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  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper
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    EZ Lube - Yay or Nay?

    Hello everyone again. 2nd post today. About to head out for a few thousand miles on a 6 week tour. Inspections and maintenance is happening. Thought I'd ask about greasing. In my past, I've always removed the bearings and hand-packed them. I did it 2 years ago, on my last trip, a two week Port Aransas trip that put about 1,500 miles total on my baby. So, I'm in a bit of quandary on re-doing the bearings fully. My trip wasn't taxing on the bearings, but it was over 2 years ago. I understand that bearings should be packed annually or every 10K - 12K miles IIRC. The medium fix is to use the EZ option. Pump in some lube while rotating the wheel and check the older grease coming out. I've researched the "Heck no!" crowds and the "Why not?" crowds in videos mostly. Previously, I did not know to rotate the tire while doing it, but I may have just forgot. My rig is 2015 and I honestly can't remember if I've done it before. I want to use the EZ, but can certainly do all the work and repack as well. BTW, my seals were leaking upon inspection after getting her home from the dealership in 2015. I replaced them, repacked, etc then (and at least two other times) and am aware that the seals may be a weakness when using the EZ. Thoughts, with an explanation of your advice or knowledge, would be greatly appreciated.
    Brent & Gina
    2018 Ford F250 PSD Crew Cab
    SuperGlide 16K Hitch
    Grand Design 303 RLS

  2. #2
    Long Hauler
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    This is JMO of course. If you've put few miles on the trailer and the bearings were packed well then I wouldn't hesitate to travel. I usually do mine every several years.

    When I first was familiar with the EZ-Lube feature, I thought it was a good idea. But now, I think if the wheel bearings are well packed, they don't need additional grease between repacking them. And they should be pulled every few years, if for no other reason than to check the brakes and magnets. Plus if there are some dings or issues with the bearing seals, you could end up with grease on the brake shoes. Simply not necessary in my mind. But I'm also not in the "pull the bearings and repack every year" group either. But my thoughts are based on fairly low annual mileage too. If you're traveling 10,000-20,000 miles per year, you would likely do the repacking more often.
    Howard and Peggy
    2019 Momentum 351M, and 2018 RAM Cummins dually 6-speed.
    His: 1999 Honda Interceptor
    Hers: 2013 Spyder ST-S

  3. #3
    Site Sponsor Gronk1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brent M View Post
    Hello everyone again. 2nd post today. About to head out for a few thousand miles on a 6 week tour. Inspections and maintenance is happening. Thought I'd ask about greasing. In my past, I've always removed the bearings and hand-packed them. I did it 2 years ago, on my last trip, a two week Port Aransas trip that put about 1,500 miles total on my baby. So, I'm in a bit of quandary on re-doing the bearings fully. My trip wasn't taxing on the bearings, but it was over 2 years ago. I understand that bearings should be packed annually or every 10K - 12K miles IIRC. The medium fix is to use the EZ option. Pump in some lube while rotating the wheel and check the older grease coming out. I've researched the "Heck no!" crowds and the "Why not?" crowds in videos mostly. Previously, I did not know to rotate the tire while doing it, but I may have just forgot. My rig is 2015 and I honestly can't remember if I've done it before. I want to use the EZ, but can certainly do all the work and repack as well. BTW, my seals were leaking upon inspection after getting her home from the dealership in 2015. I replaced them, repacked, etc then (and at least two other times) and am aware that the seals may be a weakness when using the EZ. Thoughts, with an explanation of your advice or knowledge, would be greatly appreciated.
    If you only have 1500 miles on your last repack, & you inspected the brakes at that time & were ok, I'd say your good to go. I've only used the EZ on my boat (no brakes) & took a lot of grease initially.
    Paul, Sue & Wonder Dog Zane
    '18 Solitude 310 GK
    "15 F-350 6.7, DRW, CC

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper
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    EZ Lube works great if you don't have a bearing re-packer.

    Pump full of grease using EZ.

    Pull hub.
    Pull rear seal.
    Remove bearings.
    Clean out all the excess grease in the bore.
    Inspect the races.
    Put the greased bearings back in.
    Put new seals on.

    Just using EZ without re-sealing can be messy.
    Matt, Irene, and Ruby (our Golden Retriever)
    2022 Imagine 2600RB with ProPride 3P
    2024 Silverado 2500 LTZ Gasser (3500 payload)

  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper
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    I have also heard that if you are going the EZ route, drive it 5-10 miles to warm up the existing grease before adding more (while rotating the wheel as noted earlier)

    Good luck all
    2021 Chevy Silverado 2500HD
    2022 Imagine 2500RL

  6. #6
    Seasoned Camper
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    Just to cap off the thread, I ended up being a Nay on this one. I didn't like the thought of not inspecting the bearings (and more) so I opened the it all up, inspected the brakes, hub, races, bearings, and used a packer to add Royal Purple to the bearings (less than one tube for all) followed by a new seal. Removed the pull-away plug to test that the brakes locked for every wheel. It's one of the ways I check the wiring of each wheel individually before the driving test which I also did yesterday. All looks well. Drove 10 miles and ensured all lugs were torqued to 110. The detail is for anyone who may have a question. Thanks so much for the helpful input.
    Brent & Gina
    2018 Ford F250 PSD Crew Cab
    SuperGlide 16K Hitch
    Grand Design 303 RLS

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