AL-KO AG Axles To grease or not to grease

[roger5438]

Do you grease the AG hubs with a grease gun or pull the hubs and repack the bearings? How often? Any problems?
Hate to spend $300 to repack if not necessary. Only used 1 season. Out twice, less than 1k miles. tks roger

[rosey]

Less than 1,000 miles...used once????.............sounds like overkill to repack this soon....enjoy the unit!!!.....not sure about the procedure to grease the bearings...do you have zerk fittings to simply use the grease gun??

[rosey]

Oops!!......used twice.............same responce!!

[campswithcritters]

Roger, With so few miles I would push it to 2 yrs. If you do use the grease zerks, grease them very slowly, it is very easy to blow out an inboard seal and fill the brake drum with grease. As my axles were pulled off for replacement last month that very thing had happened to me and I was always careful in greasing them slowly. I'd just pull off one rubber cap and check that the grease was still flowable, and run it another year before laying out the cash for a repack unless you are planning on long hauls (over 5000 mi) in high temps.
Bruce

[Tim]

When you add the grease yourself, what brand/type grease do you use? When I'm on the road I also check tire and hub temperatures with an infrared thermometer.

[campswithcritters]

When you add the grease yourself, what brand/type grease do you use? When I'm on the road I also check tire and hub temperatures with an infrared thermometer.

Tim, I would contact AL-KO tech support to see what they used at the factory, I only used the zerks after I did my own disassemble and hand pack and was using Amsoil Synthetic which is red colored, the original was blue. I also carry an infrared for spot checks.

[Rob & Cathy]

I use NLGI #2 Lithium in a grease gun.

Rob

[markj]

Could someone explain what this is, how you use it, and where to get one along with cost? Thanx, Mark

[campswithcritters]

Could someone explain what this is, how you use it, and where to get one along with cost? Thanx, Mark

Mark, I take you are asking about the infrared thermometer. It is an instant read digital thermometer that is just pointed at an object triggered and it gives an instant digital temperature read-out. I bought mine through Harbor Freight Tools, can't remember how much it was (not too expensive), but it is very handy for checking wheel hub temps (to detect failing bearings) as well as tire tread temperatures to indicate low pressure before it becomes visible to the eye. Alternate method is see if you can touch them with the bare hand in comparison to the others (cheaper but not as accurate).

[Future Fulltimers]

If I remember right, the owner’s manual calls for lithium grease. I pack my bearing once a year and apply some grease by zerk fitting at the six-month waypoint depending on mileage. You should be able to put 10-12k miles on before having to re-pack.
AL-KO web site:
http://www.al-kousa.com/index.htm

[Me&Margie]

I'd like to ask the guys who use the infrared thermometers what kind of temps they're getting on the hubs and treads, and do the tread temps vary depending on tire size? Also, what do the temps have to get to before you start getting nervous?
Thanks.................Marv

[campswithcritters]

I'd like to ask the guys who use the infrared thermometers what kind of temps they're getting on the hubs and treads, and do the tread temps vary depending on tire size? Also, what do the temps have to get to before you start getting nervous?
Thanks.................Marv

Temps vary greatly with prevailing weather. My info on bearings (hub temp) says do not exceed 175 degrees as this can cook the grease. With outside temps in the 70s to 80s I normally see between 100 and 120 deg hub temp on my rig. Note that right after a repack the temp will be higher. Tire tread temp is even touchier by outside temp and it's best to just compare against the other tires, down south I have never seen more than 125 deg. Tire size, don't know the difference as I've only had one size since I got the thermometer. My temps on tire tread have risen slightly since I started full-timing so can be weight dependant also.

[Me&Margie]

Thanks for the numbers Bruce. I'm going to copy them and file them in my rigs binder for future reference.
Take care....................Marv