# DIY Alko Chassis Greasing - Anyone done it?



## NormanB (Sep 8, 2005)

I've read TheFlyingScot's article about servicing the ALKO chassis grease nipples and the "ALKO Chassis - Grease Nipples" thread and learned that hub bearing grease ought to do the job and that grease has to be gunned in until resistance is felt, whilst the rear wheels are off the ground.

Our MH is rated at 3.85 tonnes so I'll need to be careful about the jacking arrangements but ideally I'd like to hear from anyone who has done this job themselves to find out if there are any hidden difficulties.


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## hogan (Oct 31, 2006)

No its dead easy,there must be no weight on the axle I used the jack that came with the vehicle but put a axle stand under the axle 
( with no load on it ) just in case the jack failed.You can only do one side at a time with this method.


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## NormanB (Sep 8, 2005)

Well, I jacked the van up, applied the grease gun - but very little appeared to be happening!

In October 2008 I took it for its MOT and asked the mechanic to put grease in until each side was full. He tried and very little seemed to be happening.

This October - today - it was MOT'd by the same garage - different mechanic. I watched him put three tubes of grease into the torsion tube and still none came out of the joints! I wonder whether the tube had been filled at the factory from new.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Our garage (literally across the road form us and great friends) did it and said it was very straightforward and did not need much grease "until resistance was felt", so I suspect not a lot is lost in daily use. 

remember that MH's do not do a massive annual mileage with many people, our '03 has done a total of 18,000 - hardly excessive! 

BUT do think very hard about safety - do *not* rely on jacks, use axle stands as well - the thought of a sudden failure is horrendous. 

Dave


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

I'm not sure where the idea of pumping grease in until resistance is felt comes from but the official Alko instructions are to apply 5 to 7 strokes of the gun (or until resistance is felt). This means you should stop pumping at less than 5 strokes if you feel any resistance in my interpretation, not that you should continue until resistance is felt. If a garage has pumped grease in with a high power gun beyond the point of resistance they've probaby blown grease beyond the seals. I very much doubt that the tube should be grease filled, torsion bars don't normally require to be encased in grease.

Just do as Alko says and put in a max. of 7 strokes and always use axle stands beneath the axle with no weight on the wheels.


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Further to the above.

I've done this job twice on my van now. Rear end up onto axle stands & then get underneath with the grease gun. I put about a dozen strokes into each side. There was no change in resistance from the first to the last stroke but I could hear the grease moving through the innards of the axle. There was definitely no grease coming out of the ends where the trailing arms enter the axle tube. I did wonder where it was going. If you pump about twelve strokes of grease out onto a rag, it's not a lot, so it's not taking up much space wherever it's going.

D.


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

Hi.

I have greased our tag axle for the past 4 years now. Jack up one side at a time until wheel is off the ground and support axle. I pump in between 5 & 20 pumps of grease and this has worked for us ok.

steve & ann. --------------- teensvan


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