Servicing your Dexter Axle brakes or bearings

[hotfishtacos]

I was looking for a manual on this site for servicing my 19' Dexter axles and couldn't find one so I did some research and found a great pdf file for our axles. Please add this to our file library. Thanks!

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...,d.b2I&cad=rja

Steve

[Brian B-P]

Thanks Steve - a lot of people exchange shaky or downright bad information about bearing servicing, instead of referring to authoritative sources such as Dexter.

All of Dexter's information is available directly from them, via the Dexter Axle Resource Library. One of my trailers came with a copy of the Operation Maintenance Service Manual, along with all the appliance manuals, but I don't know if they still provide the manual with the axle to the trailer manufacturer.

[hotfishtacos]

One of our moderators will have to add this file this since I can't add or edit the files section...

[cpaharley2008]

I stickied the thread

[Rzrbrn]

The website noted by hotfishtacos 1/10/2014 at 12:42 am no longer works

[cpaharley2008]

Try the link in post#2, it works and can lead you where you want...

[OWilly]

sorry, but the second link does not work either. Any ideas. This summer we had serious issues with the bearings leaking large quantities of lubricant (the hubs looked like they were bleeding). We took our trailer to a local trailer dealer and manufacturer. they had to repack and replace the brake pads on 3 of our 4 wheels because they were grease impregnated. (Escape 19, 2015) There was excessive bearing lubricant forced into the mechanism which then led to the destruction of our brake pads. This is how the Escape company prepared the wheels in their factory. Cost us over $400 to repair this.

[cpaharley2008]

Contact Escape, maybe a warranty issue. The links no longer work, sorry. Try contacting Dexter also.

[Rossue]

Sounds like that happened within the first year; was this not covered by warranty from either Escape or Dexter?

Did our first bearing service at 10 months after pickup and two of the inner seals were leaking, but not so bad to contaminate the brake linings.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

All of Dexter's information is available directly from them, via the Dexter Axle Resource Library.

... but this link no longer works.

Dexter Axle restructured their website, so the old Resource Library no longer exists; however, the material is still available.

• On the full web site, just go to the Dexter Axle site, cursor over the Resources item of the top menu line, and choose the desired category.
• On a mobile device, go to Dexter Axle site, and tap the Resources link.

For the service manual for an Escape's Torflex #10 axle (or an Escape 5.0TA's 3500 pound beam axle), look for the 600-8,000 lb capacity item (full site) or the Light Duty 600-8K Complete Catalog category (mobile) and choose either the complete manual or just the desired section(s).

[Terry H]

I noticed when cleaning the wheels on the 2017 grease on hubs around lug bolts only on one wheel. Should I have it checked out? Is this grease leaking on my brakes also? I also noted that coming to a slow stop the wheels or wheel sometimes locks? Why? Something need adjusting?

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by Rzrbrn

The website noted by hotfishtacos 1/10/2014 at 12:42 am no longer works

Worked fine for me, go to bottom of page look for manuals, click and download🙂

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by Terry H

I noticed when cleaning the wheels on the 2017 grease on hubs around lug bolts only on one wheel. Should I have it checked out? Is this grease leaking on my brakes also? I also noted that coming to a slow stop the wheels or wheel sometimes locks? Why? Something need adjusting?

Definitely check out the grease as there may be a leaking seal and the brake linings may be contaminated.

For the wheel lock-up, the most common reason for this is the brakes are out of adjustment. When they loosen up then there is more play which when applying the brakes they travel further and kind of slap against the drum causing lock up at slow speed. Brake adjustments are pretty easy with a Trailer-Aid and a large flathead screwdriver.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Chotch

Worked fine for me, go to bottom of page look for manuals, click and download🙂

Look here

[Brian B-P]

Grease which leaks past the rear seal goes into the inside of the brake drum. It would be hard for it to get from there to the front (outside) of the drum; however, locking brakes are suspicious. The best way to check is to remove the hub-drum.

On the other hand, the end of the hub is sealed by the grease cap, and since you have E-ZLube hubs that cap is sealed by a rubber plug. Grease which gets out of that cap will fling out onto the front of the wheel and tire - not especially around the bolts, but maybe that's the only place it stuck. I would check the cap and plug.

Searching the site of the manufacturer of a random trailer seems like a strange way to get a Dexter manual, which is available directly from Dexter Axle.

[Iowa Dave]

When you pull the hub you’ll know very shortly whether or not you have grease on the faces of the brake shoes. If you do, you may be able to get away with cleaning them with brake cleaner( a spray product) and some clean rags or if you can find it, some carbon tetrachloride. The actuator arm is behind the shoes so if the seal has not leaked too long and if the axle and rear bearing were not “overgreased” you can clean them up too. Especially the actuator arm. It gets brake dust and on it and if greasy will congeal for a while and can be wiped or scraped clean if it has not become supersaturated and dripped down and made its way to the shoes. Easy does it on regreasing. New seals are only a few dollars apiece. I replace them each time I service the bearings ( about 15,000 to 20,000 miles.). While you’re in there look at how the adjuster works to force the shoes apart and how the little adjusting wheel rides on the tension spring. You’ll understand it then. Where the adjuster screws together you’ll see threads, put a light shot of lubricant on these threads and the adjuster will screw in and out more easily. As I’ve said before when you adjust the shoes out you’ll hear the adjuster twanging the spring. It goes sproing sproing sproing as you flip the adjusting wheel. Once the shoes are out so far that the drum doesn’t turn, back the adjuster off a little and spin the drum or drum and tire/wheel. The drums and shoes do not usually mate perfectly so as the brake drum makes light contact with the shoe you’ll hear Ching Ching Ching. Then you know your adjusted pretty close. Make them all sound the same and try them out in a gravel parking lot. See if your helper can confirm them all locking up and sliding at the same time. You’ll get it. In the words of my Dad “When doing brakes only work on one wheel at a time. That way if You get confused you can look at the side you didn’t monkey around with and put it back together right.” Brakes, can’t live long without them!
Iowa Dave

[wetzk]

Here's a new wrinkle on ordering the parts.
I have enclosed NTP's breakdown for the Dexter 10x2 1/4 3500 Lb hub parts.
They give the NTP number as 46-1510 and the manufactures part # as 010-019-00. If you search for part # 010-019-00 you will bring up numerous sites with the part number being 46-1510 010-019-00 or 010-019-00 46-1510 along with the ones using just 010-019-00 for the part #.
Most of the ones I went to did not have any further info other than the part being made by Dexter. So I looked for best price and what looked like a valid website and placed an order for 5 of the seals, I ordered 1 extra just in case I messed one up. I went down to the post office this morning and picked up our mail that was held last week and find the part is way to big. By the measurements it matches the part for a 12X2 hub seal. I finally found one site which uses this number for the larger part.
DEXTER AXLE Grease Seal 46-1510 010-019-00
Stock#: 46-1510
Manufacturer part number: 010-019-00
46-1510 DEXTER AXLE 010-019-00
$2.09
2.25" lip ID x 3.376" seal OD, fits Dexter 12" x 2" hubs/Drums after 1998.
Used with 1-3/4" ID wheel bearings.
But the same part number also is used for the correct part for our trailer hubs. So it appears if they use 46-1510 in any part of the numbers you will need to contact them before ordering to find out what they have if they do not give the measurements. From what I can tell what they sent me was NTP part 46-1505 010-010-00. And the majority of sites selling the part supposedly for our hub have this part instead.

[Iowa Dave]

When I needed seals for our 2013 21 I went to town to my local Dexter axle dealer. I put a cleaned up, used seal on the counter and said I’d like 5 of these. He came back with the correct matching seals. He gave me a wall calendar, jot em down note pad and a receipt. The seals were $1.78 each. My change was enough to buy a can of pop from the aging pop machine for fifty cents. Then I took a couple free cookies with me and out the door I went. Jeez I really appreciate a good counterman. All those numbers confuse me.
Iowa Dave

[wetzk]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

When I needed seals for our 2013 21 I went to town to my local Dexter axle dealer. I put a cleaned up, used seal on the counter and said I’d like 5 of these. He came back with the correct matching seals. He gave me a wall calendar, jot em down note pad and a receipt. The seals were $1.78 each. My change was enough to buy a can of pop from the aging pop machine for fifty cents. Then I took a couple free cookies with me and out the door I went. Jeez I really appreciate a good counterman. All those numbers confuse me.
Iowa Dave

Me too, the problem here is the nearest Dexter distributor is about 79 miles from here. And the local RV places as well as Napa and the auto places do not stock a very common part. They need to order it. Or have a very cheap looking Chinese part. So I decided to cut out the middle man and ordered it myself. What I suspect happened is someone made a mistake with the part number and it has spread into the parts listings of a lot of online parts places.

[Iowa Dave]

I replaced an outer bearing on the 19. It was just a little on the loose side so I thought why not. It was a Sunday so I foolishly went to a NAPA store that was open. I was a bearing made in Taiwan and cost about $ 11.50. All the bearings were good on the 21 when I checked them but I had one slightly leaky seal. That’s why I bought 5. After my seal trip, I stopped at Midwest Wheel one day because I needed some bearing grease. I asked about the outer bearing and an inner bearing which is quite a bit larger. Bought genuine Timkens, made in USA for $8 for the small one and $11 for the inner. Have them as spares now. Quality is economy.
Iowa Dave