Wheel bearing maintenance; repack or replace?

No, out back is all regular replaceable bearings.

victor II said:

I repack every spring during yearly brake checks and repack and replace if needed.

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On the front wheel bearings of a 4WD GMT400?

SuperTramp said:

1. Great info on grease. Will you recommend the best based on your experience?

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I've used a bunch of brands and formulations. I've bought expensive Amsoil synthetic grease, and I've used cheap stuff I inherited from dead relatives. The issue is that you don't "mix" different kinds of grease, and you repack with fresh periodically to remove wear particles and grease that's broken-down by heat, age, contamination, etc.

The brand isn't that important. In terms of automotive applications, there's not much to know. There's "two kinds" of grease: Chassis grease, (labeled "LA" or "LB", with "LB" being the better stuff) for ball joints and tie rod ends; and there's wheel-bearing grease (Labeled "GA", "GB", or "GC", with "GC" being the better stuff)

There's several "thicknesses" of grease. The range is from 000 to 6, with the higher numbers being thicker/stiffer. Typical automotive grease is "2".

If you can find a grease that's labeled for LB/GC use, in a #2 thickness, you've got a grease you can use for nearly all your automotive needs.

My local NAPA sells small, consumer-sized "one pound" tubs of grease. My favorite for wheel bearings is the Valvoline Red (GM, Chrysler, Import) but I also keep some Valvoline Grey (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury) on hand. I don't notice a bit of difference between them in use, but the red stuff turns color as it's used; it's a (not-very-good) visual indicator of how long I've neglected the bearings.





I'm using Valvoline Grey in the 14-oz grease-gun cartridges for ball joints, tie rod ends, etc.

The boat trailer wheel bearings get special Marine grease; but only because that stuff is fantastic in situations where the bearings are submerged in water, and some might seep past the seals into the hub.

SuperTramp said:

2. Regarding my 1998 k2500 5.7, 8 lug, rear drum and front disc, do I understand correctly that...
A. Since mixing grease is bad, if bearings and racings are in good shape, is it a good practice to just wipe off old grease and repack with new.

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You're almost certainly not going to re-pack the front, sealed hub. It goes bad, you're more likely to just replace the entire assembly. For non-sealed bearings, "I" would solvent off the bearings and hub, blow dry with compressed air, then repack with fresh grease. Your rear bearings are lubed with the liquid "axle grease" so there's no re-packing them.

Any time I pack wheel bearings with grease, I like to use the self-contained, compact "EZ Squeeze" wheel bearing packer invented by ATS, but now sold by the likes of Gearwrench, and Lisle makes a knock-off. Even comes with a dust cover to keep crap from falling into the thing. Load the bearing(s) into it, put a rag over the top to keep the dirt on your shoe from contaminating the grease, step on it. Bearing(s) get packed with grease in about two seconds, with little waste. Or flip it sideways into a vice to squeeze the grease through the bearings.

https://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-2...keywords=bearing+packer&qid=1586467356&sr=8-4

SuperTramp said:

B. If either bearing or racing are bad, replace both? Do not attempt to match old with new.

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I put a new bearing on a new race (not "racing"). If either is bad, replace both. Not everyone will agree.

SuperTramp said:

C. Rock Auto offers bearings/racings or the complete hub assembly for both front and back wheels. HOWEVER, are bearings interchangeable bet 2x2 vs. 4x4? A member indicated there might be a difference.
Thanks

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The front bearings are totally different between 2WD and 4WD. The 4WD has a "sealed" front hub assembly, so there's no packing them unless you're a fanatic. [EDIT] I don't think there's any way to replace the seals on the front hub/bearing assembly. Therefore, they're not serviceable like my Toronado hubs.[/EDIT] 2WD is as wonderfully serviceable as a 1965 Caprice.

Again, rear axles have the bearings lubed with the same liquid "axle grease" "80W-90" that the differential is lubed with. The semi-float axles have no bearing adjustment. The full-float axles use tapered roller bearings that have to be adjusted, but not packed. I haven't had my 10.5 FF axle apart to check the rear bearings; although I did buy the special tool for adjusting them, in preparation for doing that job. You need to know which axle you have.

I put a new bearing on a new race (not "racing"). If either is bad, replace both. Not everyone will agree.

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I'm amazed some manufacturers still sell them individually. At work we recently went around with a vendor over them labelling their bearings as "Each" instead of "Set". We want to know we're getting both the bearing and race, so we insisted they label the part correctly so our warehouse people don't think they're getting two each instead of one set.

The only time I've mixed and matched new and old was sitting in a muddy mosquito-infested field at Sebring, trying to repair our trailer so we could tow the race car home. Emergency situations only.

I regrease the front hubs on my 4x4 Burb every spring through the abs wheel speed sensor. I have 1 timkin and 1 moog, the new moog came with a penta (5 sided) bit screw in an attempt to stop people from making them last forever. This bit is in any good security bit set, then put it in the parts bin and replace it with a hex head allen key. I stumbled across this idea on another site. Heres a link to a write up by a fleet mechanic who got sick of replacing wheel hubs all the time. You do indeed need the proper grease. After 5 years of doing this I see absolutely no problems. Well it would seem that the original authors article from 2012 has been removed. Google it and you will find the info if it's not already on here somewhere, I'm sure it is.

So you need to remove the dust shield to access the abs sensor. I put a rubber tip on a grease zirk that I snap into my grease gun. I dont press it into to hole very hard so that I dont over pressurize the sealed bearings and F em up. While spinning the hub you pump about 10-15 pumps in, every pump you feel the wheel bearing become smoother. Then you must clean the grease out of the abs sensor gear. with a small flat head screwdriver inserted into the hole just above the gear spin the hub until no more grease comes out. Put it all back together and be as happy as I am that I'm not forking out a nice chunk of change to replace these hubs.

I had one of these lock up going down the road at highway speed, there was no indication it was failing at all, it was a Timkin and it was scary as hell but no harm no foul. I put it into reverse and it unlocked so I could take it easy to get back home.

Take care, Happy Easter and Stay Safe All!

Edit.... I do agree with replacing both at the same time but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Al

AFAIK one of my 4wd hubs is original and the other was replaced around 250k miles with a Timken on the 1500 and both look original on my 3500. None of my vehicles chew through hubs except for the race car but that's expected. I would expect far more than 5 years from a hub that was ignored.

thegawd said:

I regrease the front hubs on my 4x4 Burb every spring through the abs wheel speed sensor. I have 1 timkin and 1 moog, the new moog came with a penta (5 sided) bit screw in an attempt to stop people from making them last forever. This bit is in any good security bit set...

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I've never seen a 5-sided screw head. That's kinda odd that Moog would do that, as the ABS sensors are replaceable, although maybe Moog doesn't sell them separately.

I put a rubber tip on a grease zirk that I snap into my grease gun. I dont press it into to hole very hard so that I dont over pressurize the sealed bearings and F em up. While spinning the hub you pump about 10-15 pumps in

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I think I just removed the connector on mine and shoved the end of the hose in. That's a lot more grease than I put in. I think I did maybe 3 or 4 pumps. I'd be worried that 10-15 every spring would over pack the bearings and cause them to overheat.

I just change them anytime I pull a rotor. They’re what? $10 preside? They’re $50 a side on my Cummins andiuse the same procedure

thegawd said:

I regrease the front hubs on my 4x4 Burb every spring through the abs wheel speed sensor... ...After 5 years of doing this I see absolutely no problems.

While spinning the hub you pump about 10-15 pumps in, every pump you feel the wheel bearing become smoother. Then you must clean the grease out of the abs sensor gear.

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I bought my '88 K1500 with 170K miles on it. There's over 300K now.

I never needed to dick with the front hubs. I did have to replace a steering knuckle last fall, so that side got a Treasure Yard knuckle complete with the Treasure Yard hub/bearing.

To my way of thinking, packing grease into factory-sealed bearings is kinda nuts.

WHERE IS TEN--FIFTEEN PUMPS OF GREASE GOING EVERY YEAR? You've done this for five years. That's at least 50 pumps of grease. It's got to be leaking out of defective seals, or you wouldn't be able to put more in.

I gotta get under my '97, which has speed sensors on the front. None of this makes sense to me.

nobears said:

I just change them anytime I pull a rotor. They’re what? $10 preside? They’re $50 a side on my Cummins andiuse the same procedure

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$10 per side, for a sealed-bearing hub assembly? Are you buying them from Viet Nam? What vehicle is this?

My '97 K2500 front hubs are $120 at NAPA. That's the "discount" line, no speed sensor included. The expensive ones are $180+, but come with the sensor.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/PGR...earing+-+Front&keywordInput=wheel+bearing+hub

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BRQ...earing+-+Front&keywordInput=wheel+bearing+hub

Hey I'm ball parking it.... best guess. and you have to clean out the abs ring gear so.... much of the grease is then removed.

I wish that original website still had the info up so I could show you this mechanics procedure. He maintained a fleet of 50 or so trucks and was constantly changing wheel hubs until he made this a part of the trucks yearly maintenance procedures.

Al

Schurkey said:

2WD is as wonderfully serviceable as a 1965 Caprice.

.

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When you buy bearings for a 2WD, do you buy from automotive outlets or bearing suppliers? If the latter, do you have the dimensions of the bearings? Are they 'metric' or 'imperial' sized?