Made in USA leaf springs

[jd1923]

38 minutes ago, mountainoliver said:

Okay, risking banishment from the planet and the inevitable public humiliation, my one and only update on my recent axle and spring upgrade...

I also found out (not totally confirmed yet) that the Timken bearing used is a standard Set 49 bearing sold at every auto parts store for a fraction of what Dexter charges.

I plan to call Alcan this week to check status on our special order Dexter axles (the 50.00" length that only a few older hulls have).

I'll be installing them myself and based on one failure I read about here, I plan to open all 4 wheel assemblies to make sure they were assembled correctly!

I will look for markings/part #s on the Nev-R Lube bearings to see if they are marked Timken and hopefully find a part number. I will determine what kind of job it would be to change a bearing. They key to the correct bearing press/puller is to have the correct diameter spacers to match the bearing diameter. We should all have a couple of new bearings on hand!

I also will compare increase in brake shoe surface area, going from 10" to 12" brakes.

It will be well into August by the time I get this work started, let alone finished. I will write up a NEW and complete installation post with these particulars when I get finished. Now that this thread is about to be 28 pages!

EDIT - Wow, my post just made this thread 28 pages!

Thanks Ken, for being partner to our humiliation! (Lance too) 🤣

Edited Sunday at 06:34 PM by jd1923

[CRM]

2 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

I have done a little research on the Nev R Lube Dexter axles with very limited cell service so more research to come. The bearings used for the 5200 pound axles are also used for the 6000 pound axles. So there is a little bit of extra capacity there. I also found out (not totally confirmed yet) that the bearings are also used for front and/or rear axles in several smaller cars. I also found out (not totally confirmed yet) that the Timken bearing used is a standard Set 49 bearing sold at every auto parts store for a fraction of what Dexter charges. The bearings are fairly easy to replace using a standard automotive wheel bearing press kit. So can be done on the road if needed. The bearing press is available at Harbor Freight and Amazon and I’m sure dozens of other places as well. Of course all the above information is to be confirmed once we get home in August sometime. Others are more than welcome to join in the research.

Yes, I posted a while back that a friend replaced his Dexter Nev R Lube bearings in his work trailer with Timken's that he bought from Summit. If I remember right they were used in several older Chrysler vehicles and he paid a little more than this, so I'd be wary at that price, especially from Amazon where counterfeit bearings are common .

Personally, I would still carry a spare hub with a new bearing installed, because unless you plan on carrying a large enough bearing press with you you're not going to be able to change them yourself on the road. 3 sets of new bearings and one new hub would be the way I'd travel with these axles. 

[srthomsen]

On 4/15/2024 at 2:17 PM, Golfnut said:

fYI,  justed looked at my axle , i have 6 leaf spring on my  5033 lb. Axle. LEI. July 2022..  just thought i would it out there for LEI owners..   ( very few of us,😁)..  All my welds look good also.

A 2023 LE1 owns us also. Number 1403 and it too has a 5033# rated D52 axle with 12" brakes and Never Lube bearings.

The main leaves number 5 and there is what I consider a spacer at the bottom that is only the width of the lower spring mounting plate and does not extend in length beyond the width of that lower spring mounting plate. 

Yes, you are correct; there are not many of us out there.

Edited Sunday at 09:46 PM by srthomsen
spelling

[jd1923]

50 minutes ago, srthomsen said:

A 2023 LE1 owns us also. Number 1403 and it too has a 5033# rated D52 axle with 12" brakes and Never Lube bearings.

Why is it 5033#? I thought the standard D52 meant 5200 LBS. I'll have to see what my new axles state on the label when they arrive. 

[mountainoliver]

The bearing installation tools that I have seen have a bunch of different diameter/different length tubes and a couple of thick discs one being threaded and a forcing screw. I believe the kit is all that’s needed to draw out the old bearing and to then press in the new one. Or so the YouTube videos that I’ve seen seem to show. Anyway, yes I’d carry a complete hub/drum assembly and two or three extra bearings. Also don’t forget to have several of the single use lock nuts on hand. The tru arc snap rings are reusable and pretty standard items. 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, CRM said:

I would still carry a spare hub with a new bearing installed, because unless you plan on carrying a large enough bearing press with you you're not going to be able to change them yourself on the road.

Good point, depending on the tool as Ken mentioned. I'll know soon enough when I receive shipment of our axles. I looked at a few pics online, like this one from eTrailer. It appears the Nev-R Lube hub and drum are integrated one part. Swapping this part would mean bring the shoe adjusters in for the new drum and you will have to go through break-in adjustments. Also not fun!

I would prefer to carry a proper hand tool with correct spacers and two spare bearings kits vs. carrying two hole hub-drum assemblies. These would be pretty heavy and take a bit of space in the truck toolbox! It appears this is a $650 part, so with tax over $1,400 to carry two with you! The Timken bearing kits on eTrailer are $228 plus tax and include a new nut, washer and snap-rings, $500 OTD for two kits.

Not certain these are the right components, but as close as I could find today. Again, I would verify when I have a drum off  one of our new axles! Agreed with @CRM, don't trust a $38 Amazon Chinese knock-off! (And I could not find one on Summit.)

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Bearings-Races-Seals-Caps/Dexter/31-73-3.html

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hubs-and-Drums/Dexter/8-388-80UC3.html

[mountainoliver]

Several years ago I was going to replace the bearings and brakes on my 3500 pound axles. I contacted a local Dexter dealer and the hub/drum assemblies were over $100 each and the loaded brake assemblies were close to that as well. Of course e trailer was even higher. I called the Dexter distributor that Oliver was using at the time, Textrail. The hub/drum with Chinese bearings were something like $46 each and the loaded brake assemblies were like $45 each with the manual adjust brake assembly even less. Anyway, e trailer is not necessarily the price leader so check around. And absolutely yes! I’d never buy Timken bearings from Amazon. I bought mine from a local industrial supply company that I dealt with for years. Bearings ordered directly from Timken. I think even the ones from Summit may have been knockoffs as well. I could be wrong on that but it seems like someone did a deep dive into this at one point. Anyway, buyer beware!

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, mountainoliver said:

Anyway, e trailer is not necessarily the price leader so check around. And absolutely yes! I’d never buy Timken bearings from Amazon.

Yes, there’s got to be better pricing for real Timken bearings and the hub-drum assembly! (I’ll get 2 extra bearing kits and the proper tool, no hubs for me.)

For those of you who have service companies do your maintenance and repairs, just buy a couple bearing kits to have with you. I do not believe this style bearing will immediately freeze up. There will be warning signs, heat and noises, allowing you time to tow more slowly to a trailer repair shop. But if you don’t have the parts, you’ll be there waiting 2-3 days!

Think about the etrailer price of $655. We just purchased whole axles for   $1,001 each that include two hub-drum assemblies, two brake assemblies and all working (spare) parts! Who would buy a hub at this price? Maybe I should have ordered three axles!🤣

Alcan was going to price the bearing kit for me, now that I remember. I’ll have a couple items to talk to them about this week. Will keep you posted!

[mountainoliver]

I’m interested in what Alcan has to say. 

[CRM]

12 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

The bearing installation tools that I have seen have a bunch of different diameter/different length tubes and a couple of thick discs one being threaded and a forcing screw. I believe the kit is all that’s needed to draw out the old bearing and to then press in the new one. Or so the YouTube videos that I’ve seen seem to show. Anyway, yes I’d carry a complete hub/drum assembly and two or three extra bearings. Also don’t forget to have several of the single use lock nuts on hand. The tru arc snap rings are reusable and pretty standard items. 

Do you have a link to the tool kit that can remove and replace these bearings? If it's compact enough it just might entice me to move over to the Nev-R-Lube axles. 

[mountainoliver]

I’m in the midst of a 3 1/2 month western trip with many places that have zero to minimal cell service so have not done nor taken the time to do a lot of research. My axles/springs were installed in Grand Junction Colorado during our trip (I know, white knuckle experience) so I’m still getting used to them. In the beginning I stopped every half hour to check bearing temperature. These are different from the old ones. I also have completely turned the brake control off to make sure that non of the brakes were dragging/overheating. Anyway, developing a new baseline of operation. Now I’ve gone back to my old routine of stopping every couple of hours to check bearing/brake temperature. Right now the only link I have is a screenshot of an Amazon page that I saw. I also have screenshots from a couple of old Airstream forum posts. We should all do more research. I’ll continue in depth when I return home in August. Here’s what I have so far. These are all unedited photos/screenshots. Keep in mind that pre assembled bearing cartridges are not new. The automotive industry has been using them for years. They have been used in industrial applications for years as well. I may be wrong but I personally feel comfortable with the Nev R Lube axle especially knowing that our axles are the smaller of two that use the same size bearing. The 42mm bearing is used in the 5200 pound Dexter axle and the 6000 pound Dexter axle. Plus we’re not going to overload our trailer (now are we?) so our trailer maximum weight rating of 7000 pounds is still the limiting factor. Longevity and maintenance issues remain to be seen and it remains to be seen whether I made a mistake or not. 

[srthomsen]

17 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Why is it 5033#? I thought the standard D52 meant 5200 LBS. I'll have to see what my new axles state on the label when they arrive. 

I have no idea.  The tag on the axle on my trailer is located on the top of the axle tube and I wasn't able to get a decent photo of it. The photo that I did get shows a capacity of 5033 lbs.

[srthomsen]

Why is it 5033#? I thought the standard D52 meant 5200 LBS.

Here is a blurry pic of what I was able to capture on my phone yesterday.

I do know that the axle itself may be rated at or to one spec but that the actual numbers can be less if, for instance, the D52 5200lbs axle is outfitted with leaf springs that are rated to a lower #

Edited yesterday at 03:51 PM by srthomsen
punctuation. added content

[jd1923]

Thanks @srthomsen. I'll get a photo of the label off my new axles when they arrive for comparison.

And thanks again Ken @mountainoliver. I really like the forum post that mentioned it is the front wheel bearing for the 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser! Went straight to RockAuto.com and found this very reasonable Timken Bearing. Rock Auto for the PT Cruiser shows a different kind of non-locking spindle nut. They do list the larger snap-ring which along with the washer can be reused.

I will verify when my axles come that this is the right part. The spec shows 1.654" ID which does convert to 42mm. Nice!

Re the bearing press. This bearing has a 76mm OD. We'll need a kit that has a 75mm puck to pull and press this bearing. The Maddox kit that Ken showed from Harbor Freight has one at 2.96" which converts to 75mm. This kit will likely work well and Harbor Freight just sent me a "We miss you" email with 15% off!

Two bearings and this bearing kit at $200 OTD plus the cost of a couple correct spindle nuts, now we're talking!  😂

Edited yesterday at 04:31 PM by jd1923

[jd1923]

FYI, I edited the above post adding info on the bearing tool, after @CRM and @Mike and Carol had read this.

[CRM]

3 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Thanks @srthomsen. I'll get a photo of the label off my new axles when they arrive for comparison.

And thanks again Ken @mountainoliver. I really like the forum post that mentioned it is the front wheel bearing for the 2010 Chrysler PT Cruiser! Went straight to RockAuto.com and found this very reasonable Timken Bearing. Rock Auto for the PT Cruiser shows a different kind of non-locking spindle nut. They do list the larger snap-ring which along with the washer can be reused.

I will verify when my axles come that this is the right part. The spec shows 1.654" ID which does convert to 42mm. Nice!

Re the bearing press. This bearing has a 76mm OD. We'll need a kit that has a 75mm puck to pull and press this bearing. The Maddox kit that Ken showed from Harbor Freight has one at 2.96" which converts to 75mm. This kit will likely work well and Harbor Freight just sent me a "We miss you" email with 15% off!

Two bearings and this bearing kit at $200 OTD plus the cost of a couple correct spindle nuts, now we're talking!  😂

 

My only concern now with going Nev-R-Lube is whether or not the bearing tool can remove/install the bearings with hand tools. Maybe a couple of breaker bars? 

[jd1923]

4 minutes ago, CRM said:

My only concern now with going Nev-R-Lube is whether or not the bearing tool can remove/install the bearings with hand tools. Maybe a couple of breaker bars? 

I would think given the hub-drum off the axle is substantial in weight, it would be easy to hold not allowing it to rotate. I would sit the drum on a piece of rubber on my truck tailgate. The press requires a specific socket with 1/2" drive ratchet or breaker bar. I would use some grease to allow the press parts to turn more freely. It should not be too hard. The press is designed for hand-use and advertised "while keeping the steering knuckle and strut assembly intact on the vehicle." Should be easier with drum on a flat surface.

Chris is going to Harbor Freight for me today since she will be in the same shopping center for something else and my 15% coupon expires tomorrow. I hope it's the right kit. The numbers look right, but if wrong I can return it later.

When my axles get here, I will remove one drum and mount the tool to see how it works and which of the many pucks and spacers are needed for this job. I'll post pics.

I'll just need to figure out where to order the correct spindle nuts, given the Timken parts on Rock Auto are correct.

[CRM]

28 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

 The press is designed for hand-use and advertised "while keeping the steering knuckle and strut assembly intact on the vehicle." Should be easier with drum on a flat surface.

You have more faith than I that it will be easier with the drum on a flat surface. When using it on a vehicle the knuckle will keep the housing from spinning when torque is applied to the press. If it doesn't come off as easy as expected maybe making a tool with a handle to attach to the wheel studs could help? Looking forward to hearing how it goes! 

[jd1923]

56 minutes ago, CRM said:

... maybe making a tool with a handle to attach to the wheel studs could help? Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

A long HD screw driver or crow bar between the hub and two lugs should hold it. Your spouse or travel partner holding the bar may help for the 3rd hand!

Yes, we'll see! At least we are preparing ahead of time vs. broke-down-on-roadside! 🤣

[CRM]

12 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

A long HD screw driver or crow bar between the hub and two lugs should hold it. Your spouse or travel partner holding the bar may help for the 3rd hand!

Yes, we'll see! At least we are preparing ahead of time vs. broke-down-on-roadside! 🤣

Better yet, maybe I could use the axle upgrade to get the wife to approve one of these? 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20V-Brushless-Cordless-3-4-in-High-Torque-Impact-Wrench-Kit-with-Hog-Ring-Anvil-Tool-Only-DCF964B/332525396

[jd1923]

10 minutes ago, CRM said:

Better yet, maybe I could use the axle upgrade to get the wife to approve one of these? 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20V-Brushless-Cordless-3-4-in-High-Torque-Impact-Wrench-Kit-with-Hog-Ring-Anvil-Tool-Only-DCF964B/332525396

Yeah, that would do it, no crow bar required! I have the baby 3/8" version and at home use air and a 1/2" drive Ingersoll Rand impact. They have an 1/2" model which should be enough, but if you buy this beast, get something like this to fit your 1/2" sockets. 🤣

https://www.homedepot.com/p/K-Tool-International-3-4-in-Female-1-2-in-Male-Impact-Socket-Adapter-KTI34016/207024761

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, CRM said:

Better yet, maybe I could use the axle upgrade to get the wife to approve one of these? 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20V-Brushless-Cordless-3-4-in-High-Torque-Impact-Wrench-Kit-with-Hog-Ring-Anvil-Tool-Only-DCF964B/332525396

CRM, now I believe you are correct in your thinking. Please let the misses know I approve. Get the friggin' 3/4 impact! 🤣 (Do note the press instructions show using an impact)!

Chris picked up the Maddox kit today (had to get it while my 15% coupon was running) and needed a shopping cart to carry it away! The HUGE box measures 17x15x4" and weighs near 20 LBS. No way I'm carrying this kit with me, but our dear friend @ScubaRx would likely store it right next to his battery-powered grease gun and another 800 LBS of tools onboard (love you Steve)!

The first pic shows part of the installation instructions. In my professional opinion they show the 'bushing' in the wrong direction, TBD. Second pic shows the tools I would bring, given I have guessed the right bushing/sleeve sizes. The instructions also have an application guide which lists the 2001-2010 PT Cruiser!

Holding the drum will not be an issue, but holding both sides of the press may be! the bolt is 7/8" DIA with heads of 1 1/4" on both sides. It would be great if you could torque down the wide nut and the bolt would stay, but you should have both sides held and the drum would not turn anyway. Sitting flat on the truck tailgate may not work, TBD.

How many of you have the automotive tools I have in the toolbox (1 1/4" socket and 3/4" breaker bar and 1 1/4" wrench)? Not many, but this will be my toolkit, after testing of course that I have the complete and correct set of tools. Don't forget the grease and the Go-Jo hand soap that's always packed in our rig! 🤣

[ScubaRx]

On 7/7/2025 at 4:06 PM, Gliddenwoods said:

Where are they made?

Dexter’s springs are made in China, probably from crushed up old rusty Changan’s. 

Edited 12 hours ago by ScubaRx

[Tom and Doreen]

15 hours ago, CRM said:

Better yet, maybe I could use the axle upgrade to get the wife to approve one of these? 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20V-Brushless-Cordless-3-4-in-High-Torque-Impact-Wrench-Kit-with-Hog-Ring-Anvil-Tool-Only-DCF964B/332525396

You need one of those!  I had to change a tire in Yellowstone and I was glad to have mine! Mine is the 1/2 inch. 

Edited 4 hours ago by Tom and Doreen

[CRM]

9 hours ago, jd1923 said:

CRM, now I believe you are correct in your thinking. Please let the misses know I approve. Get the friggin' 3/4 impact! 🤣 (Do note the press instructions show using an impact)!

 

 

Now that I see the instructions I think you could *probably* get away with two breaker bars and sockets, and maybe some short sections of pipe for additional leverage?  Still like the idea of bringing an impact wrench along though since it would make wheel removal quick and easy too.