seals 01003600, Dexter numbers. Got 4 new Dexter seals from Amazon and a spare set of bearings. Got one wheel done, EZ-lube Dexter spindals, Red grease from factory, not overly filled, a little runny but not bad, no grease leaking thru seal, looked pretty good! Repack by hand. Brakes in fine shape! Brake wire connections are in great shape, crimped and sealed with shrink tubing. Now on to the other three, get them done and we will be good for another year or 12,000 miles. Based on what I saw, at least on the one I have done, I'll do the 12K mile interval.

    Have to replace a couple of wet bolts, wont take grease with weight on springs. That's next after I get the bearings done.

    This will be the last time I have my shop to use, come March we are selling out, going fulltime. I want to get everything done with the RV before I don't have the shop anymore. That's probably the only thing I'll miss selling out, my shop. Oh well, on with life, fun times ahead!

    Just got back from the cold north Indiana land visiting family, really wasn't bad up there this year, in the 40s-50s. Great day here today- 73 degrees, beautiful day, except for the cedar fever. Almost worse than its ever been!
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  2. #2
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    Is always nice when regular maintenance goes without a glitch. Keep enjoying that 3350 !
    Marcy & Gary
    2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
    2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
    2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
    2003 F350 - retired
    Michigan
    We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
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  3. #3
    Site Sponsor andrewssteve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steven@147 View Post
    This unit has Dexter 7000# axles, inner bearing 25580, outer bearing 14125A, seals 01003600, Dexter numbers. Got 4 new Dexter seals from Amazon and a spare set of bearings.
    1) How did you determine the part numbers? 2) Did you consider replacing the Dexter parts (made in China) with Timken parts (made in the US)? 3) Did you use a seal-puller to remove the seal -- or another approach. The reviews of most seal-pullers are harsh w.r.t. utility, and I've heard that re-installing the castle nut and slamming the seal with the inner bearing can result in bearing damage. . .

    -Steve
    Steve and Renee
    2018 Solitude 310GK, disc brakes, Morryde SRE4000/XFactor with heavy duty shackles
    2012 Ram 3500 SRW 6.7 Diesel, air bags
    18k B&W Companion, non-slider
    640 watts solar, 400 amp-hour Lion Safari UT 1300 battery bank
    Aims 1500 watt inverter/charger with ATS
    Somerset, WI

  4. #4
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by andrewssteve View Post
    1) How did you determine the part numbers? 2) Did you consider replacing the Dexter parts (made in China) with Timken parts (made in the US)? 3) Did you use a seal-puller to remove the seal -- or another approach. The reviews of most seal-pullers are harsh w.r.t. utility, and I've heard that re-installing the castle nut and slamming the seal with the inner bearing can result in bearing damage. . .

    -Steve
    Hey Steve, Simple internet search for Dexter 7000# axle bearings, then verified part numbers of the bearings when I took them off to clean & repack. E-Trailer is a good source, or just check with Dexter.

    Nope, I did not consider replacing the Dexter bearings with Timken. I cleaned and inspected the bearings / races and they were fine. I am not so anal about using only US made parts but that is a personal choice for me. Usually why bearings fail is because of improper installation or repacking technique or the grease used, or tightening the castle nut too tight, not the manufacturer of the bearing.

    I have been restoring vehicles for 20 years, had a vehicle restoration business for 15 years, and have had just as many poor US made parts as foreign made. However, I have no problem with people wanting to use US or original equipment only parts. There are some things that I would only use original equipment parts. The 1973 Mercedes Benz 450SL I restored for a friend comes to mind, I will only use MB parts for that beast! US made parts, or parts made anywhere else, for that beast are not up to the quality. Or for that matter try finding a US made bearing or brake drum or rotor for a 50, 60 or 70s vintage vehicle. But yet I've done hundreds and they are still out there rolling along.

    I never use the castle nut to pull the rear seal out. I know, a lot of people have been doing this for years on old vehicles with no problem, but I don't, and never have. Most of the time I install new seals anyway, but not always. A claw hammer end works great for removing a seal if your not going to use it again. But if I will use the seal again, I use the business end of a wooden hammer handle (minus the metal hammer) with a rubber tip through the drum against the inner bearing shoulder, a couple taps and the seal and inner bearing come right out the bottom of the drum. The seal comes out perfect if a person would want to use it again, if it passes inspection. But then again new seals are cheap @ $5.00 each no matter who makes them..

    When replacing races or seals I always use a bearing/race & seal driver. I've had a race & seal driver set for years. For just the seal, yup I've seen people use the side of a 2x4.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Well almost have it done. I have one wheel to go, but its raining today and tomorrow. Been pleasantly surprised by what I've found so far. All the castle nuts have been finger tight, not overly filled with grease but a little runny, some old grease a little darker, bearings all looked good so far, using thicker red and tacky grease. Cleaned the bearings out with brake clean, checked the rollers and races, dried and repacked by hand. All brake parts looked great, wire clips attached where they should be brake readjustment just so the drums drag on the shoes.

    I was a little surprised when I received the new spare bearings I ordered through amazon using the Dexter reference numbers, they were timken. The new seals were Dexter. LOL!! I guess you never know what you'll get!
    Next is replacing the bad wet bolts and installing new ones at the spring hangers, I am not looking forward to that, its just a PITA.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IMG_2250.jpg   IMG_2248.jpg  
    Last edited by Steven@147; 01-09-2020 at 09:36 AM.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  6. #6
    Big Traveler
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    Try your wet bolts with the axle supported by a jack. I had 2 that wouldn't take any grease on a brand new Momentum, with a jack under it, volia, grease in. Also, you can try heat. That's my secret weapon for grease, I have a oxy/propane torch that I use 80% of the time heating metal to either break a nut free or get a stupid zerk to take grease.

  7. #7
    Big Traveler Txfivver's Avatar
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    Great job Steve, man I wish I had the time for these projects but still working full time makes it tough, I enjoy getting my hands greasy I'm getting my Solitude's bearings repacked and wet bolts greased in two weeks at a local RV repair facility that has great reviews online. I'll try to get pics of their condition and post.
    2019 Solitude 375RES Onan 5500 Splendide W/D Samsung res. fridge
    2020 Ford F450 Platinum dually 6.7L 4:30 gears
    B&W Companion for Ford puck system 20K lbs
    Jeff

  8. #8
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Overtaxed View Post
    Try your wet bolts with the axle supported by a jack. I had 2 that wouldn't take any grease on a brand new Momentum, with a jack under it, volia, grease in. Also, you can try heat. That's my secret weapon for grease, I have a oxy/propane torch that I use 80% of the time heating metal to either break a nut free or get a stupid zerk to take grease.
    Overtaxed - Yup been there done that using heat to remove stubborn nuts. Its a pain lifting the suspension just to get a couple of problem zerks to take grease, I want to eventually replace the spring shackles with heave duty ones then install wet bolts on the spring ends to the frame hangers, while doing this might as well replace the wet bolts that wont take grease easily. That way I can crawl underneath and grease the suspension whenever needed without lifting the suspension. I'm going to keep one of my floor creepers so that when I'm on a concrete or asphalt site I can roll around under the RV with ease.

    That got me to thinking, they used wet bolts everywhere else accept the spring end on the frame hangers. Why did they do that? I wonder if they used never-lube bushings there on the hangers? That maybe too much to expect of them. I looked up the parts on the GD web site but of course they don't list the bushings they used. I doubt if GD support would know for sure either. They only way to know for sure is for someone that has replaced the bushings in the spring end hangers on the Solitude or Momentum to let us know what kind of bushings they used.

    When I get the HD shackles and new wet bolts and get around to replacing the bushings in the spring eyes at the frame hangers, I'll let you all know what I found on my unit.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
    Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steven@147 View Post
    ... They only way to know for sure is for someone that has replaced the bushings in the spring end hangers on the Solitude or Momentum to let us know what kind of bushings they used.
    On our 2018 (2/2018 Build) Solitude 310GK, the factory spring eye bushings where just pressed in oilite bronze bushings. No wet bolts.

    Chris
    Chris & Karen
    Fort Collins, CO
    2017 F-350 SRW 6.7 Lariat Value CC LB 4x4
    2018 Solitude 310GK - Sold 7/2023

  10. #10
    Setting Up Camp Handydc's Avatar
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    Steven, How did you obtain that axle information and bearing/seal #'s. I'm picking up my Reflection 320mks next week and this will definitely be on my pm list.
    2020 Reflection 320MKS
    Ford F350 Platinum 6.7L, SRW
    Curt A16 Hitch
    Keller, TX

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