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#axles #hauling #trailers
Today we dive into oil bath axles and grease axles to see which one is the overall better lubrication system for your trailer.
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So you’re at the trailer lot trying to decide which trailer to buy. And one of the features you have to consider is what type of axle lubrication you want to go with.
What’s the difference? Maybe one option is more expensive, the other easier or you have no clue all together.
I’ll give you the answer right now. If You have a choice, you probably want to go with grease axles. But to tell you why, I’ll need to explain the differences between oil bath and grease axles and give a little history.
Oil bath axles are just that. There’s a bath of oil inside the axle itself that washes over the wheel bearings as you drive down the road. Oil bath axles have a cap on each end that contains oil that lubricates the wheel bearings. Maintenance is amazingly simple on these axles, literally unscrew the cap off and drain the oil, and then fill it back up. This is probably the easier of the two types to upkeep.And honestly they work pretty work great, and it’s very easy to change the oil, but the downsides can be horrendous.
There are two big things we want to watch out for with Oil Bath Axles.
If your oil bath cap, the part of your axle where you can see how much oil is still in your axle, breaks while driving it can be very very bad. Same if you blow out one of the oil seals. We all know oil is flammable and when you introduce friction, that heat can actually ignite the oil from the axle. Plus that axle oil gets all over everything if the cap breaks while you are driving, expanding the area that is now flammable.
Not to mention if it breaks and you are hauling something you are stuck until it is fixed. There is no wiggle room or grace period before things get damaged. If you have an oil bath axle, it would be a good idea to keep a few oil bath caps and some oil on hand just incase you do break one of the caps.
So if you guessed that grease axles don’t have this problem, you’re right. If your grease cap gets broken or the seal is damaged, your grease doesn’t leak out. Worst case scenario, you get some water or dirt in them, but you have ample time to fix it before something is damaged.
Maintenance can be one of the downsides to this type of axle if you have an older style of grease axle. You have to break down your hub and get to the spindle itself to properly change out the grease. It’s not that hard, especially after doing it a few times, but it is time consuming. You only have to do this once or twice a year, unless you broke your zerk fitting or lost the cap to it and now you have trash and gunk in the grease. But overall its only a once or twice a year thing. If you have one of the newer grease axle with easy lube or direct lube technology, the maintenance is actually a piece of cake. You simply pop the center rubber plug out, put a grease gun on the zerk fitting and fill with grease until the cavity is full. Replace the rubber plug and you’re good to go
Another minor downside to grease axlex can be that if you live in extreme clients, it takes a little longer for the grease to warm up in freezing temperatures.
In the past Grease just wasn’t as good at preventing wear and keeping grit in the suspension away from the metal-on-metal contact points, but now it is the go to for most haulers.
In the past Oil Bath was the type to go with because in the past oil lubricated better than the grease, but with recent advancements in this technology there have been improvements making it the go to choice for most.
But Why one over the other?
This question is really about safety and repairs.
Both types of axles work for what they are made to do, but the differences are night and day if you have a problem on the road.
The Grease axle, isn’t flammable, won’t leave you high and dry if a seal breaks and with the recent advancements in this technology, is the go too for most haulers.
So in my opinion, if at all possible go with a grease axle. Less chance for trouble and you’re not gonna be left high and dry waiting on parts slash repairs, and on the plus side, you don’t run the risk in a worst case scenario of a potential axle fire.
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