How much grease?

[JDToumanian]

I've been reading about rear axle maintenance as I'm getting ready to R&R the bearings and seals. When re-installing the wheel bearings, I am instructed to use a bearing packer, which I will do. But is that all the grease that should be used? It doesn't seem like much, and I would think that the bearing rollers would squeeze it out and then the bearing would be running dry. I had a '66 Mercedes, and the manual said something like, "After re-installing the bearings, place an additional 6 oz. of grease into the hub space between the bearings and then replace the hub on the spindle".

Should any additional grease be put into the hub? (So centrifugal force could push it into the bearings, or when the grease gets hot and the wheel is stopped it could flow into the bearings?) I can't believe that the only grease needed is what my packer will force between the rollers... HELP!

Regards,
Jon

 

[devilman96]

With any high speed cup and cone set it should flow as your thinking... Just dont get nutty with it or it will ruin the seal seating by pushing them out of place. (heat, force, etc)

 

[wallew]

When I flipped my hubs, I HAND PACKED the bearings after first cleaning them. And I used probably WAY more than you would with a bearing packing spinner. But I have not had any problems so far. Though it's only been a couple hundred miles.

 

[houdel]

I hand pack my bearings also. I put a big glob of GAA on the palm of one hand, then push the narrow edge of the bearing/race/cage assembly through the glob of grease tightly to my palm. Then I slide the bearing through the grease across my palm using lots of pressure as though I was trying to scrape the grease off my palm.

You will see the grease working its way through the outer cage along the rollers until eventually it starts oozing out of the cage at the far end of the bearing. I keep adding grease to my palm and rotating the bearing untill I have forced grease out of the far side of the cage along the entire perimeter. At that point, I know all the spaces between the rollers, raceway and cage are completely filled with grease.

Kind of messy and time consuming, but I KNOW the bearing is fully packed this way.

 

[JDToumanian]

But no additional grease in the hub between the bearings? I guess it would never reach the bearings anyway. If everyone puts grease only in the bearings themselves it must be enough!

 

[houdel]

It doesn't hurt to put a little more grease (a couple of fingers full) in the hub while assembling - just make sure it is not someplace where it will prevent the bearings and washers from completely seating while tightening down the bearing nut. This will cause a loose bearing once you get rolling and the grease works its way out of the parts as everything starts to heat up.

I personally wipe off all the grease from the bearing ends and seats, washers etc. to make sure I have a tight metal to metal contact when I tighten up the locknuts. Any excess grease I use I put on the shaft between the inner and outer bearings. Once you get rolling for a while the hub & bearings warm up, the grease softens up and centrifical force of the rotating parts makes sure the softened grease flows to any places where the additional grease is needed.

 

[Big Mike's Motor Pool]

aren the bearings in the back partially oil bathed?? everytime i have taken any 2.5 ton rears apart the bearings had no grease in them, they were just oily

 

[cranetruck]

That's where the seals come in.
A leaky outer seal will cause the gear oil from the axle housing to get to the bearings. Not a bad thing in itself if you keep rolling, but if the deuce stays parked for a long time, the oil will run off the bearings and rust will set in.
Fix the seal(s)!

 

[gringeltaube]

Are the lockwasher grooves sealed? RTV sealant helps!

 

[Recovry4x4]

There is a cork that goes in there but I know several folks have used RTV with success

 

[JDToumanian]

I'm half way through the bearing and seal R&R of the rear axles - passenger side is now done. When I got the hubs off, I no longer had any uncertainty as to how much grease to use... The answer is a LOT! The hubs weren't completely full, but I scooped out several big handfulls of yellow GAA. I didn't put in as much as I took out, but between packing the bearings with my packer and filling the hubspace, I used about 3/4 tube per hub.

There were no cork pieces in the keyways, or any other sealer... just grease and oil. I think I've found the cause of all that sludge behind my wheels, and the little puddles of oil every time I park!

I ended up using Chevron Delo grease, after I talked to Chevron tech support and they assured me that if this grease should mix with gear oil (Chevron's Delo ESI 80w-90 at least), no adverse reaction will occur. The grease will simply become diluted and possibly be washed away by the oil.

Now back to work... Time to start the driver's side! Thanks for all the help.

Regards,
Jon

 

[cranetruck]

PS Magazine on the cork seal:

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/module...ile=index&name=gallery&include=view_photo.php

 

[Polverone]

The hubs weren't completely full, but I scooped out several big handfulls of yellow GAA. I didn't put in as much as I took out.
I ended up using Chevron Delo grease, (Chevron's Delo ESI 80w-90 at least), no adverse reaction will occur. Jon

Found this doing a search to see what kind of grease to use on the bearings.

When I removed the outer axle bearing nut I tried tightening the inner axle nut just to see how tight it was as a reference "feel" for when I get it back together. I was able to turn it about 1/2 turn with no major resistence.
Was this thing a lot looser than it should be?
I have pulled my (and others) chev 4X4's apart a million times to repack or replace front bearings - never this loose.

Where can I get GAA?
Is this Chevron Delo good to use per JD's post?
JD - Has this given you any problems or benefits?
What other grease is good?
What about Hi-Temp Wheel Bearing grease?

I also noticed a large amount of grease in the hub cavity. Is there a reason for this?
Should I fill about half-full as is/was/ mine?
Pics of the grease in my hub

 

[cranetruck]

Gary, grease in the hub is a waste.
Bearing grease is designed to stick to the rollers, the extra grease in the hub really doesn't do anything.
Get whatever good quality grease is available near you and put a hand on the wheel hubs after a drive to make sure nothing gets overheated.
Gear oil will wash the grease off so make sure the outer seal is installed correctly with cork plug and all. If you drive a lot the gear oil probably isn't all bad, but if the truck sits for an extended period of time, the bare rollers will begin to rust...

 

[Polverone]

Thanks Bjorn,
It seemed like a lot but not being familiar to the Deuce I wasn't sure.
Why do you suppose we have so much in there? After the Motor Pool keeps repacking the bearings the extra grease gets slung out during normal operations and they never bother to clean it out?
So, in reading all the posts on grease I came up with the conclusion that a NLGI grade #2 lithium is what is suitable for a replacement for GAA. Sound about right?

Oh by the by, The outer bearing on the axle was a Timken 392 and haven't pulled the inner one off yet (stuck). The way JD describes packing the grease in bearings with your palm is the way my dad taught me in the days of my first car. Worked all these years and will do it on the Deuce.

Why is it when you start a project of your own you get a bazillion customers in and your project goes to the back of the bus? (Not that I am complaining, money wise).

 

[bigmike]

I heard differently regarding the grease. I was instructed by a couple of veteran deuce owners to fill the cavity 1/2 full with good drum grease like Staylube. As the hub heats up the grease will keep the bearings lubricated. I just finished rebuilding both rear axles to include seals, brgs, wheel cylinders and did as they said.

 

[Recovry4x4]

GAA is probably not the greatest grease in the world but thats what I use. Never had a problem with it either. DRMO still sells the stuff from time to time. Check with any local dealers, lots of them bought pallets of grease. I'm about 1/3rd of the way through a 35# pail and have 2 more pails in the shed. Hoping this last for my lifetime in the hobby. BTW, bought them from Wayne Harris many years ago for $5 a pail.

 

[JDToumanian]

You can get GAA from Spruce Mt. Surplus:

http://www.sprucemtsurplus.com/index.html

The grease in the cavity may be a waste, but I did it... Don't overdo it either... I read somewhere that if the rollers are constantly trying to pump grease out from between them that that can contribute to overheating, too.

So far I'm very happy with the Chevron grease. I've been using it on everything. It's blue, which I prefer over a black or grey grease because you can see when it is getting dirty... red is good too. I have leaky wheel cylinders (note to self - ALWAYS REPAIR WHEEL CYLINDERS WITH $5 KIT WHEN DRUMS ARE OFF), so my drums need to come off again soon... I'll report on what the bearings and grease look like 800 miles after repacking...

Regards,
Jon

 

[cranetruck]

Supposedly a good "High Temperature" graese will not run. If it does, the friction will increase and the hub will get warm. So grease in the hub will stay in the hub if it's good grease.
Of course, I'm the kind of guy who thinks that a small amount of DOT 3 may be beneficial when added to DOT 5 (silicone based), just to keep the water from freezing.

 

[G744]

Another point to ponder: Bearing grease is available in a lot of formulations. Some of which are for "High temp disc brake bearing use".

Fine, but they are usually made up from a lithium, molybednum, or other mineral soap, and will not mix with 90-w gear oil. Try it, it just makes a blop of gunk in your palm with not a lot of lubricity.

Stick to long fiber cheap grease that listed a being compatable with gear oil, there is nothing to be saved by using the expensive stuff.

dg