# Greasing The Outback Axles



## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

I purchased a grease gun and some axle grease a few weeks ago. This weekend I loaded the grease gun (there's a first time for everything), removed the black rubber seals on the hubs, and found a lot of light blue grease surrounding all but one zerk.

I cleaned out the blue grease (so I could see what I was doing), tested my grease gun to be sure grease was being discharged, then connected the the first zerk. I gave her 10 pumps. I saw no grease come out. I did 10 more pumps and still nothing. Owners manual says to stop greasing when you see grease coming out around the zerk. Well, grease or not, 20 pumps is my limit.

I did the other 3 zerks, and on the last one, no matter what I did, I could not get the grease into the axle (grease just came out around the gun's outlet. I made sure the bearing on the ends of the zerk would depress, and it did, but I could not get it to take any grease.

I guess I'll call my dealer and see what I can do differently, and why I never saw grease discharge after 20 pumps. Like Ken posted earlier, some owners pump so much grease into their axles that they ruin their brakes. That is why I stopped at 20 pumps, grease viewable or not.

Randy


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

If only 2 worked normally as you would expect then I would think that there is an internal blockage and it is time to pull the hubs to inspect the whole thing. I know you already knew that but until it is stripped down and checked there is no way to tell where (if anywhere) the grease is going.

Are the 2 that don't seem to work on the same axle?


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Andy,

Only one zerk will not take grease. The others took 20 pumps.

Randy


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Pull'em check'em and repack'em,then you'll be sure they're good to go









In all seriousness, I think I put around 20 pumps in each of mine after I repacked them to get grease to come out around the zerk fitting. The area around the axle holds a lot of grease.

Can you remove the one zerk that's not working? Maybe you can get in there and see if there is a blockage. Old grease can get hard and clog up the tube that goes thru the axle.

Mike


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Mike is right, can you remove fitting. A correct but not done by most is to wipe the dirt from fitting before greasing. If you do not, you can push a speck of dirt in the fitting and block it.


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Sure, I think the zerks just screw out. When I depressed the zerk ballbearing, some black (new) grease came out. So what we have here may be a blockage. Will let you know.

Randy


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Okay - when I read it the first time I got the impression one took at least 20 pumps with no grease showing, 1 would not take any and the other 2 were okay (and less then 20 pumps)

One other thing to think about on them is that they may have been hand packed the first time and all of the void area inside the hub was not full of grease. You may find when you pull one off that everything is okay and it just takes more then 20 strokes to fill it up.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

That's a good point Andy, when I pulled mine the first time, the void was maybe half full.

Mike


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Ok, I'm just being lazy by not walking out to the Outback to get the manuals. What is the recommended grease for the axles. That is on my list of to due things for tomorrow, and since I need to get more grease any way, I might as well get the recommended stuff.

Tim


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Tim,

Regular wheel bearing grease will work, synthetic if you want a little more temp resistance.

Mike


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Well, I just finished greasing my bearings. It took anywhere from 15 - 22 pumps to see grease. I inspected everything and it looks good. Good topic, because if I did not read this I would have stopped after a dozen pumps or so.

Thanks
Thor


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Thanks, Thor. Where did you "see" grease? Did grease appear at the grease gun head (the zerk would take no more) or at the edges (right behind where the rubber seal connects)?

Randy


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Randy

I notice blue grease when I removed the rubber caps and it was looking really good. No black or any dirt.

I pumped until I saw grease pushing the blue grease (I used a high temp. bearing grease which happens to be pinkish) . Exactly from where I do not know. (I think it was from the edges because when I pulled the the gun off of the fitting it was not surrounded by a ton of grease.) Once I saw the grease, I stopped. I think I could have pumped more into it but decided to stop when I saw grease.

Thor


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## Kenstand (Mar 25, 2004)

So if I add 20 pumps of axle grease this year, which is the first year anniversary for my unit, then how much do I add next year? Some of you with 2002 and 2003 models should be at this point now.

Thanks!


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

I'm sure some of you fellas remember the days when all cars had rear wheel drive and front wheel bearings were double row (inner and outer, that is) tapered roller bearings. Good maintenance procedure was to annually remove the front hub/brake drum, pull the grease seal, remove both bearings, wash them in solvent with a brush, visually inspect them, clean out the old grease from the hub, pack the bearings with grease and reinstall them with a new grease seal. This allowed inspecting the brakes while apart and the bearings got adjusted too. Replacement of those tapered roller bearings was never necessary if those bearings were maintained. You can't say the same about automotive front wheel bearings of today. Since there is no provision for cleaning/re-packing these bearings, they fail all the time.

I plan on performing this function as described. Out in my driveway, this will take less than two hours and will be part of my de-winterization.The zerk fitting/bearing buddy thing is easy, but does not get rid of the old grease and does not distribute the new grease evenly. It can't. Also, since grease basically does not evaporate, how can you keep adding grease without it being forced through the grease seal and getting on your brake shoes/drums? Bearing buddies were first used on boat trailers without brakes and worked well in that application to keep water from getting into the bearings.

Bill


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The easy lube bearings on the Outback route the grease from the back bearing through the front bearing and out the front. The rubber flap you see on the end of the hub keeps dust out and allows grease to be pushed out. See picture below for grease routing.










Text from the Dexter web site.

Axles equipped with Dexter's E-Z Lube feature can be periodically lubricated without removing the hubs from the axle. This feature consists of axle spindles that have been specially drilled and assembled with grease fittings in their ends. When grease is pumped into the fitting, it is channeled to the inner bearing and then flows back to the outer bearing and eventually back out the grease cap hole.

The E-Z Lube feature is designed to allow immersion in water. Axles not equipped with E-Z Lube are not designed for immersion and bearings should be repacked after each immersion. If hubs are removed from an axle with an E-Z Lube feature, it is imperative that the seals be replaced before bearing lubrication. Otherwise, the chance of grease getting on brake linings is greatly increased.


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## RVCarolina (Jul 31, 2004)

Bill, The EZ Lube hub design is NOT the same thing as "Bearing Buddies", which is an "add-on" part meant for light weight (primarily boat) trailers without electric brakes, and has a spring-loaded grease resevoir to keep the grease in the hub under very slight pressure to help keep water out of the bearings.
The EZ Lube hub design simply has a zirk (grease) fitting, and drilled passages to channel the pumped grease (distributed evenly by turning the hub as you pump) thru the inner and outer bearings and then back out thru a hole near the zirk fitting. this design does not remain under any pressure after greasing.
Of course, nothing can give quite the "peace-of-mind" feeling that a good take-it-apart, cleaning and visual inspection can. 
If I didn't describe the different designs correctly, someone else please chime in.
Fred.


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

You are correct Fred. The bearing buddy does one thing only. It keeps a positive grease pressure in the hub to prevent water infiltration. Such as boat trailer axles in the water when unloading and loading.


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## campmantobe (Jul 29, 2004)

Just greased my axles last Thursday before heading out friday after work







.Jacked the axle spun the wheel and started pumping and pumping,did 10 then 20 then 30 pumps then more till the grease started coming back towards me.Just kept pumping till the new grease was heavily present.About 60 pumps per wheel.I figured for sure I'd run out of grease.Kept turning the tire till grease quit pushing its way out of the cup,whiped out some of the extra grease in the cup and put cap back on.Got to the last one and the rubber cap ripped when i was pulling it out







.Went looking no car store carry them and No RV place near enough to get one,so just pused it in and duct tape till I can get a new one.After ariving to campsite next day i pulled the chrome covers and everything was good.The covers stayed on and no grease leakage.Just remember to turn the wheels and pump at the same time this works the new grease in and gets the old out.After pumping keep turning the wheel good to allow the grease to get comfortable and wipe the excess off and out of the way of the cap.








Sorry for rambling but the axle technology is awesome.

Jeff,Dah W,Briana10,Jaren3
03 25RSS Modded
01 Sierra Ext cab 4x4 5.3 
Blah Blah Blah


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