Greasing new wheel bearings and hub.

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cudamike13

cudamike13

cudamike13
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I have always thought it was a good idea to fill hub with grease as I have seen a lot of this done.
Any thoughts on this practice?
It is even necessary?

What say you?
 
I've heard a lot both ways, too- but like you, I've always filled the cavity and never had an issue. Why mess with success? If nothing else, it keeps condensation from forming rust on the inside of the hub and spindle.
 
LocuMob said:
I just packed the bearings with grease, and I've never had issues.
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If you're just going to pack it full why not screw a zerk into the hub cap and just pump it full like on farm wagons. Wonder why they don't?
 
Since boat trailers are submerged in water, they pack the hubs to keep out the water and have a zerk fitting on the dust cap for this purpose. Not necessary on cars with regular maintenance.
 
Better safe than sorry. A little extra grease never hurt anything.
 
Yunick13 said:
Better safe than sorry. A little extra grease never hurt anything.
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That's a lot of grease in that cavity, a lot more than the bearings require. Why would a void need grease?

By all means, continue to do so, but the air inside doesn't need any lube.
 
Where filling hubs is a pain in the neck is when you have to turn the rotors/drum hubs. All that grease has to be cleaned out to mount on lathe. Even when repacking wheel bearings, all of the old grease should be removed first as it probably contains some dirt. Sorry if this sounds selfish.
 
In years past, I have worked for a couple of big shops. One shop we did all the repair work for all the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Dept. Which was a big contract. The owner of the shop would climb your *** if you filled the void. Fast forward 10 years I Work for Tampa Armature works. The old man I worked under use to tell me" You fill that hub up, I ain't gonna loose a bearing over 50 cents worth of grease." Since I can't remember ever loosing one, I guess there is no right or wrong way to do it.
 
Thanks for the replys!
I think I will skip it this time.
Using quality grease and have a bearing packer.
 
The certified chassis instructor at Denver Automotive 1980, (now Lincoln Tech), who was a retired Moog technician, was adamant about NOT filling the void with grease.
Just a light coating for rust protection.
We packed the bearings by hand and wiped our hands on the spindle, that is it.
 
Joey4speed said:
The certified chassis instructor at Denver Automotive 1980, (now Lincoln Tech), who was a retired Moog technician, was adamant about NOT filling the void with grease.
Just a light coating for rust protection.
We packed the bearings by hand and wiped our hands on the spindle, that is it.
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That's the way I have done it for decades.
 
It's worked for 50+ years... and it's also in the FSM..
beerestoration2018 629.JPG
beerestoration2018 630.JPG
 
... oh and look at this, after about 200 miles I swapped hubs side to side while hunting a "heat" issue down. Still all where it belongs as there's none on the spindle. The reasoning for filling the void is when the bearings heat up the grease flows out of them.. into the void if you haven't filled it. Leaves your bearings wanting...
beehubswap 003.JPG
 
dadsbee said:
... oh and look at this, after about 200 miles I swapped hubs side to side while hunting a "heat" issue down. Still all where it belongs as there's none on the spindle. The reasoning for filling the void is when the bearings heat up the grease flows out of them.. into the void if you haven't filled it. Leaves your bearings wanting...
View attachment 1715674220
Click to expand...
I’m with you. Your preaching to the choir.
 
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