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Old 11-14-2013, 09:56 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
To justify the $50 option price and use my manual grease gun.

This forum needs more smilies... I'm looking for that ROTFL guy...
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Old 11-14-2013, 10:13 PM   #22
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You can have my grease gun and then you'll have two.
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Old 11-14-2013, 10:31 PM   #23
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Three campers ago, when we bought a very nice, slightly used 13' Scamp in northern Wisconsin, the owner said he had just lubed the bearings. They were the EZ-lube type. Apparently he believed in pumping in enough grease to flush out all the old. By the time we got to Ohio, both wheels had flung grease all around the inside of the wheels. I wasn't too impressed with that. Maybe he did something wrong or used the wrong grease. Within a year, I upgraded to electric brakes (not originally installed on ours) and got conventional hubs. Every year since, on the Scamp and then a Casita, I repacked the bearings, inspected brakes (found a serious problem on the Casita once doing this) and never again considered the EZ-Lube setup. Now that I have four wheels to do, and no really good place to do it, I'll take the Escape in to have the job done.
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Old 11-14-2013, 11:42 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
Apparently he believed in pumping in enough grease to flush out all the old.
That's how they are intended to be used, but...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
By the time we got to Ohio, both wheels had flung grease all around the inside of the wheels.
... Maybe he did something wrong or used the wrong grease.
He may have installed inadequate seals (Dexter requires double-lip seals with EZ-Lube rather than the usual single-lip), or failed to rotate the hub while pumping in grease, or applied too much pressure in order to force the grease in faster.
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Old 11-15-2013, 05:53 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
Three campers ago, when we bought a very nice, slightly used 13' Scamp in northern Wisconsin, the owner said he had just lubed the bearings. They were the EZ-lube type. Apparently he believed in pumping in enough grease to flush out all the old. ..............I repacked the bearings, inspected brakes (found a serious problem on the Casita once doing this) and never again considered the EZ-Lube setup.
EZ Lube Type? Sounds more like Bearing Buddies to me. You can't simply change a hub to get rid of the EZ-Lubes as the spindle is part of the system.

With the EZ Lube, an owner is supposed to pump enough grease through the system to force out the old. I've had EZ Lubes on my Scamp for 8 years and have never had an issue. But then again, I've watched videos on use and read all the maintenance literature. I think the less knowledgeable just grab a grease gun, slap it on the zerk and pump away thinking that's the end all. It's like any system... a person can either do what they think they're supposed to do or do what they know what they're supposed to do. Knowledge is power!

If Escape ends up offering EZ Lubes on the new 5er, I'm getting them.
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Old 11-15-2013, 09:51 AM   #26
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I won't try to defend the previous owner of our Scamp, but I think he knew what he was doing. My guess is he had pumped a bunch of grease into the bearings, which I see from your diagram should work its way back out the seal on the end of the axle. Which it did, of course, on our way home, rather than when he serviced the bearings. I know it's a complete system, but when I installed the electric brakes, I got rid of the easy-lube feature, most of which is in the hub. The axle was still drilled, of course, but that was all that's left of the original setup. Since I'm a believer in hand packing the bearings on a regular basis, I didn't see any advantage to retaining the EZ Lube setup. For a boat trailer....different story. I'd probably go with EZ Lubes also.
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Old 11-15-2013, 11:29 AM   #27
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Good catch, Donna. I noticed the reference to using a plain hub, despite the fact that EZ-Lube is a spindle feature, but I didn't follow up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
My guess is he had pumped a bunch of grease into the bearings, which I see from your diagram should work its way back out the seal on the end of the axle. Which it did, of course, on our way home, rather than when he serviced the bearings.
I had assumed that the leaked grease was on the inside of the wheels, having escaped past the rear seal, likely due to improper greasing. Parker's explanation suggests that the grease came out the end of the bearing cap and thus onto the outside of the wheels, which is normal for a misused EZ-Lube but perhaps not for Bearing Buddies. If this was from EZ-Lube use, the previous owner should have wiped away the excess purged grease, so it would not fling around as the hub turned on the road.

There is no seal on the end of the axle, other than the cap.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker View Post
I know it's a complete system, but when I installed the electric brakes, I got rid of the easy-lube feature, most of which is in the hub. The axle was still drilled, of course, but that was all that's left of the original setup.
Actually, the only part of the EZ-Lube in the hub is a rubber plug in the cap pressed into the hub, and you could use EZ-Lube without that by pulling off the cap.

All of the functionality is in the spindle, but that's only two drilled holes and one grease fitting (per side), plus a better seal.

Spotting guide (although I think Parker understands which is which already):
  • EZ-Lube has a grease fitting on the end of the spindle - does not turn with the hub.
  • Bearing Buddies have a grease fitting in an assembly fit into the hub - turns with the hub.
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