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Bearing Packer

Rick6a

Rick6a

Well Known Member
This Lisle bearing packer sure makes the periodic repacking of Timken bearings MUCH easier than working that messy grease in the old fashioned way....by using your palms and fingers. Simply center the bearing inside the packer, place plunger over the top and firmly press down. Remove the plunger. As you can see, the fresh new grease oozes out evenly all around the bearing. It doesn't get much simpler than that. This relatively inexpensive tool is widely available from many sources and total shipping price can vary considerably. Do your own research to get the best price.



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...and just for those that haven't used one, when Rick says "push down firmly", sometimes, I have to put the thing on the floor and stand on it :).
 
Car parts store model

Usually car parts stores, on the speciality tool rack, will have a cheaper one that gets the job done and might take a bit less effor. It consists of two metal cones with threaded holes in the center. Then there is a hollow threaded stud with one end closed off, a Zerk fitting on the other end, and a hole drilled in the side. You "sandwich" the bearing between the two cones, screw it all together with the stud sticking through the center of the bearing, and then pump away with your grease gun.
 
Gotta go on a different diet

Gary Bricker said:
... if you rock the top as you are pressing down it works great.
Click to expand...

I have one, and my 150 lbs on one foot could not get the grease through the bearings. Aeroshell 22.... maybe it's the Canadian cold :) Ended up doing it the traditional way (palming it). Aeroshell 22 grease is maybe too stiff for this packer.

Bought a dual cone with zerk fitting ... will try that next time.
 
Lycosaurus said:
......Aeroshell 22.... maybe it's the Canadian cold :) Ended up doing it the traditional way (palming it). Aeroshell 22 grease is maybe too stiff for this packer........
Click to expand...
That is Aeroshell 22 oozing out of the bearing in the photo. I had no trouble displacing the old grease with new but is was around 90 degrees that day.
 
for those of you having trouble with this type of packer... are you THOROUGHLY washing the old grease and crud out of the bearings before trying to repack them?
 
No problem here using Aeroshell 22. It worked great using the same bearing packer pictured. Not too much effort required at all.
 
Grease color

Rick6a said:
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Hey Rick,

The grease color you are using looks different. We are using Aeroshell 22 grease, which has a brownish color to it. Here's a photo from the internet (not my can ... I have the tubes):


aero22grease.jpg


Maybe the consistency of the two greases makes the difference as to how much jumping up and down on the bearing packer is required for the grease to move through the bearings.

To the other person asking about clean bearings..... used this on fresh bearings that were lightly preserved with Aeroshell 22 by the manufacturer.
 
The grease color you are using looks different. We are using Aeroshell 22 grease, which has a brownish color to it. Here's a photo from the internet (not my can ... I have the tubes)
Click to expand...

Alfio,

I think maybe another theory is in order. This fresh tube of Aeroshell 22 appears to be just plain "whiter" than the unlabeled can of Aeroshell 22 depicted in your photo. ;)

BTW without cleaning, I simply inserting the bearing just removed from the wheel and displaced the old bearing grease (shown as nearly black in the previously posted photo) with fresh Aeroshell 22 using the Lisle bearing packer and required not a whole lot of effort to do so....really. :)

 
I also use 22 but have had the itch to try a EP[extreme pressure] marine grease made by yamaha or Belray. That dark blue one.
I use it in my boat, MX bikes etc and seems to be much better quality than 22. I say this because after a year of hard riding boating etc its still there ,same colour and there is no corrosion anywhere.
Any reason why we all use 22 ?

BTW I have the twin cone system and works great.
 
Date code ?

AMURRAY said:
In my experience Aeroshell 22 turns darker over time. Check the exp. date.
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The tubes of Aeroshell 22 I have were given to me by a local helicopter company. Not the same color tubes as Rick has; looks older. No date code that I could find.

I take it that some of the components of the grease have evaporated, and made it somewhat thicker. That could explain the difficulty in passing the grease through the bearings.
 
BEARING INSPECTION........

Rick6a said:
Alfio,

BTW without cleaning, I simply inserting the bearing just removed from the wheel and displaced the old bearing grease (shown as nearly black in the previously posted photo) with fresh Aeroshell 22 using the Lisle bearing packer and required not a whole lot of effort to do so....really. :)
Click to expand...

So, without cleaning the bearing, how do you inspect the inner race and the bearings for failure points?

For the past 25 years, I have used STA-LUBE TRAILER BEARING GREASE purchased from NAPA AUTO PARTS. It is a sky blue color in the can. And when I go to clean the grease out of the bearings, it is still the same blue color.
 
Aeroshell 22 has a shelf life

I just called Shell and asked about the brown color of the grease. They told me that the shelf life of Aeroshell 22 is 3 years for aviation, or 5 years for general use. It oxidizes and changes color. Performance is affected (wear, antioxidants etc).

Well, now I have a couple of tubes of grease I can basically throw away. I'll buy some fresh grease and repack all my bearings.

Also, here's a link on the low-down on grease:
http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/greasology_196140-1.html

Thought I would post here and let others know about the relatively short shelf life for this grease. Now I know why I was having so much trouble packing the bearings with my Lisle bearing packer.
 
Repacking bearings is a task I hate doing.

P1020277.JPG


Grove amphibious seals, a machined PVC tube that goes between the wheel halves to contain the grease, and drilled the axles for a zerk and grease passages. A couple of pumps with a grease gun and I'm done. :)
 
Guys: As usual, check Harbor Frieght for the bearing packer depicted in the first message. They look identical. I warm (take it home the night before in the winter) the grease prior to packing. Dan
 
Use the vise

I use a vise to squeeze the grease in, I have done it standing on it and that usually works, but now I just go to the vise and it is quickly done. I never clean the bearing first, I have used "disc brake" automotive grease for 30 years and never replaced a bearing.
 
guccidude1 said:
Guys: As usual, check Harbor Freight for the bearing packer depicted in the first message. They look identical. I warm (take it home the night before in the winter) the grease prior to packing. Dan
Click to expand...

Save yourself a return trip to HF. Open the box and understand how the packer works before purchase...........:eek:
 
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