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Wheels, tires and bearings


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In preparing for the 2019 Owner's Rally I thought that it was time to actually get my new metal tire stems because of my new TPMS and at the same time have the tires rotated and balanced.  Two days ago, when I brought TWIST home from the storage facility I noticed that the chrome "plug" in the center of the front driver's side wheel was missing.  Upon closer inspection I found that the hub/spindle cap was simply rattling around in the chrome cover on the wheel.  Apparently that was the reason the plug was missing.

 

Yesterday I took Twist to a local tire shop and they installed the metal stems, balanced and rotated the tires.  They also tapped the hub/spindle cap back on.  Total price - $53.00 - not including the tip I gave the two guys that did the work.

 

When I got home I emailed Jason Essary and told him about the missing plug.  Not only did he get a replacement in the mail right away, but, he cautioned me to make sure I checked the wheels for "play" in that it was possible that the nut securing the bearings was not torqued properly in the first place.

 

While I've greased and re-packed bearings on boat and camper trailers ever since I was about 12 years old, it never crossed my mind that this just may have been the reason for the loose cap.  A big thank you goes to Jason for reminding me.

 

Bill

 

p.s.  upon checking the wheels for "play" - everything was OK.

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Near Asheville, NC

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Bill, not trying to alarm you, but I had a similar experience last spring. I was in the process of repacking my bearings and when I removed one of the wheels the hub/ spindle cap just fell out, I don’t know how long it had been rattling around in there, but when I inspected the bearings and races, they were already scored. I ended up replacing the bearings and races, luckily the spindle just required some light sanding. You might want to check for contamination.

 

steve

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STEVEnBETTY

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Steve -

 

Thanks for the warning!  When the wheels were off during the tire rotation I did a visual inspection and 1.  there was little grease "splashed around" inside the wheel hub and 2.  there appeared to be plenty of grease in and around the castle nut.  I'll be at the factory right at the end of June and ask them to take a closer look and I have no long trips planned in the meantime.  However, I must admit that even driving the 10 miles back to the storage facility today I kept an eye on the temperature readings.

 

See you two soon at the Rally.

 

Bill

2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Near Asheville, NC

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Hmm, this time, first in 11 years, we had a nicked bearing.

Have the backup kit, now. Just in case.

Sherry

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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I just inspected and re-packed my bearings too.  It was time.  I estimate about 15,000 miles on them and I had not looked at them previously.

 

I'll be traveling with new bearings, races, high quality seals, grease and a punch to knock out the races.

 

Don't forget the punch for the races, if you are going prepared to do the work on the road!   I was told by the Dexter rep that they used to sell brass punches for this, but no one I talked to could find them in the catalogue.  The concern is cracking the race, so the punch should be softer than the bearing race.  There has traditionally been a little relief area where the race seats that helped you to get a purchase on the race with the punch, to knock it out, but my hubs have no such relief.  This means you need a hard drift punch with a good square edge.   But not hard enough to crack the race.  Or a very large flat bladed screwdriver.  Hmmm.  I settled on a 1/2" diameter cold rolled steel rod about a foot long. With a nice squared off end.

 

The next problem is removing the stock seals.  Dexter says to glue these in with some hardening type gasket sealer.  And apparently they do, because the seals are really hard to remove.  It's a bad idea to pound them out by hammering on the bearing!  So, I found, after several attempts to do it in a more straight forward way, to grab the seal with a very large Channel-Lock style plier and then pound on the pliers to lever the seal out.  These seals cannot be re-used after this exercise.  This is hard to describe, but we'll probably have a chance to do it in person at the rally and I'll show you my technique then.

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John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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Replaced Ollie's hub seals a few times while repacking wheel bearings. Used a clawbar on a block of wood placed on the surface where the brake electromagnet contacts the hub. Pop the seal out with the claw placed under the seal lip without contacting bearing.

 

Repacked bearings last month and just returned from a trip in VA.  Ready for another season!  :)

 

Here's a Dexter video showing recommended bearing maintenance.

 

https://www.dexteraxle.com/resources/videos/bearing-maintenance

 

 

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2015 LE2 #75 / 2024 F-150/5.0L

 

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Replaced Ollie’s hub seals a few times while repacking wheel bearings. Used a clawbar on a block of wood placed on the surface where the brake electromagnet contacts the hub. Pop the seal out with the claw placed under the seal lip without contacting bearing.

 

Repacked bearings last month and just returned from a trip in VA. Ready for another season! ?

 

Here’s a Dexter video showing recommended bearing maintenance.

 

https://www.dexteraxle.com/resources/videos/bearing-maintenance

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could not do it in the way you described.  That's how I wanted to do it, but the seals were glued in and extremely hard to remove.  Next time will be easier since I didn't glue them back in.

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John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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Next time will be easier since I didn’t glue them back in.

 

John,

 

Didn't use sealant on the seals when I replaced them both times and they are easier to remove without sealant applied.

 

 

2015 LE2 #75 / 2024 F-150/5.0L

 

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Just wondering what grease you are using with your axles, I ask this question because we have not picked up our new Oliver until July 8th. I would like to have grease on hand for checking the axles to see that they are properly lubed from time to time. Do you add grease from time to time, or do you just do a repack, or replace bearing on a time/mileage schedule. Do you use a particular brand of grease and what is compatible with what comes from the factory. I guess what I'm asking is what would be the proper schedule for greasing and them repacking/replacing bearing. What works for most, I would like to hear from those who do there own repacking and replacing, thanks.

 

 

 

trainman

2019 RAM 1500, 5.7 Hemi, 4X4, Crew Cab, 5'7" bed, Towing Package, 3.92 Gears. Oliver was sold.

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Trainman -

 

You can't go wrong by viewing the Dexter video that Rideandfly posted above for the wheel bearings.  Assuming that you have the EZFlex suspension system then you will need to pay attention to that chore separately.  It calls for a lube every 3,000 miles using NLGI: Grade 2 (GC-LB) grease.

 

Bill

 

p.s.  When first lubing my suspension I added zerk caps to help keep those a bit cleaner.  This really helps when doing this job while on the road.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Grease-Fitting-Polyethylene-Clipsandfasteners-Inc/dp/B0040CWX7C/ref=sr_1_7?crid=CR70OEOH7C4B&keywords=grease+zerk+caps&qid=1557241325&s=gateway&sprefix=zerk+caps%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-7

2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

Near Asheville, NC

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Trainman,

 

Used Red Line CV-2 synthetic grease. Red Line recommends removing existing grease before using their grease. Like Bill said, the Dexter video is a good guide for bearing maintenance including removing old grease. Dexter also gives recommended maintenance intervals in the video. Repacked bearings and replaced seals during bearing maintenance on Ollie so far. Did not find any issues that would require bearing/race/brake shoe replacement to date.

 

https://www.redlineoil.com/cv-2-grease

 

Dexter bearing maintenance:

 

https://www.dexteraxle.com/resources/videos/bearing-maintenance

 

Hope this helps.

2015 LE2 #75 / 2024 F-150/5.0L

 

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