Grease glob. Possible problem or normal?

[jmtk]

On the return trip of my trailer's maiden voyage while stopping to stretch our legs, I noticed some grease splattered on the inside back of one of the wheels. Never having had a trailer before, I don't know if this is normal for a freshly-packed bearing or not. It was packed professionally the first time by a local RV/trailer shop since I didn't trust myself to do it. At the advice of the shop guy, I also added some more via a grease gun till I could just see it starting to come squishing to the front. It's a Flexiride torsion axle with a zirc (sp?) fitting. It's hard to say how much was found splattered on the inside of the wheel, maybe a teaspoon or two? We wiped it off before heading down the road again with about 2 hours of freeway driving to go to get home. We stopped for gas about an hour later and no additional grease was found (although in the pic you can see a bit in the top background) and my husband said it felt cool. Here's a pic of the backside of the wheel with an arrow pointing where the grease appears to have come from:

Is this normal and to be expected or do I have a possible problem? Thanks for any info!

Jeanette

[Kevin A]

Jeanette,
It sounds like you probably just pumped a bit more grease then was necessary and it was forced out past the seal. I can't see any sign of the seal slipping out of place from the hub so most likely it's not that big a problem. It might be worth the time to have your mechanic check it out to see if any damage was done to the seal just to be safe.

[madjack]

Jeanette, I agree with Kevin...too much grease was added and it squeezed out past the rear seal...if it was an old seal it may have blown completly but since it is a new axle it will probably be OK...just keep a close eye on it on the next trip...remember that just because it has a zirk fitting does not mean to add grease continually to the axle or...............
madjack

[Dale M.]

Probably a case of "over packing"... Probably the few extra squirts from grease gun.....

I never was a great fan of using grease gun for packing bearings... Always relied on hand cleaning and hand packing bearings, have never been disappointed...

Dale

[jmtk]

Thanks, guys. I'll go easy on the grease gun next time. Sometimes it's hard to know what kind of advice you're getting, because the guy at the RV/trailer shop was quite explicit about gooshing it in there till you could see it coming back out the front. The cool thing about this forum is that you can get second opinions (and third, and fourth, and more... ) from seasoned veterans very quickly. Thanks again!

Jeanette

[sdtripper2]

Jeanette:

Dexter E-Z Lube Axle

It isn't clear if you are using a Dexter E-Z Lube Axle?

But for those that have this type of axle they might read the Dexter
literature for this type of lubrication method.


Quick & Easy lubrication PDF
# Allows grease to easily flow to both outer and inner bearings for a complete repack
# No dis-assembly required, just attach a grease gun at the end and inject the grease

Dexter axle Lubrication specifications charts

Dexter Axle Service manual PDF
Go to page 51 for lubrication procedure for Dexter E-Z Lube bearings

Note: The wheel should be turned as you pump grease into the zerk fitting
to pump out old grease to the front. This will push grease evenly through
the bearings.

Request Dexter Axle literature

[Nitetimes]

Just a FWIW from someone who was in the business for 15+ years, they really don't work all that well. More of a feel good thing than anything useful.
The thing they do best is test your grease seals to see if they are firmly seated in the hub.

[sdtripper2]

Dexter EZ Lube fitting question and answer from Dexter



Question: EZ Lube fitting with Spring loaded double lip seals?

Is it possible that there could be some grease slipping by the spring loaded
double lip seal to have a small amount of grease on the axle at the rear of
the hub

Will this pose any problem or do I just wipe it off and go on my way safe in
the knowledge that all is ok


Answer from Dexter:

Dear Steve

Thank you for visiting the Dexter Axle website and sending us your question.

It is possible to have forced some grease out the rear of the hub past the
seal in our E-Z Lube applications. This should not be of concern unless you
have brakes on the axle. Grease leaking out the seal will likely contaminate
the brake shoes and drums rendering the brakes non-functional. Once this
condition occurs, Dexter's recommendation would be to replace all the shoes,
and magnets if applicable, and thoroughly clean the drum surfaces. The brake
lining material if very absorbant and you can not sufficiently clean all the
grease from the material.

NOTE: The E-Z lube feature was intended to be used on boat trailer
applications. This allows the user to easily purge the water from the hubs
after every time the axle/hubs have been immersed under water.

Dexter still recommends that these hubs be removed every 12 months or 12,000
miles - which ever comes first - to visually inspect the bearings for any
signs of premature wear. It is imperative at this time to replace the seal
to help reduce the risk of the grease leaking past the seal as you are
experiencing.

The bearings do NOT require that the hub cavity be completely filled with
grease for proper lubrication. In fact, if your application is NOT a boat
trailer, simple hand packing the bearings would be sufficient and should
reduce or completely eliminate the leaking past the seal.

Christine Bachman
Application Engineer

[Lesbest]

Looking at the picture I can see there are no brakes, so that isn't an issue. The cavity was overful and the heat generated while towing caused the grease to expand slightly and "burping " past the seal. Now that the excess is relieved all you need to do is wipe it clean. No other greasing should be necessary till the next scheduled repacking. If it happens again- When you tow in warmer weather -you'll have to wipe it off again. It won't cause damage to the bearings or axle, just messy. Good luck. Les

[jmtk]

As always, you guys are great and come through with the answers! Steve, it's a Flexiride axle, not a Dexter, but I presume the Dexter info is applicable. The info about the E-Z lube feature being intended for boat trailer use is interesting. I'll go wipe it clean, keep an eye on it, and save the grease gun for if we decide to try to float the teardrop. Thanks, everybody!

Jeanette