Is it Normal for Grease to Leak Out of EZ Lube Grease Cap

Question:

I have E-Z Lube axles on my trailer. When I purchased it, I noticed that there was a little bit of axle grease on one of the wheels, but I simply wiped it off and didnt think much of it. I subsequently added brakes to the trailer, and installed new bearings and grease seals. I packed the bearings by hand and pumped grease into the EZ- Lube zerk, according to the instructions. Everything seemed great. I just took the trailer out for the first time since the winter, and found that I ended up with axle grease all over both of my wheels. Its leaking out the front, where the E-Z Lube grease cap plug is. As far as I know, grease is NOT leaking out the back, so I dont think Ive blown the rear seals. Braking performance seems fine, I dont hear a lot of squealing from the brakes that would indicate theyve gotten greasy, etc. Is it normal for grease to leak out the front of the E-Z Lube spindle, where the grease cap is? Have I done something wrong? Can I prevent this? My best theory so far is that this was simply do to thermal expansion of the grease in the first few trips and it will stop happening, but I dont want to rely on that and cause more damage.

asked by: John

Expert Reply:

One of the big issues that EZ lube spindles create is that it's too easy to put too much grease into them which then either causes the seal to blow out or the cap to leak like what you have found. This oftentimes happens after that first trip like what happened to you. I don't actually recommend using the EZ lube fitting to add grease and instead recommend just packing it all by hand and leaving it as-is.

In your case I would recommend pulling the hubs off and making sure the seal is in good shape still and maybe pull the plugs on the caps to ensure there still isn't too much.

expert reply by: Jameson C