# Greasing The Wheels



## kevman (Mar 5, 2005)

Well I finally did it. I greased those wheels. There have been some very informative strings on how to do it and overall the process was pretty simple.

I have a 2002 25rss and we bought it used two years ago and had never greased the wheels and I doubt the previous over had either, so we were way overdue. Since we are taking a long trip of 8 hours to Big Bend in March, I wanted to get this done.

Here is my concern. I went to Walmart and bought the most expensive grease which was rated for both wheel bearings and chassis use. It is a lithium grease and was a red color. I have read about people putting a red grease and it pushed a blue grease out and this kind of leads to my question.

The grease tube said something to the effect of, do not use a non-compatible grease. Well I don't know if the grease I just introduced into my wheel bearing was non-compatible or not. I do alot of things myself and in the past have pulled a wheel and greased the bearings, but I guess in my old age I am getting lazy and wanted to use those wonderful "easy grease" nipples that are on the wheels.

What do you think? Am I safe or do I need to pull everywheel and remove the grease and start over. The grease that came out was kind of a dark grey/blue. Thanks in advance for your advice.


----------



## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

If it's a 2002 and you are not sure of the prior owner's service, I would recommend you remove the hubs, inspect the brakes and repack the bearings, or have it done, either way, it's long overdue for a repacking job.

It's not a complicated job to do if you are handy and adjusting the brakes afterward is very straightforward, If you have the axle manual there are pretty good instructions in it about both procedures. I do it every other season, I did them myself a few years ago and this past time I had my mechanic do it, that was definitely easier









Mike


----------



## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I was told and do agree not to MIX different kinds of wheel grease. I was looking at a high temp synthetic but was told dont do it untill you clean the old and then use the new. something about the 2 different grease types dont mix ( oil and water thing ) and will do more harm then good. Stick with good ol wheel bearing grease till you repack them with what ever you want, then stick with that. My 2 cents.


----------



## map guy (Jan 11, 2007)

camping479 said:


> If it's a 2002 and you are not sure of the prior owner's service, I would recommend you remove the hubs, inspect the brakes and repack the bearings, or have it done, either way, it's long overdue for a repacking job.
> 
> It's not a complicated job to do if you are handy and adjusting the brakes afterward is very straightforward, If you have the axle manual there are pretty good instructions in it about both procedures. I do it every other season, I did them myself a few years ago and this past time I had my mechanic do it, that was definitely easier
> 
> ...


Good advise here - break it down and repack, inspect the brakes, and the moving parts of the suspension while wheels are off. Prevention is gold here!

Map Guy


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

It is nice to have the grease fitting but as it says you need to be using the same type. It is really time to do a complete inspection and pack them fresh. Then you know what you have and NEXT time you can do it the easy way.


----------



## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

I am not completely sure that the 2 greases are incompatible. You sure it wasn't referring to a grease that wasn't compatible for the job you were asking it to do. For instance you can mix synthetic and non-synthetic motor oils in varying quantities as well as mixing transmission fluids.

For me I'm not worrying about that one. I consider myself by the book and conservative . Maybe go on the web and search greases or maybe sites like Amsoil and see if you can find any evidence of that. I have way too many toys, read all my manuals and never saw any warnings about changing grease types. In many cases you can't ever even avoid it. Just doesn't seem correct from where I stand.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

I am have a real hard time with my internet connect from my hotel room in Port of Spain Trinidad. So if you do not see a chart below then do a Google search for "Grease Compatibility Chart". It will give you most all of the information you need with the exception of what type of grease was used by the axle manufacture, which is key in this thread.

There is a real danger in mixing non compatible grease, so please start fresh. If the grease container mentions this they may know that the grease has properties that are not compatible with most greases.


----------



## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

The last high temperature grease I purchased was red, unlike the black of regular grease. Did my mower spindles with no problem and also all the 23 lub points on my miniture backhoe. I have been using this grease now for two years with no problems. It is compatible as it is petroleum based not synthetic.

Was the new grease synthetic?

When in doubt remove and repack with the new grease and for out all the old. put a glob in your hand and press the bearing down hard repeatedly to force out the old grease.

Good luck, stay warm.


----------



## NJMikeC (Mar 29, 2006)

Andy,

That is a great find and I thought something like that could be found on the internet. The caution though with that much info is that it could be construed to make people think that we have to clean our bearings out completely every time we change a grease. Do we all think we could even ever find the same grease in the store year after year?

Not really buying that. Most greases are lithium based and further to my point above the different bearing manufactuers wouldn't purposly use a type of grease that has great incompatabilities. That would be counter productive and would negate any reason for putting grease nipples on the hub. So guess I'm still saying that too much information is sometimes just too much information.


----------



## kevman (Mar 5, 2005)

The grease is a lthium complex based grease. I spoke with my mechanic and he said that if the grease is rated for wheel bearings, then there should not be a problem. The lithium complex grease appears to be the most compatible of all of the grease types.

Well since I started writing this reply I looked at some of the old strings about greasing the wheels and found one that had a link for axel manufactuer and it says to *"use a high temperature, automotive type wheel bearing grease produced by a reputable manufacturer. The soap type should be lithium complex or equivalent. Use NLGI grade 2 product with a minimum dropping point of 440 degrees farenheight."* The link is www.al-kousa.com/pdf/alkobrochure.pdf.

I used the correct type of grease, and now it is just a matter that the time to manually check is past due. Thanks for all of your responses.


----------



## kmcfetters (May 7, 2005)

Yes-I have to ours in March-before the season comes around---I have been using the red grease---I guess the stock grease was blue---oh,well. Next month I'll get all of it out. What do you use to get the old grease out of the bearings? I can't remember what I did last time?


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

kmcfetters said:


> Yes-I have to ours in March-before the season comes around---I have been using the red grease---I guess the stock grease was blue---oh,well. Next month I'll get all of it out. What do you use to get the old grease out of the bearings? I can't remember what I did last time?


Diesel is a very good solvent but there are also many commercial solvents on the market that will do fine also.

If you use diesel leave the bearings in the bucket until you are ready to dry then grease them. In a humid environment a dry bearing will develop surface rust very quickly.


----------



## Swany (Mar 2, 2006)

kevman said:


> Well I finally did it. I greased those wheels. There have been some very informative strings on how to do it and overall the process was pretty simple.
> 
> I have a 2002 25rss and we bought it used two years ago and had never greased the wheels and I doubt the previous over had either, so we were way overdue. Since we are taking a long trip of 8 hours to Big Bend in March, I wanted to get this done.
> 
> ...


Packing wheel bearings 101,
First you remove bearings and clean them with solvent. You can use compressed air but do not spin them! Clean them to spotlessness (is that a word? kinda like athletisizim).
Next you inspect them. This requires rotating them in such a way as to see the entire circumference of each roller. Your are basically looking for pits. No pits, no problem. The bearing has three components. The rollers, the inner race and the outer race. The inner race is the fastest wearing component. The hard surfacing of the races and rollers does not wear in fine particles. It wear in chunks that leave pits. You have to check the inner race for pits! It is the weak link. Hold your spotlessly cleaned bearing tapered end up to a light. Look into the large side of the bearing in such a way that the light reflects off of the inner race. This will allow you to see any pits that may be present. While doing this rotate the inner race until you have inspected its circumference. Wipe down the outer race in the hub and inspect it. If there are pits replace both the bearing and outer race.

When you repack the bearing put a gob of any good wheel bearing grease (you are not mixing any greases here) in your hand. Take the bearing and paw at the grease with the large side. Do this in such a way that grease is trapped between your hand and the bearing thus forcing the grease through the bearing between the rollers and out the other side (or use a bearing packer if you have one). Coat the outside of the bearing liberally and if you wish put some in the hub so as to combat centrifical force from slinging the grease from the bearing. But don't put too much.

Reassemble the inner bearing in the hub. Don't get stingy, put in a new wheel seal. A perfect bearing adjustment is zero endplay. Any tighter puts a preload on the bearing. Any looser lets them bang back and forth with turning braking etc. Some big bearings don't mind a little preload but these trailer bearings are small and they don't like it. Tighten them up to preload and back them off by feel (if you are anal, use a dial indicator) to zero. Turn the nut forward to the nearest cotter pin hole and pin it.

Remember when we all drove rear wheel drive cars? They all have the same opposed timken type bearings in the front end as these trailers. They carried a heavier load and were subject to more directional pressures from the steering and breaking activity of the car. Did we go out and repack the bearings every week or every season? Not! Probably more like at break reline time and as you probably recall those old drum brakes went 60 to 80 thousand miles. Like 5 years of driving. In fact some didn't even repack at break reline time.

Now if you have a boat trailer that your are dipping in salt water every week end that's a different deal. On my Outback I don't plan on dinking with the wheel bearings until brake reline time.

Just my opinion and thoughts after managing truck garages for 35 years.


----------



## kevman (Mar 5, 2005)

Now if you have a boat trailer that your are dipping in salt water every week end that's a different deal. On my Outback I don't plan on dinking with the wheel bearings until brake reline time.

Just my opinion and thoughts after managing truck garages for 35 years.
[/quote] from Swany

Thanks Swany, I really appreciate the information.


----------



## HTQM (May 31, 2006)

Swany's words sounded just like my dear ole Dad. Pounded into my brother and I's heads since we were knee high to a grass hopper.

Much like CamperAndy, he taught us to us diesel to clean the bearing, dry then inspect. Like Swany, repack and replace the seals.

If it were me, IMHO, I would pull the bearings, clean and inspect then repack. Since your not sure if it was done by the previous owner, the whole process will give you peace of mind in knowing it was done correctly. After which you can go to a schedule that best fits your desires.

I know this means more messy work, but I hope it helps.
Dave


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

When I went to college 25 years ago, we were also taught to repack bearings the same way as Swany explained...

I use colman white gas(lantern fuel) as a solvent to clean my bearings. Been using that for many years. I suppose it is probably more flammable than diesel, but instead of finding a place to reclaim the diesel, I can just sit it on the back patio for a day and its gone.. It evaporates quickly..

Carey


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

For those that need a visual...


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

We use Lubrication Engineers(LE) grease in our fleet of 100 semis. It is expensive, but there is nothing that compares to it. We use grease# 3752. It is the most waterproof grease you will find. I have it in all of my dirt bikes and after going thru many rivers here in Colorado it has never washed out. It is also a very extreme pressure grease.

We used to loose several u joints a year in our trucks.. Since using this grease we have never lost another u-joint. It stays put, will not melt, and lasts just about forever.

In our Outbacks, if you use this stuff, you will never have a bearing failure.

Our semi trailers are on an extended 25000 mile lubrication schedule and we have almost no wear in any bearing or hinge point. The normal lubrication schedule is 10000 miles. Thats how good this stuff is.

We buy 35 gallon drums of this stuff for about 900 bucks, but its available in grease cartridge tubes, and small tubs also.

In a boat trailer application, it works excellent because it will not wash out..

Heres some links:
Click for link

Product info in adobe:
Click for adobe link

Carey


----------



## Swany (Mar 2, 2006)

kmcfetters said:


> Yes-I have to ours in March-before the season comes around---I have been using the red grease---I guess the stock grease was blue---oh,well. Next month I'll get all of it out. What do you use to get the old grease out of the bearings? I can't remember what I did last time?


Go to NAPA and get a gallon of cleaning solvent.


----------

