Will Just a Little Grease Hurt Lippert Never Fail Bushings and Should Larger Shackle Straps be Used

Updated 06/27/2017 | Published 06/26/2017

Products Featured in This Question

Dexter E-Z Flex Suspension Kit - Double-Eye Springs - Tandem Axle - 6,000 lbs

(579)

$350.21

Question:

Since there were no instructions included, I was not aware that you should not use grease to help the Neverfail bushings. Also, the dealer replaced the shackle straps with the new ones included in the kit. It appears that the Dexter shackle straps they removed OEM with the 7000lb axles were a significantly thicker gauge steel than the ones in the Lippert Neverfail kit. Should this be a concern? Do I need to have the original Dexter straps reinstalled or will the Lippert straps be strong enough to support the weight for an extended period of time? Also, will the thin amount of grease used to install the Neverfail bushings be enough to cause any problems? considering much of it came off while tapping them into the leaf spring eyelets

asked by: JD

Expert Reply:

You will just need to wipe away the grease which does mean it all needs to be taken apart. Even a little bit of grease (over a long enough time) can cause the bushings to degrade.

The shackle straps included with the Never Fail Tandem Axle Suspension Upgrade Hardware Kit # LC281285 have a standard thickness so that makes me think that you might have an E-Z Flex system such as # K71-652-00 or something similar. Those have very thick shackle straps and they should be used if that is what you have. But if you have regular equalizers then the regular shackle straps will be fine.

expert reply by: Michael H