Dexter Axle Bearings

[John Dorrer]

On 3/23/2023 at 11:12 AM, Ollie-Haus said:

How are folks doing with the Never-lube bearings on the new trailers? Curious if it's worth having a set of backups in hand with these kind of bearings on our Oliver. 

No issue on ours

[mountainoliver]

We only have a couple of thousand or so miles on ours and so far absolutely no issues. I typically stop every couple of hours to check bearing and brake temperatures and the temperature is more consistent than with the older bearings. I do carry two spare bearings and the tools to replace them myself anywhere. The bearings are easily accessible at most any auto parts store as they were used on the 2010 PT Cruiser front wheels. I believe that they were also used on many various foreign cars as well. Obtaining them is probably not the issue rather it would be finding someone competent and with the tools to replace them without damaging them. 

[theOrca]

For those who have never used "Grok," I have provided a sample below. The thing I find so wonderful about Grok is the ability to ask a common language question about a hard to understand subject and get an answer you can use. If something confuses you, you simply type a followup on the same form saying something like: "Please explain XYZ more, I am not getting it.  Grok then continues. 

The below screen shot is what Grok gave me when I asked it to give me the exact match of Timken bearing to the Dexter Neverlube bearing (serial number from my D52 build sheet.  Have fun.

Edited April 8 by theOrca

[theOrca]

4 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

No issue on ours

For the Neverlube - one axle end equals one bearing... See the Timken info above.

Edited April 8 by theOrca

[jd1923]

16 hours ago, theOrca said:

The below screen shot is what Grok...

Yeah, cool technology, but we already know the OEM bearing is the Timken Set49. Also, it's safer to only use manufacturer's spec vs. any website content.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tmk-set49

17 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

The bearings are easily accessible at most any auto parts store as they were used on the 2010 PT Cruiser front wheels.

Genuine Timken parts are NOT often "easily accessible"  and make sure you're buying from an authorized reseller. For example, say you broke down and were lucky enough to be close to a local Napa. They would sell you a China-made alternative that would take 1-2 days to arrive at the store location, while you're broke down somewhere. Then you have to get it installed. Not many PT Cruisers on the road anymore and in general AP stores only stock parts for new-model cars < 10 years old.

I found this entering the 2010 PT Cruiser on Napa Online:
https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/PGBPFW115

Ken and I worked through this when I tested the bearing install procedure (linked in my prior post on page 5). He has replacement bearings, related parts and tools already purchased and he travels with them. I got lucky getting damaged axle parts, so I carry two full bearing hub/drum assemblies in the TV toolbox (I also carry new Timken front hubs for the Dodge Ram). In my case, if a bearing goes bad, I can be back on the road in 1-2 hours! 😎 However buying full assemblies is exorbitant!

I truly suggest if this is a concern of your, read the post I made showing bearing removal and replacement. At a minimum, do yourself a favor a buy 2-4 Timken Set49 bearings. Then you'll have the parts you need so that any trailer shop can install them for you. To be very safe, you may want to have extra circlips, nuts and washers. And if you want to DIY, my post details the required toolset.

Edited April 9 by jd1923

[mountainoliver]

Yeah, actually the “original” bearings supplied with my axles and actually your Dexters as well (you sent me a photo of the one bearing that you pulled from one of the new axle assemblies) are NTN not Timken. Which are high quality bearings and in fact were easily attainable at my local auto parts store and listed for the 2010 PT Cruiser. I do agree don’t buy off brand bearings or questionable brands like the fake Timken bearings from amazon. The SET 49 (not 149) from Timken are available at auto parts stores as well you just have to ask for them. 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

Timken are available at auto parts stores as well you just have to ask for them. 

And how long for that special order? This is not "broke down on road" feasible. The point was to order ahead of time vs. looking for a parts store at the point of need.

Sorry on the typo on the part number. The Summit link above shows the correct part number "Set49"

Edited April 9 by jd1923

[theOrca]

15 hours ago, jd1923 said:

And how long for that special order? This is not "broke down on road" feasible. The point was to order ahead of time vs. looking for a parts store at the point of need.

Sorry on the typo on the part number. The Summit link above shows the correct part number "Set49"

NOT special order. I just walked in bought a Set 49 and walked out. The package passed the "fake" check...

[jd1923]

40 minutes ago, theOrca said:

NOT special order. I just walked in bought a Set 49 and walked out. The package passed the "fake" check...

What’s the name of the auto parts store and at what city location?

Edited April 9 by jd1923

[theOrca]

3 hours ago, jd1923 said:

What’s the name of the auto parts store and at what city location?

jd, I do not mind strongly held opinions most of us have some. I do somewhat object to passive aggressive behavior towards those who differ with YOUR opinions.

[jd1923]

7 minutes ago, theOrca said:

jd, I do not mind strongly held opinions most of us have some. I do somewhat object to passive aggressive behavior towards those who differ with YOUR opinions.

I’ve shared 100 new content posts to help others. You can’t help others here with the name of the store that actually stocks this part? 

And nobody has to agree.

Edited April 10 by jd1923

[theOrca]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

I’ve shared 100 new content posts to help others. You can’t help others here with the name of the store that actually stocks this part? 

And nobody has to agree.

This is my post  last on this subject.  It seems unreasonable to believe that the name and location an auto parts store on a medium sized island in Puget Sound is going to be helpful to anyone else this list. It does seem reasonable to believe that you are demanding "show me." I decline.

[2008RN]

I am on my first repack of my Timken bearings after 13,073 miles and 14 months.   I have noticed that the Front Axel bearing show they got a little warm. The rear axel bearings show no discoloration.  I used CV2 grease which is a Light or Faded Red color see picture below.  The front axel outer bearings are the worst with a darker areas on the bearings surface  there is no pitting or galling.  The grease in and around the bearing is a light gray color.  The grease has not thickened at all.  still the same consistency  as the original gear.  

I had repacked the Chinese Dexter bearing every 6,000 miles, and never saw the darkening, but had pitting and galling on those bearings.

I'm I over tightening the bearings.  My Procedure for setting  the bearings. 

1.  As I'm tightening the bearing I slowly turn the hub for the first 15-20 ft/lbs to make sure everything is seated. After that I no longer turn the hub.  I finish by torquing to 50 ft/pounds per Dexter.  

2. I then loosen the nut making sure the Hub does rotate at all. 

3. I then I hand snug the nut, and then back the nut off about 3/32 of an inch (probably about 1/32 of a full rotation.

4. I lock the nut in place with the retainer. 

I check the hub and tire temps during and 50% of my stops, and always after coming dow a mountain pass.   They are always  within about 5-10 degrees of each other.  The highest temps have been around 130 degrees and mostly running around 115-120 degrees.  

I use a bearing packer for the bearing and alway push through about 1/2 of extra grease so I know that there the bearing is full of grease.  I putt about 1/8 of an inch of grease around cones and 1/16 in on the axel.   I try not to over pack the hub with grease.  After pressing the seal in place.  I put about a 1/16 inch of grease on the inner surface of the inner bearing and pack a little extra grease between the seal and bearing.   I do the same type of procedure for the outer bearing. After making sure the hub and outer bearing is fully seated by hand I add little each grease before placing the washer in place.

There is also slight discoloration on the spindles where the bearings ride.  This is consistent among all spindles, and there is no pitting or galling. 

I check the hub and tire temps during and 50% of my stops, and always after coming dow a mountain pass.   They are always  within about 5-10 degrees of each other.  The highest temps have been around 130 degrees and mostly running around 115-120 degrees.  

Also I had my tires balanced about 18,000 miles ago and I always make sure the weight is still in place on the inner rim when the tires are removed.  I have the Cooper Discoverer HT3  LT Tires, and just replaced them with new tires due to age (6.5 years).

Lastly I do have the Alcan 5 leaf springs and am using the Dexter Shoulder wet bolts, to insure I can easily grease the bolts and the shackles and Ez-Flex moves without restrictions.

Should I be worried  about the discoloration.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to included any information related to the Dexter assembly.  

This is the worst bearing sets. The other front axel the discoloration faded 1/2 way up the rollers. 

 

This is the CV2 grease.

Thanks

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, 2008RN said:

Should I be worried about the discoloration.

Maybe the fronts being the leading tire take more abuse, first to hit bumps and bridge seams and potholes, etc. I've not noticed this before, though most of my experience is in auto applications that only have front-end wheel bearings.

Given your hub temps traveling were good, I would not worry too much. Do your best to reassemble correctly. I don't use torque wrenches, but what you wrote looks good. I tighten and spin (and repeat) and try to place the cotter pin at or near the tightest point while hand-tightening with a medium length ratchet. 

Clean the bearings thoroughly. I rinse with old gasoline and then wash with Dawn detergent, using compressed air to blow clean and dry. Repack again using your packing tool and fill both inner and outer seams of each bearing with grease removing any air bubbles.

I believe it's very important to fill grease between the new inner seal and inner bearing. Same for the outer bearing and the washer and I grease on and around the races. This way grease should not spin out of the bearings with use.

Your grease looks a little odd, but it could just be the picture. The many brands of high-temp CV2 wheel bearing grease I've used always looks a very dark red or maroon in color and in your picture, it looks more orange.

I did the same Timken replacement, but a year later upgraded to D52 axles and never did the follow-up repacking you are working. Wonder what the bearings look like on my old axles? (Still trying to sell them!)

Edited 19 minutes ago by jd1923