Suspension Grease Fittings

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Steve (Luv2Ski),

Great series of high resolution pictures!
It would be great to save these in one place with your comments & observations included.
One way to do this is to put them all in one document and load a pdf version of this to the Forum Library.
I use Powerpoint since it is easy to insert pictures, add text boxes, crop & resize pictures, etc. I am sure there are other ways.

One technical comment, if I may. Another way to slowly press the new bushing into the spring eye is to use a large C clamp.

Rob

[notsosan]

We had our unit for a year before I realized it had wet bolts when I went to adjust my brakes and found them covered with grease. They had been running dry for about 6000 miles including the 2000 miles between the factory and dealer. The factory should be greasing them and dealers should be checking them on the PDI. I can't find any mention of wet bolts or the need to lubricate suspension bushings in either the Reflection Owners Manual or the LCI Master Manual. Major oversight.

They take grease easily now. I just hope it isn't because of excessive wear from running dry.

[TucsonJim]

We had our unit for a year before I realized it had wet bolts when I went to adjust my brakes and found them covered with grease. They had been running dry for about 6000 miles including the 2000 miles between the factory and dealer. The factory should be greasing them and dealers should be checking them on the PDI. I can't find any mention of wet bolts or the need to lubricate suspension bushings in either the Reflection Owners Manual or the LCI Master Manual. Major oversight.

They take grease easily now. I just hope it isn't because of excessive wear from running dry.

Nick - I contacted Jerry McCarthy last year about the dry wet bolts from the factory. He was not to happy to find out that Lippert was charging GD to put them in, but not lubricating them at the time. Jerry immediately started having the factory lubricate the bolts before delivery. So any unit delivered after about mid 2016 should have had the bolts lubed before delivery.

I am surprised there is nothing in the maintenance schedule that I can find regarding lubrication of the wet bolts.

Jim

[BabyBober]

Nick - I contacted Jerry McCarthy last year about the dry wet bolts from the factory. He was not to happy to find out that Lippert was charging GD to put them in, but not lubricating them at the time. Jerry immediately started having the factory lubricate the bolts before delivery. So any unit delivered after about mid 2016 should have had the bolts lubed before delivery.

I am surprised there is nothing in the maintenance schedule that I can find regarding lubrication of the wet bolts.

Jim

I can guarantee new units have all the wet bolts lubed from the factory. Every grease fitting was covered in red grease on our unit before the dealer got around to their PDI.

Jim

[notsosan]

Nick - I contacted Jerry McCarthy last year about the dry wet bolts from the factory. He was not to happy to find out that Lippert was charging GD to put them in, but not lubricating them at the time. Jerry immediately started having the factory lubricate the bolts before delivery. So any unit delivered after about mid 2016 should have had the bolts lubed before delivery.

I am surprised there is nothing in the maintenance schedule that I can find regarding lubrication of the wet bolts.

Jim

Such a simple thing, greasing something that is supposed to be greased, or not. Anything goes in the RV biz.

[GDogRV]

Update: Glad I made the trip for Mooryde factory install. Installers pulled my 27RL into the shop, took a few measurements and recommended I upgrade to the LRE4000. Yes they originally recommended the CRE3000 vs the LRE4000. After consult with factory team I approved. And man am I glad I did. The LRE added about 1" of additional height and a side to side equalizer stabilizer bar. The ride for both the 5th wheel and tow vehicle has improved substantially. And now all suspension moving points are wet bolt grease fittings. I am sure the CRE3000 would have been an improvement over the JCI Equaflex. I have put well over 15,000 miles on my 27RL since I purchased. The condition of the never fail bushings removed was well ....... scary. I was close to metal on metal wear which leads to suspension system failure. Suspension failure rarely happens while parked in the driveway. Other readers in this forum have done their own install. Im not that mechanically inclined and messing with the suspension system was not for me. I will gladly pay for the install.
Mooryde has overnight RV parking with 50amp hookups on site. They do not have other utilities but heck you are only there one night. My 5th wheel was done by 11AM and I got a good 3 hour test drive in back to home in Grand Rapids Michigan.
My take away ....... if you put allot of miles on your rig get rid of the LCI Equaflex, shackles and bolts w never fail bushings. Replace with either the Morryde CRE3000 or LRE4000. You will have no regrets.

[Dave27]

This is a very helpful thread. At the end of last summer I tried to lube the wet bolts on the Equaflex and two (the end ones attached to the springs) wouldn't take the grease on one side. I added it to my small list of warranty items and took it to the dealer. They told me they took care of it, but when I went to lube them last week, the same two wouldn't take grease. I took the weight off and one took grease right away, I tapped the other with a hammer then it took grease too.

How long will these last if I keep them lubed? How will I know when to replace them?

thanks,
Dave

[TucsonJim]

How long will these last if I keep them lubed? How will I know when to replace them?

thanks,
Dave

Dave,

That is a tough question. You should get a very long life out of well lubricated bronze bushings. If you have Lippert plastic bushings, they are typically completely worn out between 2,000 and 6,000 miles whether lubricated or not. Most units have a mix of bronze and plastic bushings. I'd consider disassembly of the suspension between 6-12K miles and replacing all bushings, shackles and wet bolts with a kit from MORryde. In fact, I replaced mine upon receipt of the trailer. Since mine was a Reflection Travel trailer, the equalizer bushings were plastic, and the spring bushings were bronze.

Once you've done the intial replacement with high quality components from companies such as MORryde or Dexter, then the life of the bushings and shackles should be expected to last longer. Lippert recommends an annual inspection of the suspension system, which includes the bushings. So a tear down is needed to accomplish this. However, now that I've replaced my components, I think that is excessive. My plan is to disassemble the suspension this fall which will be one year and about 10,000 miles. If the suspension shows little wear, I'll likely adjust the inspection period to every two years. I'll make sure to publish the results of my inspection when it's completed.

Jim

[Cate&Rob]

Dave,

I would basically agree with Jim. Best choice is a wet bolt in a bronze bushing. Second choice is a dry bolt in a "never fail" LCI plastic bushing. Third choice is a wet bolt in a nylon bushing . . . if it has been lubricated since new. (This is the usual production combination, but not all got lubrication at the factory). Fourth choice is a dry bolt in a nylon bushing . . . this will last about 2000 miles and is the outer spring end combination likely used on your 2016 27RL.

I tried to replace my bushings with an LCI "never fail" plastic bushing kit. Found that in several locations, LCI bushings would not fit LCI parts. Very frustrating. Next step was the MORryde heavy duty shackle kit with all bronze bushings and all wet bolts. (I did find that the parts supplied by MORryde did not have the grease hole lined up at either 3 or 9 . . . so this had to be adjusted before installation). This kit is money well spent. I expect that the only further attention required will be a shot of grease to each bushing, every once in a while.

Rob

[Dave27]

Looks like I have another project. I think I will wait until next year. Thank you Jim and Rob, your advise is very helpful.
Dave