How much wheel bearing grease?

Davepar · #1 12-13-2005, 10:07 AM

This is a simple question, but how much grease should I put on the wheel bearings? I just buttered them up and put some on the bearing race of the wheel. A friend of mine said he used to pack the inside of the wheels on his old truck full of grease. Is that needed?

Thanks,
Dave

Mel · #2 12-13-2005, 10:48 AM

No, do not pack the inside of the wheels with grease. Just make sure that the bearings are thoroughly packed. Grease inside the wheel will do nothing but add weight, cost and a big mess.
Mel...DAR

deene · #3 12-13-2005, 12:34 PM

Yes, I agree, don't fill the hub. Do, however, use a pressurized bearing pack tool or have a mechanic show you how to load the cone (piece with the rollers) with grease manually after cleaning in solvent:

Basically, put a big dob of grease (Aero5hell Grease 5 is widely used) in the heal of one hand and use the other hand to pull the cone across the heal pressing a little grease into the race around the rollers each time. Continue until the race is full. Also coat (liberally) the outside of the cone and cup.

Note that bearings come from the manufacturer with a coating that is primarily designed to protect the bearing until install time. The bearing MUST be cleaned and properly lubricated before installation and use. Here is good source of bearing info:

http://www.timken.com

As wheel bearings are an annual CI item, you will become very proficient at cleaning, inspecting and packing wheel bearings...

Deene.

Mel · #4 12-13-2005, 02:21 PM

One other thing I will throw in here, since it sounds like that you are not familiar with packing wheel bearings; When cleaning the bearings with solvent, don't be tempted to dry them by spinning them with air pressure. This puts an incredible amount of wear on the bearings.
Mel...DAR

Barry · #5 12-13-2005, 02:22 PM

Bob Avery sells a Bearing Packer PN34550 $26 which is an easy and less messy way of forcing grease into the roller bearings. Treat yourself to one for Christmas!

Barry

mrreddick · #6 12-14-2005, 06:38 AM

The bearing packer sold by Avery Tools is also available at your local O'Reilly Auto Parts, probably NAPA and Auto Zone, too.
You can either pay your local sales tax or pay Avery for shipping.

Davepar · #7 12-14-2005, 09:48 AM

Thanks for all of the tips. Yes, I bought a bearing packer from Sears and used that to flush fresh grease through the bearings. I didn't clean them in solvent first, so maybe I should go back and do that. The main bearings had grease in them already. The nose gear bearings were dry, though.