Dexter Axle Grease Zerk

03-08-2006, 10:24 PM

I have not been able to determine if my 2004 3124KS axle has a e-z lube feature or not. It does not have a rubber plug on the bearing cap, but rather a grease zerk on the center of the cap. If I over grease it, where does the excess grease come out at?? Or do I have to unscrew the cap to find another grease zerk, or do I have to pull the hub off..

Any advice is appreciated. thanks

03-08-2006, 11:00 PM

On my '04 3326KS, the hubs are greased by a zerk in the center of the outer end of the axle. It is located in a cutout in the end of the hubcap. The cutout is covered with a round rubber plug except when you are actually greasing the axle. When you pump grease into the zerk, it goes in thru the center of the axle to the inner bearing. It then exits the axle into the bearing. From there, the grease moves outwards thru the hub to the outer wheel bearing. Excess grease will come out of the hub all around the zerk. Be careful cleaning the excess out as the opening in the axle is very sharp and will easily give you a deep cut. I clean it out using a cotton bud.

I hope this helps.

03-09-2006, 08:50 AM

Nice work, Leon. Ours is like the second example and unlike the first.

03-09-2006, 10:07 AM

Thank you Bob
My zerk is on the outside as website #1 shows.. I have greased it, but didn't know where the excess grease went since I saw no grease coming out of anywhere.
Evidently in the axle compartment. Didn't want to grease the brake shoes. No rubber plugs anywhere.
And the books that came with the TM did not show that. It showed the second example.

03-09-2006, 11:03 AM

Be very careful with this greasing system because on my TM the grease came out around the seal and now I have to replace the brake shoes. I will never grease the bearings via the zerk again!

**rtcassel** · 03-09-2006, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freedom

Be very careful with this greasing system because on my TM the grease came out around the seal and now I have to replace the brake shoes. I will never grease the bearings via the zerk again!

Same thing happened to me with this greasing system. I did not discover that the brake shoes got greasy until 3000 miles later when I adjusted the brakes. The shop that replaced the brake shoes repacked the bearings and put in new seals. However, I think that the shop did not inspect the bearings closely, since one of them froze up about 3500 miles after repacking.

**rpcoombs** · 03-09-2006, 12:53 PM

Question to the TM factory. Why do you use this system (given all its problems) when the axle manufacturer recommends cleaning and repacking every 12,000 miles anyway. It's not like a boat trailer which routinely gets wet. Before asking (cost reduction) if anyone uses the telephone jack why not get to the biggies and get rid of this turkey? Are you listening Bill? Cheers, Dick Coombs

04-10-2006, 09:34 PM

I took apart the hubs and repacked the bearings. Obviously this is not an EZ-Lube axle. There is a small hole on the shaft by the rear bearing 1/4" in diameter which was plugged with dirt. Grease would have never made it out of there. The only way grease could get out is the rear seal which would have dumped it on the brakes.
Sooo if you don't have a rubber plug on your bearing cap, take the drum off to repack the bearings..

**Bill** · 04-11-2006, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpcoombs

Question to the TM factory... Are you listening Bill?

Presumably you are addressing Bill Hulsey?

Bill (there's a million of us!)

**rtcassel** · 04-12-2006, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddnavar

I took apart the hubs and repacked the bearings. Obviously this is not an EZ-Lube axle. There is a small hole on the shaft by the rear bearing 1/4" in diameter which was plugged with dirt. Grease would have never made it out of there. The only way grease could get out is the rear seal which would have dumped it on the brakes.
Sooo if you don't have a rubber plug on your bearing cap, take the drum off to repack the bearings..

My TM has the same axle greasing system as yours. I used the zerk once with disastrous results to the brake shoes. Did you use a bearing packer? I bought a $7 one at Advanced Auto. It worked OK on the outer/smaller bearing, but not very well on the inner bearing. It did not force grease to come out between the rollers, so I ended up packing by hand, I was just wondering if there is a better packer. Thanks.