How to Avoid Over-Filling Hubs with Grease

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Question:

Hi, I am in the process of ordering a new RV, it will come with LCI axles and drum brakes. The owners forum has many listings of grease leaking out of this system and getting on the brake components making the brakes ineffective. Since I trailer in the Rocky Mountains this causes me concern. If I encounter this situation, what do your experts recommend as a resolution? GVWR 23,000. 16 inch wheels at time of delivery. Triple 7k axles.

asked by: Dallas R

1

Helpful Expert Reply:

The most common cause for wheel bearing grease to leak onto drum brake components is accidental over-filling. Once grease gets onto the brake pads it is neither easy nor a terribly good idea to clean the grease off them. They really should be replaced if they become fouled with bearing grease.

The best ways to prevent over-filling your hubs are to use caution when pumping grease into a spindle zerk fitting, such as the one on spindle # TRU37FR if this is what spindle you have. Pump too much in and you will blow out your seal. But if you have standard spindles you can use a spring-pressure-operated Bearing Buddy grease cap that automatically feeds grease into the hub bore as it becomes depleted. These will not apply enough pressure to ruin a seal but they do apply enough to force grease in when there is a void.

All such bearing protectors are shown on the linked page. You will need to determine 1) whether or not your hubs have a bore that is threaded, and 2) what the diameter of that hub bore is, to the nearest thousandth of an inch, such a 1.234-inches.

For instance, for a non-threaded bore of 1.980-inches use part # BB1980A-SS for stainless or part # BB1980A for chromed.

expert reply by: Adam R

1

Answer 1

If you were to get bearing grease on the brake pads then they are pretty much done and would have to be replaced because you will never be able to get all of the grease off of them. It doesn't sound like grease is the problem though because the…

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Answer 2

Hey Kirby, that really will depend on whether there was oil on any of the components. If there was any oil it's going to be a struggle to try and get it to clean itself and you may end up ruining the brake pads to point they never give you full…

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Answer 3

Since your brakes have been adjusted properly, that definitely rules out one issue. The overgreasing of the hubs and failing grease seal wouldn't have any impact on the braking unless somehow the grease got inside the drum, but you still want to…

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Answer 4

In order to determine the torque rating for the lug nuts on your trailer you will need to know check out the chart I attached that shows all of the torque specs for all the trailer lugs available based on stud size, wheel material and wheel size.

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Answer 5

The difference between the Class II and Class III hitches has to do with their Gross Trailer Weight (GTW), their Tongue Weight (TW), and their Hitch Receiver Size. Class II trailer hitch receivers have a 1-1/4 inch receiver and can be rated up to…

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Answer 6

The #84 spindle is just a common way to identify the spindle dimensions typically used for 3,500 lb axles. So instead of listing out the parts, people can just say they have #84 spindles and it's easier to know what fits it. The CE Smith Trailer…

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Answer 7

To determine the size of the brake assemblies you need you have to measure the depth and width of the hub drum on the axle like what you see in the picture I attached. The most common size is 2-1/4 inch wide like the #T4071600-500 that you…

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Answer 8

It sounds like you are speaking of the wires for the brake magnets. If this is correct, you will need to connect one of the wires to the brake controller output wire on your trailer connector and the other wire will need to be grounded to a clean…

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Answer 9

According to Blue Ox, it'll take an experienced installer about 4 to 5 hours to complete the installation of their #BX1128 Base Plate Kit on a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The install isn't what I'd call super-difficult, but the installation…

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Answer 10

Even though I cannot comment specifically on the grease you used because I am not familiar with it, I can tell you the best grease for trailer bearings is a a grease with a rating of GC-LB, which just means it is made to withstand very high…

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Answer 11

The Dexter Nev-R-Adjust electric trailer brakes can be manually adjusted. There are a couple teeth of the adjustment wheel that are exposed just under the lever that you referenced. I have attached a photo showing the teeth. You will likely need a…

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Answer 12

That's a very good question, we tend to be extra cautious and say to use 10 gauge wire because that would be more than enough. When you get into longer trailers that will end up using a lot of wire the heavier gauge wire becomes more necessary.…

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