Buddy hub Question Please?

donwonnc

donwonnc

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Apr 18, 2013
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I took my buddy hubs off to clean and inspect. I don't understand what I found. No spring, snap ring and no plate to push the grease in. The grease fitting is attached to the inside end of the axle? I found the name E Z Lube on the dust, black rubber plug. There is no cotter pin, rather, there is a metal tab bent to keep the axle nut from turning, but it shur seems lame compared to a cotter pin. Do I have gravity fed buddy hubs, everything is as it should be but it is old school? If anyone can tell me what I have and what I should have, I would be grateful.
 
Bondo

Bondo

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

donwonnc said:
I took my buddy hubs off to clean and inspect. I don't understand what I found. No spring, snap ring and no plate to push the grease in. The grease fitting is attached to the inside end of the axle? I found the name E Z Lube on the dust, black rubber plug. There is no cotter pin, rather, there is a metal tab bent to keep the axle nut from turning, but it shur seems lame compared to a cotter pin. Do I have gravity fed buddy hubs, everything is as it should be but it is old school? If anyone can tell me what I have and what I should have, I would be grateful.
Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... You've got Easy-lube axles, Not bearing buddies...
The grease fittin' puts grease in 'tween the bearings,...
The draw-back is eventually, yer over-loadin' the grease seal with purged bearin' grease...
Just like bearin' buddies...

The bent washer does the same job as a cotter key, just differently...
 
S

Silverbullet555

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

All diagrams of the ez lube axle that i have seen, have the grease entering the hub in between the inner bearing and grease seal forcing all grease out the the outer bearing. I in no way am saying this means one doesn't need to pull bearings on a regular basis for inspection.

I do run ez lube axles and I like them.
 
SWD

SWD

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

I think there is a huge potential to over grease with bearing buddy type hubs to the point where you bust the rear seal. Pack em good and they should be good until the next season.
 
Frank Acampora

Frank Acampora

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

My easy-lube axles have a grease pressure release on the rear of the spindle. it is not possible to over-grease and blow out the rear seal.

All my bearing buddies are equipped with a pressure relief hole in the side of the hub. Again, it is not possible to over-grease and blow out the rear seal.

I have had a set on one trailer for 20 years and have never repacked the bearings--course, they were good quality American bearings back when we were the leader in machine tools

My posi-lubes--easy lubes (I forget which brand they are) are going on 8 years without repacking. I like to live dangerously!
 
MH Hawker

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

The EZ lub system is one of the better ones around for a grease hub. Count your self very lucky. Once a year you pump in a 1/2 tube of grease to flush and inspect the hub. If the old grease isnt water contaminated put the rubber cap back on and your done, its that simple. If it is then you have to pull he hub and put in a new seal and or bearings. I have owned the trailer for 4 years and have yet seen a need to pull a hub.
 
donwonnc

donwonnc

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

Thanks everyone!! From all that I have learned, I think I will take this wally world set of buddy hubs back as I read that you wouldn't want to use bubby hubs and the Dexter E Z lube system. I would like to see a diagram as to how the grease is pumped in through the center and out to the bearings. This is my first experience with this E Z Lube system.
 
GA_Boater

GA_Boater

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

Here's a Dexter vid:

 
tboltmike

tboltmike

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

I am curious about how evenly the fresh grease pushes out the old grease? The video shows a pretty distinct color change. However, grit and water comes in thru the axle seal. Thus some will stick to the inner part of the seal and will likely to be by passed by the fresh lube only to be later mixed. Or the grit will be swept by the fresh lube and may be trapped in the bearings.
Also, there is no active positive pressure to overcome temperature induced partial pressure to draw in condensation or to overcome hydrostatic pressure when dunking the trailer.
This is all speculation on my part as I have not seen this system. However, the reports on this thread seem to indicate satisfaction.
I am in the process of looking for a replacement axle and like the simplicity of the EZ lube system. I'm looking for someone to give me a warm fuzzy on this purchase.
 
H

H20Rat

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

Frank Acampora said:
I have had a set on one trailer for 20 years and have never repacked the bearings--course, they were good quality American bearings back when we were the leader in machine tools
Click to expand...

Exact same here! Well, not exact, but close... I own several ezlube (or the variants on dexter axles), and I have never once touched any of the bearings in any of those. Yearly maintenance is pump some grease in and see how it looks coming out, if its bad I keep pumping until it looks better.

(That is the factory recommended method also, it is NOT damaging a seal in any way. If it is, I don't care, because it seems to be working!)
 
M

mrmamiller

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

I've got the zerk on the end of the axle, like an EZ Lube. Any way to tell who's brand axle it is? The trailer is a Performance Trailer, Pinellas Park, FL (out of business). I'm wondering how mine greases the inner bearing, without yanking the wheel and pulling out grease for inspection.
 
U

UncleWillie

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

If there is Grit and Water coming in past the seal, the seal isn't doing its job of sealing. Time to replace.
The new grease quite evenly pushes out the old grease.
Jacking up the wheels as recommended and slowly spinning it during the process helps.

This method of lubing leaves NO air spaces in the hub.
Each hub will use the better part of half of a 14oz grease cartridge.
Temperature changes will not draw in water because there are no air voids that change pressure and no place for the water to go.

If you clean off the grease by the the zerk at the end of the axle,
The very small air space created, is behind the rubber sealing plug in the dust cap. It just flexes slightly to compensate.
 
D

DABS

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

mrmamiller said:
I've got the zerk on the end of the axle, like an EZ Lube. Any way to tell who's brand axle it is? The trailer is a Performance Trailer, Pinellas Park, FL (out of business). I'm wondering how mine greases the inner bearing, without yanking the wheel and pulling out grease for inspection.
Click to expand...

Try looking on the back side of the hub. You should see a manuacturer's stamp i.e. UFP, R for Relible, TDE for Tie Down Engineering..etc. On the Bearing Lube system, the rubber plug is removed to expose the zerk in the end of the spindle. The spindle is drilled all the way through to the L-ring (shiny surface the seal rides on), and the L-ring has a hole in it matched with the hole in the spindle, to allow the grease into the rear cavity of the hub.
 
S

Silverbullet555

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

If you don't see marking on the backing plate for the brakes there should be some kind of marking on the axle with the details. It's how I determined mine were Dexter axles.
 
D

DABS

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

Silverbullet555 said:
If you don't see marking on the backing plate for the brakes there should be some kind of marking on the axle with the details. It's how I determined mine were Dexter axles.
Click to expand...
Manufacturer marks are on the Hub, Rotor or Drum, not backing plate.
 
donwonnc

donwonnc

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

GA-Boater, Thanks for the video!! mrmamiller, I identified my hubs by the black rubber plug in the outer end of the cap , it has Dexter E Z Lube on it.
 
R

RobWise64

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Re: Buddy hub Question Please?

You can use Bearing Buddies if you want. EZ Lube is not exclusive of Bearing Buddies. EZ-Lube to repack your hubs and Bearing Buddies to fill the entire system with grease and keep a little positive pressure in the hub to keep water out. Some Bearing Buddies with moving interior discs will hit that grease fitting, though. Get "Red Eye" bearing buddies (I think Kodiak makes them)as they have no sliding spring-forced disc inside. The pressure regulation is done right at the top of the cap. You will see a lot of differing opinions on bearing buddies here, but most of my marine customers swear by them. They are useless for non-dipped trailers.
 
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