Grease quantity in hub cavity?

[OrangPeEL]

Just replaced front bearings in GT. Removed all old grease from hub... & packed bearings with new. Upon reassembly I'm stuck... HELP!

I find next to caliper torque spec in service manual... "check [bearing lubrication] and quantity of grease in cavity of wheel hub" ... but that quantity isn't detailed.

My Question: What is appropriate quantity of hub grease? - OR- Is there just a best general practice to use here?

Thanks!
-Dan

[greensmurf20]

i usually just pack the wheel bearings really well, wipe some on the races, and fill the cap close to full, set the wheel bearings, pop the cap on and call-r good

[OrangPeEL]

Thanks for quick reply Jared! I'm with ya on packing the bearings/race with copious amount of grease.

I've never removed all the grease from spindle cavity of a hub before... now the "check quantity" from manual has me concerned there's a purpose for it to be in there too.

Any other insight?

-Dan

[jordan]

There is a specific way to pack bearings with grease, wiping grease on them might not necessarily be fine. You should put some grease in the palm of your hand and and then "smack" (move in a downward fashion) with the needle? or roller bearing? (there is a specific difference, but I can't remember right now) facing the grease and in effect causing the grease to be forced around the bearings.

[greensmurf20]

yes jordan is right, bearings must be "packed" not just rolled in grease. put a glob in your hand and you put your fingers through the center of the bearing and try to pull the inner part of the bearing up, so when you push the bearing down in the edge of the pile, it packs the bearing with grease. maybe somebody can take a pic of the right way to do it for future reference?

[OrangPeEL]

Jared and Jorden are referring to purging the dry voids of a bearing/race assembly with grease. Thanks guys!

I'll gladly hand-model (pro-bono ) a photo of what they are explaining and post it here... when determined I need to re-remove installed calipers & hubs; so that I can load the cavity with "quantity" of grease. I'd even photo/post that too!

Anyone have thoughts on proper amount/quantity of grease for hub spindle cavity (where no bearings ride)?

Thanks!
-Dan

[greensmurf20]

woudlnt hurt to just fill it as much as ya can

[namba209]

Here's my take on that, having just replaced all the bearings and front spindles, along with rebuilding the front end on my 72 GT. First off, my USAF training, working in a wheel and tire shop for a year, and basic laws of physics, and just a modicom of common sense. The bearings are close to center in the spindles, the cavities are outside that, so any excess grease from the bearings will flow, from centrifical action away from the bearings into the cavities. Next, because they are caged roller bearings they do not require a lot of lubricant, the roller bearings in jet engines for the turbines and compressors shafts only get a light oil mist during operation. So with all that being taken into consideration, I removed all the grease from the spindles before they were sandblasted, I hand packed my bearings, smeared some grease on the races and put them all together. Same as when I did the wheel bearings on fighter aircraft during my career. O.K., now the aircraft very seldom went more than 25 landings between tire/wheel/bearing changes. But our Opels don't have anywhere near the stress of a 75K lb airplane or the speeds they travel on take-off or landing. Repacking the bearings after the recommended 10,000 miles should be more than sufficient, IMHO. But I will bow to someone's expertise in that regard and change my method accordingly.

[RallyBob]

I've never gone crazy inside the hub and the dust cover...about 1/8" of grease or so is plenty. From what I've heard it's more a matter of displacing moisture than anything. Last thing you want rattling around with your bearings is rust flakes. Think about all the hot/cold cycles the bearings go through, morning condensation in humid climates, driving in rain and snow, and even fording small puddles. Gotta keep the water out....

Bob

[jeff denton]

I've always wondered why light trucks and cars even run greased bearings. Why not run them in oil like on a big truck?
A greased bearing runs with clearance, a bearing in oil runs with preload, pretty damn tight even, in a truck. Seems like that would be good for a car, too?
Anyone else ever thought about that?

[nobody]

There is a cc volume amout for bearings for any given size and overpacking can produce heat. Simple rule of thumb saturate the bearing in grease then remove about 2/3 of it. Always use the best grease you can get. Personally I like the Kluber synthetics, ok German and about 60 bucks per 100 cc's but speaking as a high speed spindle repairman, worth every penny. I use the nbu 16 for the high temp and high load. It has a lower load coeficient on any given bearing and allows for higher rpm and load. Ok way too many secrets on that one.

[OrangPeEL]

Thanks all- sounds like I'll be OK as done! Already knowing that too much in there can expand with heat & push out for a mess... learning some purpose for a little there that helps! I can move on now!

Originally Posted by greensmurf20 ...bearings must be "packed" not just rolled in grease... maybe somebody can take a pic of the right way to do it for future reference?

FWIW- suggested pic sequence of palm packing here (not gospel... just one of those father/son pass down things)...

http://opelgt.com/photos/showphoto.p...at/3058/page/1

-Dan

[namba209]

Yep, that's almost the way I do the hand packing of bearings, except I move the grease to the top of my hand next to the base of the thumb. Then I force the grease into the bearing by applying pressure against the area with the bearing in an upward motion towards the wrist. The big thing is to be sure the grease comes out the other side of the bearing between the rollers. Good sequence of pics BTW.

[greensmurf20]

thats awesome dan! this'll be a nice reference to send newbies too in the future instead of trying to explain how to pack a bearing, the picture is so much easier to use than trying to explain with words!

[baz]

i agree with ron on method except i use rubber gloves cause im a wuss