Stubies Subie Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 what's the general consensus around here for wheel bearing grease? I use marine grade on my trailers, and was thinking as I put my Loyale back together that some nice waterproof wheel bearing grease up front would be a good thing, the bearings themselves are sealed, although I'd have to question how water proof those sealed bearings really are. I want to add a little bit of something in the steering knuckle as it goes back together and thought Marine grade wheel bearing grease would be a good thing, being 4x4, it isn't likely to never see a mud puddle or sloppish mud hole at some point, and the added protection of marine grade grease sounds reasonable to me. I’ve run it on all my trailers and never had a problem, I even have it on my little utility trailer that doubles as a boat trailer once in a while. what's your thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 In a word, No. http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/718139-different-types-of-grease-questions-wheel-bearing-and-lithium.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Talk to GD he had me use some on Ned, I cant remember if it was the assembly lube or what... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Talk to GD he had me use some on Ned, I cant remember if it was the assembly lube or what... I was gonna ask him before I ran out and got some tomorrow, but wanted to see what others are using or recommending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92_rugby_subie Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I think its his thick grease from GM if you look on my facebook I sent you a link to some pics from when I did mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 I think its his thick grease from GM if you look on my facebook I sent you a link to some pics from when I did mine that looks like the red assembly grease that he uses, I was reading the ford truck forums and this grease looks like it might work well http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10152319&postcount=15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maozebong Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 that looks strangely like this grease i use on various places on the race miata's i build/maintain. it might be Almagard 3752, made by LE. its good stuff. holds up to tons of abuse, and when i did my wheel bearings last time, i used this stuff. once you get it on your fingers and compare it side by side you will know what i mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 You don't need much for the sealed bearings - just a little for the lip seals on the knuckle. I put a smear on either side of each bearing to keep the seals moist and load up the groove in the lip seal. Red "japanese" grease. Nothing special. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Red "japanese" grease. Nothing special. GD I found some red line Synthetic grease, red in color, it says it's high performance extreme pressure grease, a little on the expensive side but it should work fine I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I've found that the grease that is in the new bearings are usually more of an assembly lube which doesn't last as long. Personally, I use Valvoline red grease at work and pack the wheel bearings with it before they get assembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I've found that the grease that is in the new bearings are usually more of an assembly lube which doesn't last as long. Personally, I use Valvoline red grease at work and pack the wheel bearings with it before they get assembled. Depends on the bearings you use. In the case of the bearings he is installing they come sealed for life and you cannot access the grease cavity. I have NTN and Koyo bearings for EJ cars going on 100k with the grease provided by the manufacturer and haven't had a single failure. It's all about your installation technique and treating the bearings carefully. There ARE bearings that come without grease though. Most of your auto parts store junk brands come dry or with just a smear of something to keep theme from rusting in the box. It's usually pretty easy to tell if the grease is to be used or not. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubies Subie Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 as soon as the seals show up, I'm going to bring the knuckle, bearings, spacer, seals, and grease over to your house and let you do your magic on it Depends on the bearings you use. In the case of the bearings he is installing they come sealed for life and you cannot access the grease cavity. I have NTN and Koyo bearings for EJ cars going on 100k with the grease provided by the manufacturer and haven't had a single failure. It's all about your installation technique and treating the bearings carefully. There ARE bearings that come without grease though. Most of your auto parts store junk brands come dry or with just a smear of something to keep theme from rusting in the box. It's usually pretty easy to tell if the grease is to be used or not. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Depends on the bearings you use. In the case of the bearings he is installing they come sealed for life and you cannot access the grease cavity. I had a few of the sealed for life bearings come back, and a few in my own car get washed dry after water crossings. The grease in them is light weight, and I think more for light duty than heavy grease for a wheel bearing. So, all the ones I've done recently I have added new grease. Even to the Sealed 6207 bearings in the front of the EA cars. What I do, is to carefully pry out the seals.(they're rubber,and come out easy) Then I pack the bearings with red Lucas grease using a bearing packing cone. Next, I reinstall the seal to one side of each bearing. Then , when I press them into the knuckles, I put the open side of the bearings to the inside, facing eachother(with the spacer between of course). packing the space between about 30-40 % full of grease as well. a bit more on the lips of the knuckle seals(inner and outer). This way, you get the "extra" seal on teh outer edge of each bearing, but the benefit of the open cavity with extra grease to flow in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 That's not a bad way to go. I like the concept. Keeping the outer seal and only removing the inner would prevent damage to the seal from removal and installation. It also depends on the bearing spec you buy. There are different grades of bearings with different types of grease, etc. I typically by electric motor grade bearings. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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