Can Spindle with Zerk Fitting be Used with Oil Bath Hub

Question

Question:

I have Big Tex 16TL 20foot Tilt trailer with 8K Dexter axles. Apparently they are oil bath hubs as they have the plastic cap on them. WHile towing today, I noticed the hub was smoking. Cap had come off or melted off and the hub was smoking bad. Pulled over to side of Hwy and saw the plastic cap was now missing. Prior to departure a half hour earlier I saw the cap was backed off a bit and some minor oil on the wheel/rim. Tightened it up and drove off. Heres the deal. THe tip of the axle has a grease zerk on it so I thought it was an EZ lube hub. Is this normal to have an oil bath hub with a grease zerk on the end of the axle. Or could someone have installed the wrong hub on the trailer at some point. Putting an oil bath hub on an ez lube axle? Thanks for the help. Also, what type of oil is used on these Dexter oil bath 8K axles/hubs?

asked by: Hoby P

0

Expert Reply:

Hey Hoby, so there's really no reason you couldn't convert an EZ lube spindle axle to oil bath by just swapping the oil seal the cap. The zerk fitting being present wouldn't be an issue. Most likely what happened is just that the cap came off like you noticed and the oil all came out and burned up the bearings. That's one of the downsides to oil bath is that when they lose the seal by the time you find out the hub and bearings are basically destroyed.

I attached a link to a page that has all of our 8k trailer hubs.

expert reply by: Jameson C

0

Hoby P.

10/17/2024

Thank you Jameson. So, if my trailer currently has oil bath hubs and all axles also have grease zerks can I dump all the oil out and start using grease instead of oil by pumping through the zerk like an EZ Lube? Appreciate your answer. THanks.

Reply

Jameson C.

10/17/2024

@HobyP Yes, you can definitely go back to it being a grease hub and you don't even actually have to use the zerk fitting to put the grease into the hub. You can pack the bearings by hand with grease and you'd be totally fine. The only real difference between grease and oil hubs is the seal and the cap. Which if you order a hub designed for either it will come with the correct components. Below this message I attached all of the EZ lube grease 8k hubs we offer as well.

Helpful Links

dept-pg-trailer_hubs_and_drums-pt-ez_lube-pc-for_8000_lbs_axles.aspx

Reply

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Can Spindle with Zerk Fitting be Used with Oil Bath Hub

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