Help with my wheel hub please

CKNSLS wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:

Godspeed999 wrote:

MFL wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
Here is yet another case where repacking the bearings did more harm than good. All that was needed was to lube the bearings with a gun and inspect the brakes. Instead repacking was done and caused problems and looks like what could be a major expense for the OP.

I have always said the same. Unless an owner truly knows what he is doing, or has a competent mechanic, that he trusts to do the job right, hand packing bearings is just too important to let the kid, with his cap on backwards, and his pants falling down, do this important task.

Jerry

Is that so? Interesting. I did find it curious that they cleaned them out and repacked them when there's a grease fitting right on them, but it sounded like a more thorough method of completing the job so I let them do it.

I'll stick to greasing them myself from now on. I can just squeeze new grease in and old grease/contaminants/water will be pushed out, correct?

Correct. Buy a $29.00 IR temperature gun at Harbor Freight. I check my hub temps at every stop. The hubs on the "sunny side" of the trailer will always run a little warmer. For some unknown reason(s)-some owners on here like to hand pack and mess with the tolerances when you can just use a grease gun. There are many videos online you can search to see exactly how the system works.

There is no doubt that hand packing , done correctly is the best way.
The grease gun method, though easier has it's downsides.
First it takes a LOT of grease to do it the first time. You need to fill the hub cavity entirely before the grease will start to come out.. You also need to rotate the wheel while pumping te grease in. This is because there is only one hole where fresh grease will exit and enter the beaing.. In order to get fresh grease into the entire bearing, it needs to rotate around the grease hole. And this is for the inner bearing. The outer bearing is next in line to get grease... The grease it will get first is the old grease that was pushed out of the inner bearing... The first time or two you do it, the outer bearing will likely get fresh grease from the hub cavity, but from then on, it will get used grease.. Unless you pump until all the old is expelled ( a lot of grease). If one does it often, then I suppose that the used grease the outer bearing is getting will be fresh enough.. What ever you do... Pump it in very slow. Going too fast risks blowing grease past the seals and onto the brakes.

I just recently got the EZ lube hubs and and still on the fence as to how I will do it.

So-what happens if you choose not to rotate the wheel? Won't the grease still get disbursed as the assembly turns going down the road?