Wet Bolt Knowledge

[Flyer32RLS]

I'm in a quandary. I have one wet bolt that will not take grease. Here is what I have done:
1. Tried greasing - grease won't go in.
2. Took zerk fitting out. used small nail to come in from the back side thinking maybe its plugged up.
3. Grease cam thru zerk on attempting to see if it would flow. It did.
4. Replaced zerk fitting tried greasing, making sure the indications on the bolt head showing which way the weep hole was pointed was at 3 o'clock. nothing, probably 10-12 pumps, nothing out backside. All the others oozed grease a little.
5. Bought new zerk fitting. replaced. greased, nothing again.

I'm lost. I know its not a huge deal but don't want to put many miles without the bolt being greased. Its on the passenger side, last bolt for the leaf springs.
My rig is new. Just got it in September and have maybe 800 miles on it.
Oh, by the way, it would appear that the wet bolts did not have much grease in them. It took a pretty good amount of pumps in each one before I could see a little grease coming out around the bracket.

Is anyone knowledgeable about wet bolts?

How difficult is it to just take the weight off that back leaf spring to get the bolt out and replace/fix/beat the hell out of it?
I'm pretty mechanical and can do that little bit of work. Just don't want to mess up the leaf springs not knowing what i'm doing.
Thanks for your help!

Happy Glamping!

 

[BryanValRox]

I'm in a quandary. I have one wet bolt that will not take grease. Here is what I have done:
1. Tried greasing - grease won't go in.
2. Took zerk fitting out. used small nail to come in from the back side thinking maybe its plugged up.
3. Grease cam thru zerk on attempting to see if it would flow. It did.
4. Replaced zerk fitting tried greasing, making sure the indications on the bolt head showing which way the weep hole was pointed was at 3 o'clock. nothing, probably 10-12 pumps, nothing out backside. All the others oozed grease a little.
5. Bought new zerk fitting. replaced. greased, nothing again.

I'm lost. I know its not a huge deal but don't want to put many miles without the bolt being greased. Its on the passenger side, last bolt for the leaf springs.
My rig is new. Just got it in September and have maybe 800 miles on it.
Oh, by the way, it would appear that the wet bolts did not have much grease in them. It took a pretty good amount of pumps in each one before I could see a little grease coming out around the bracket.

Is anyone knowledgeable about wet bolts?

How difficult is it to just take the weight off that back leaf spring to get the bolt out and replace/fix/beat the hell out of it?
I'm pretty mechanical and can do that little bit of work. Just don't want to mess up the leaf springs not knowing what i'm doing.
Thanks for your help!

Happy Glamping!

Flyer, lift and support the frame so there is no weight on the suspension.
Also support the axle in a neutral position.
Hold the head of the wet bolt secure and loosen the nut. If the pin is unloaded(neutral) tap the nut so that the serrations of the bolt exit the hanger. You will need to loosen the nut little by little to protect the threads from damage. As the bolt exits, insert a tapered pin punch to hold the alignment. Once you have the wet bolt out, you will need to clean all of the debris from the passages. Be sure to inspect the spring bushing and use a tool to clean and regrease the bushing ID. Then grease the outside of the pin and reinstall so the exit holes are 3-9 o clock.Torque the bolt to spec and grease with the suspension unloaded. I had to do this to one of mine as the exit hole was plugged.

Above all Work safely, ensure frame and suspension is supported in a neutral position and above all DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGERS INSIDE OF ANY OF THE HOLES.

 

[George]

@BryanValRox EXCELLENT info. 👍🏼
Others: Don't do what I did and use two wrenches to rotate the bolt. I didn't know they were serrated. 😳 Do as Bryan describes.

 

[RockDr896]

To say it more succinctly...take the weight off the bolt...I use my lift jacks to achieve (Neutral). The first time I did it, I was ready to replace the engine, before I checked the fuse..LOL.....Chances are, the grease fitting will accept the grease...otherwise...follow the rest of Bryan's post!!

 

[Flyer32RLS]

DO NOT STICK YOUR FINGERS INSIDE OF ANY OF THE HOLES.

Could you PLEASE explain!!!
😂

Thanks so much for the step by step. I'll try it soon as I can and report back! Awesome!!

 

[BryanValRox]

Could you PLEASE explain!!!
😂

Thanks so much for the step by step. I'll try it soon as I can and report back! Awesome!!

Just offering a word of caution to warn against the possibility of loosing a finger if something were to slip off a jack or stand that is supporting the suspension. Didn’t want anyone inserting their finger in the spring hanger bore or the spring eye bushing.

 

[Flyer32RLS]

Just offering a word of caution to warn against the possibility of loosing a finger if something were to slip off a jack or stand that is supporting the suspension. Didn’t want anyone inserting their finger in the spring hanger bore or the spring eye bushing.

BryanValRox, understood. I was attempting to make a funny about fingers in any hole! As Peanut would say,,,VRoooom!
Happy Glamping!

 

[7ACMike]

Just going to throw in my latest "wet bolt " experience. Camper 2 years old 2024 May 29RL and been greasing the wet bolts 1 year or 6k miles. Tried to grease them recently and 2 of the 14 took grease. Been reading that some models have plastic bushings instead of brass. Mine had plastic in all the frame mtgs. Not impressed with Lippert at all!! They were all replaced and clocked clocked correctly with plastic replaced with brass. Just a heads up as the shackle bolts on the plastic bushings were showing lots of wear as metal to metal. Look at pics! 7ACMIKE

 

[George]

@BryanValRox I was just wondering about the re-insertion of the serrated bolts... Do you beat them in or can you rely on torquing to seat them? Seems I would want to avoid hammering on the mounts.

 

[Flyer32RLS]

Just going to throw in my latest "wet bolt " experience. Camper 2 years old 2024 May 29RL and been greasing the wet bolts 1 year or 6k miles. Tried to grease them recently and 2 of the 14 took grease. Been reading that some models have plastic bushings instead of brass. Mine had plastic in all the frame mtgs. Not impressed with Lippert at all!! They were all replaced and clocked clocked correctly with plastic replaced with brass. Just a heads up as the shackle bolts on the plastic bushings were showing lots of wear as metal to metal. Look at pics! 7ACMIKE

Thanks and those do in fact look worn out. Makes one wonder why they don't charge the extra $4 and use brass to start with. Based on those pictures, I hope you decided to replace all the wet bolts with brass sleeves.