Dexter Axle Bearings

[SeaDawg]

And, information for the newer smaller Elite I,  with the 5200 axle

 

[QuestionMark]

7 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

And, information for the newer smaller Elite I,  with the 5200 axle

 

I just had my hubs off and can confirm for our 2020 model Elite I the parts are as follows:

Outer bearing:  15123, Inner bearing: 25580, Seal 10-36

In addition, I contacted Dexter and they sent me the build sheet for my axle that confirms the numbers I got for the outer bearing and other parts.

I had asked Jason (Oliver Service) prior to taking off the hubs to clean the brakes what the spare parts are so I can have on-hand in the future is ever needed on our travels.  His list was 

Bearing Kit is #BK3-200 Includes: 14125A Bearing & Race 25580 Bearing & Race 10-36 Seal 

So I am assuming Jason was referencing a prior year model perhaps as the outer bearing he stated was different than the one install in our trailer.   Would recommend you check the outer bearing number installed in your trailer prior to purchasing a spare set or better yet get with Dexter and provide them your axle serial number so they can provide it to you.  If requested,  I can upload the data sheet Dexter sent me as an example of you would get.

 

On a side note, the bearing installed by Dexter were stamped "China" so they are not the Timken "made in USA" bearings everyone whats to have.   I purchased timken bearings to have on-hand if I decide to upgrade during my next repack of the bearings.   Also does not hurt to have several seals so you can repack bearing whenever the miles, time or when you feel like it hits.  

 

 

 

 

[Geronimo John]

8 hours ago, Wayfinder said:

I'm looking forward to trying the Redline CV-2 grease, when I can get my hands on it. The schedule is tight and didn't want to drive any farther without some sort of new grease. The bearing look great, so that's good. 

I enjoyed doing the repack. It's therapeutic in a way. And greatly satisfying. 

Wayfinder:  CV-2 is stocked by Amazon:

 

[Frank C]

I’m planning to purchase extra bearing sets and seals to have for when the time comes to replace them.  I’m skeptical of the “genuine Timken” bearings on Amazon based on previous discussions about counterfeit bearings.  The low price always seems suspect, below Timken’s pricing.   Set4 example shown.  $12.45 on Amazon.   $27.29 from the authorized distributor.  Fortunately I have an authorized Timken distributor not far away.   

[Wayfinder]

Thank you @Geronimo John. Unfortunately it was not guaranteed to get to me before I had to hit the road again.  But that's okay.  I'm not too happy with the old break assemblies/kits on #110.  One is manual and three are auto-adjusting, which, one does not seem to auto-adjust at all.  I had to use @John E Davies trick to get the automatic arm out of the way of the adjuster.  There are no teeth left on the adjuster, so the automatic arm has nothing to grab onto.  Understandable.

Next will be to decide which Break assembly kits I go with. But, that's for another day.

I think good old-fashioned manually adjusted assemblies is the way to go.  I'm almost temped to take it to Tennessee and have Oliver do a bunch of suspension and break upgrades.  But, they'll likely charge WAY more than me doing it myself.  They're too busy for that anyways, I'm sure.

You guys are great.  Sorry for repeated questions.  These forums are not nearly as good as Google search algorithms, so tougher to find the correct info for each unique situation.

Cheers,

Chris

[SeaDawg]

5 hours ago, QuestionMark said:

better yet get with Dexter and provide them your axle serial number so they can provide it to you.  If requested,  I can upload the data sheet Dexter sent me as an example of you would get.

Thanks, QuestionMark.  That is excellent advice. "Read the serial number, take a photo with your phone, and call Dexter. "

Things change over time. What works in the current Elite might be wrong in our older model. Or, a newer model.

[katanapilot]

I am also skeptical of the Made In China bearings, but has anyone had an actual failure of these bearings when properly maintained? 

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, katanapilot said:

but has anyone had an actual failure of these bearings when properly maintained? 

Yes.

I had repacked the bearings on the RV below just prior to this trip of 5,000 miles.  I was headed east on I-70 just outside of Hays, KS and two young guys drove by telling me to pull over - the passenger side bearings had totally come apart and the whole thing was just about to catch fire.  The up side of this was that I got to spend the weekend in Hays and when I got home I immediately purchased a TPMS.  Between the tow and the replacing of the bearings it "only" cost me $650 and that was after AAA gave me $75 towards the tow.

(Note where the spindle is relative to the hub)

[Frank C]

As an inexpensive experiment I purchased “Timken” Set4 & Set17 bearings, and the 473336 seal, all on Amazon.   They arrived today.  They certainly look like Timken bearings with nice packaging and even have the Timken microprinting hidden in the longitude and latitude lines on the globe logo. But the WBA bearing app scan of the bar codes on the bearing packaging says the bearings are likely counterfeit.  The seal checks out as ok.  The seal was stocked and shipped by Amazon.  The bearings were from a third party supplier.  I do have an authorized Timken dealer not far away, so I do plan to get actual Timken bearings to use, but it was a cheap experiment, lesson learned.  The two bearing sets were only about $25 total for both.  I’ve had a lot of experience with Chinese suppliers in my career, but I am still amazed at the effort they will put into counterfeiting a product.  

 

[topgun2]

I do not disagree that genuine Timken bearings are probably the best and when my original bearings have seen the end of their useful life I will replace them with Timkens.

However, shortly after I purchased my Ollie I wanted a "set" of all the parts that I would need in the event of bearing failure while I was out traveling.  In my experience, trouble always seems to happen when I'm out in the middle of nowhere!  And, even though the bearing parts for our Dexter axles are fairly "common" I wanted to make sure that I had the parts on hand in the event that whatever little town, gas station, repair shop, auto supply store, etc. were "sold out" or "never heard of those before".

Certainly the sets I bought are "Made in China" but to get me back on the road until I get home - I don't care.

 

[Frank C]

9 minutes ago, topgun2 said:I wanted a "set" of all the parts that I would need in the event of bearing failure while I was out traveling.  

Certainly the sets I bought are "Made in China" but to get me back on the road until I get home - I don't care. 

 

I’m taking the same approach.  I’m keeping the knock-off Timken sets and some grease in my spares/tool kit as an emergency set to use on the road if ever needed.   I’ll use genuine Tinkens from an authorized distributor when all the bearings eventually do need replaced. 

[SeaDawg]

12 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

...I wanted to make sure that I had the parts on hand in the event that whatever little town, gas station, repair shop, auto supply store, etc. were "sold out" or "never heard of those before".

It doesn't have to be a small town, especially these days. Everyone seems to have supply chain issues.

We don't carry much in the way of spare parts, but there's a bearing set under the seat. One of the few things that can really keep you "stuck" in one place. 

Fortunately,  we've never needed it.

[Mike and Carol]

37 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

I do not disagree that genuine Timken bearings are probably the best and when my original bearings have seen the end of their useful life I will replace them with Timkens.

However, shortly after I purchased my Ollie I wanted a "set" of all the parts that I would need in the event of bearing failure while I was out traveling.  In my experience, trouble always seems to happen when I'm out in the middle of nowhere!  And, even though the bearing parts for our Dexter axles are fairly "common" I wanted to make sure that I had the parts on hand in the event that whatever little town, gas station, repair shop, auto supply store, etc. were "sold out" or "never heard of those before".

Certainly the sets I bought are "Made in China" but to get me back on the road until I get home - I don't care.

 

These are the exact same ones I carry.  Mike

[topgun2]

39 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

Fortunately,  we've never needed it.

Yep - me neither.

There are very few things that will keep you stranded on the side of the road with an Oliver - but - this is one of them.

I sleep better at night knowing that I can get off that "side of the road".

Bill

[geokeg]

So, I just have to ask, what else gets carried to safely jack up the trailer, remove the wheel and brake drum to get to the bearings?  On anything but a flat, level concrete surface it can be a very risky task.  And that darn wheel/tire is heavy!  In hoping to avoid such a circumstance as an on the road repair, I carry an infared tool that I can monitor wheel hub and brake drum temperatures.  Failure avoidance is my scheme, even a simple hub/wheel temp test with the bare hand can be helpful preventing an overheated bearing or brake problem.  

[topgun2]

I too carry an infared temp sensor but it really is no substitute for a TPMS.

With regards to jacking up the trailer - against the legal advice of Oliver - I use the onboard jacks for the flat tire sort of thing.  However, your comment concerning virtually any jacking of either the trailer or the truck being a very risky task is certainly on the mark.  Just one of the reasons that I also have a roadside assistance plan - in the event that I do not feel entirely comfortable changing that tire, I'll simply make a call.

Bill

[SeaDawg]

4 hours ago, geokeg said:

, I just have to ask, what else gets carried to safely jack up the trailer, remove the wheel and brake drum to get to the bearings?  

My good Sam's road hazard towing card. They will tow both the TV and the trailer tp the closest facility.

Plus a jack and road hazard triangles, etc.

[carnivore]

I purchased 8 Timken seals today in preparation for tomorrow's repack of my Timken bearings. To my disappointment I discovered after opening the boxes, these Timken seals are red, not orange and are now made in Mexico. Any one had any quality issues with the Mexican Timken seals?

[Ghostriderc227]

FYI,  i just completed changing out the bearings and seals on my 2015 Oliver LE2.  These are the bearings used.

Timken Set 17. L68111 and L68149 for the inner race and bearing

Timken Set 4,  L44649 and L44610 for the outer race and bearing

Timken seal,  473336……or you can use a National seal.  They are the same

I elected to use the Timken wheel bearing grease.  Looks to be great quality and who knows better about the required grease for their bearings than the maker of the bearings.

I would strongly suggest you also purchase a bearing arbor/bearing driver.  Using a punch to install the race is not a good way to go.  The bearing driver kit makes the job so much easier and gives you the assurance the race is completely seated to the drum.  These kits are inexpensive…..only $35 to $40 and they will fit a number of different common bearing sizes.  

Drive the seal to be perfectly flush with the outer diameter of the drum……..do not drive this seal all the way to the bottom of the machined recess in the hub.  i use a large flat block of metal to drive on…….a flat piece of wood can also work.  Do not hammer directly on the seal itself as you can distort the seal.

Since I am not familiar with your comfort level in working on drum brakes it is difficult to suggest doing a little maintenance on your Nev R Adjust brakes.  This is not a very robust design or execution of self adjust brake mechanisms, and it is my personal opinion that they do require some maintenance in order to perform as intended.  Once you remove the brake drums and attempt to move the brake shoe assembly back and forth to see how free they move/adjust,  you may be very surprised to find that they bind and are not free to move.  There are points in that brake systems that require some cleaning and lubricating and doing that when you repack the wheel bearings would be a good idea.

To get to all the parts for cleaning and lubrication, you almost need to completely disassemble the brakes.  But if you feel uncomfortable with that, at the very least apply a good brake grease to the raised pads on the backing plate where the brake shoes ride.  There should be six raised areas that should have a small amount of brake grease applied.  You can lift away the brake show from the raised pad with a screwdriver, and then apply just a small dab of brake grease.  The other areas that need a dab of brake grease will require you to disassemble the brakes.  Not an extremely difficult task, but a couple of special tools are suggested to remove and install the springs that hold the shoes together and to the backing plate.

I used CRC 05361 Silarmic brake grease and am quite impressed with it.

Follow the suggestion listed earlier for torquing down the wheel bearings to “set” them before inserting the cotter pin.  Tightening that axle nut good and tight while rotating the hub is important to get the “bearing set” properly.  Then back off the nut as described in the earlier post.  Very critical to get just the correct amount of play in the new bearing and race.  Not certain if “play” is the correct term as you really do not want play in the bearings……but you do not want them set to tight either.

The replacement of the wheel bearings, races, and seals is not that complicated of a job…..but it can be time consuming to do it correctly and especially to insure all parts are absolutely clean before applying the grease……you sure do not want any contamination or bits of dirt in your new set of bearings.

Good luck on your project.

Steve R.

 

[Ghostriderc227]

Oh yes……..the original bearings are marked “Made of China”.  I was really quite surprised to see Oliver using them……….but then again the axles come from Dexter so that in itself does not surprise me.  I am not overly impressed with Dexter quality.

I did upgrade my suspension to the Dexter EZ Flex and found the Dexter support not very helpful.  The wet bolts that came with the kit had very poorly threaded bolts and two of the wet bolts needed to be replaced.  Dexter also clearly stated in in their kit that the grease zerks are all 1/4 x 28 thread for the zerk.  NOT TRUE.  The large bolt that holds the center hanger in place is 1/4 X 28 thread, but the other wet bolts had a M6 thread.  I found it necessary to drill out and re-tap those zerk threads so that all of them are 1/4 x 28.  I then installed angled grease zerks on all outboard fittings.  Hopefully that will make lubrication of the suspension much easier.

Steve r.

[csevel]

I'm getting ready to attempt my bearing repack, shock replacement and lube of the EZ-Flex suspension on ILOVHER as soon as the weather gets reasonable here in the Northeast!   I'm lucky to be able to have my brother help me so I'm hopeful things will be straightforward.   

I ordered the Timken bearings from Summit Racing as suggested here to the tune of $150..including the SET17 and SET4 bearings, 4 seals and Redline CV-2 grease but...   

An FYI:

I used the WBA app to verify that the bearings aren't counterfeit and they are coming up 'suspicious.'   I filled out the information and we'll see where this goes.  I'm sort of miffed by it but I will wait to see what Timken says..the World Headquarters are only 20 minutes away from Summit.  You'd think they'd be legit.

Any tips or tricks for this newbie would be greatly appreciated.  I like to learn and am hoping things will go well with my brother's help.

[Frank C]

21 minutes ago, csevel said:

I'm getting ready to attempt my bearing repack, shock replacement and lube of the EZ-Flex suspension on ILOVHER as soon as the weather gets reasonable here in the Northeast!   I'm lucky to be able to have my brother help me so I'm hopeful things will be straightforward.   

I ordered the Timken bearings from Summit Racing as suggested here to the tune of $150..including the SET17 and SET4 bearings, 4 seals and Redline CV-2 grease but...   

An FYI:

I used the WBA app to verify that the bearings aren't counterfeit and they are coming up 'suspicious.'   I filled out the information and we'll see where this goes.  I'm sort of miffed by it but I will wait to see what Timken says..the World Headquarters are only 20 minutes away from Summit.  You'd think they'd be legit.

Any tips or tricks for this newbie would be greatly appreciated.  I like to learn and am hoping things will go well with my brother's help.

I bought my Timken bearings through an authorized Timken distributor listed on the Timken website.   And when I received them I confirmed with the WBA bearing app and they come up as good.  As an experiment though I did buy a “Timken” bearing on Amazon (at a ridiculously low price of like $12) just to see what counterfeit bearings are like.  A lot of fakes out there.  The Amazon ones did show as counterfeit (no surprise for $12 😂) when scanned with the WBA app.  Here’s a pic.   Counterfeit on the left, legitimate on the right.  The fakes are a pretty good looking copy, with most of the packaging details copied, but the counterfeit ones seem to always be missing the QR code on the box.   
 

Here’s the authorized Timken distributor I bought the genuine bearings from. 
 

www.applied.com

 

[csevel]

36 minutes ago, FrankC said:

I bought my Timken bearings through an authorized Timken distributor listed on the Timken website.   And when I received them I confirmed with the WBA bearing app and they come up as good.  As an experiment though I did buy a “Timken” bearing on Amazon (at a ridiculously low price of like $12) just to see what counterfeit bearings are like.  A lot of fakes out there.  The Amazon ones did show as counterfeit (no surprise for $12 😂) when scanned with the WBA app.  Here’s a pic.   Counterfeit on the left, legitimate on the right.  The fakes are a pretty good looking copy, with most of the packaging details copied, but the counterfeit ones seem to always be missing the QR code on the box.   
 

Here’s the authorized Timken distributor I bought the genuine bearings from. 
 

www.applied.com

 

The bearings I received from Summit have the QR code as in the right photo and also have raised 'Timken' black print below it.  I scanned the bar code from the box on the WBA app.  Not sure what else I'm supposed to do besides wait for a reply from Timken as I don't know what 'suspicious' is supposed to mean.  The app is fairly basic and not really informative.    Summit Racing has been highly recommended by forum members here and is supposed to be an authorized distributor.  Just wanted to give others a heads up if these aren't authentic.  

[Frank C]

13 minutes ago, csevel said:

The bearings I received from Summit have the QR code as in the right photo and also have raised 'Timken' black print below it.  I scanned the bar code from the box on the WBA app.  Not sure what else I'm supposed to do besides wait for a reply from Timken as I don't know what 'suspicious' is supposed to mean.  The app is fairly basic and not really informative.    Summit Racing has been highly recommended by forum members here and is supposed to be an authorized distributor.  Just wanted to give others a heads up if these aren't authentic.  

Yeah, I would expect that Summit would be legitimate as a Timken source since Summit is a big reputable auto parts distributor.  Maybe just a fluke with the WBA database not being updated recently with the latest Timken data. 

[topgun2]

1 hour ago, csevel said:

Any tips or tricks for this newbie would be greatly appreciated. 

In your position - I'd watch a couple of videos on YouTube like THIS ONE from Dexter.

Good luck!

Bill

p.s.  Its a messy job but not hard.