hosrom_951

Would the front wheel bearing(s) benifit from being disassembled, cleaned and repacked with grease (just like the CV joint) or that would be just a waste of time?

Note: they are fine, just a general question since i never saw anyone (manuals, forums) mention this.

PorscheDoc

It should be done on a yearly basis (if your car is a DD) in my opinion. It only takes a half hour or so.

Bri Bro

I inspect and repack the front bearings and the hubs every spring. Cheap insurance.

hosrom_951

DD, daily driven?


That's good to know, it is moly base grease that should be used, like the CV's right?

pa944red

Please forgive me if this is a dumb question but, do you guys replace the seals every time you do this?

Thanks
Tom

Oddjob

No, its not like CV joint grease. Its much heavier. Should be sold as "wheel bearing" grease, or a general purpose bearing grease. Can also get it in synthetic.

Oddjob

I would. In order to get the inner wheel bearing out, you need to pull the grease seal, which will get destroyed in the process. Thats the only good way of cleaning and repacking the bearings.

hosrom_951

Jim: Just browsed clarks garage for this, it is also mentioned there that the grease is moly based, which is what i used for the CV's, it is black in colour......

The 'wheel bearing grease' i see sold locally is oil based (dark yellow in colour), i always thought moly based grease is better than any other grease out there, since it has a higher heat range.

Bri Bro

The grease is moly based, black as coal. If you get it on your skin it is really slick and hard to completely remove. I replace the grease seal and inspect the bearing and repack the grease. I replaced both front and back bearing this spring so they should be good to go for some time. The car does around 30 DE days a year and is driven as a DD when the weather is nice.

Oddjob

CV joint and wheel bearing grease are not the same thing. Having messed around with both wheel bearings and CV joints more than I care to remember, the consistency of the two greases is not similar at all. I predict you will have very short lived wheel bearing life, if you dare to pack them with CV joint grease.

Most of the wheel bearing grease I have used, both synthetic and non-synthetic has been red, but a dark charcoal/black color is also common for non-synthetics.

Wheel bearing grease (first few hits off Google):

http://www.timken.com/industries/aut...s/wbgrease.asp

http://www.syntheticoilnlubes.com/am...grease_gl.html

http://www.mobil.com/Canada-English/...tic_Grease.asp

http://www.pennzoil.com/products/gre...m_707_red.html

http://www.pzlqs.com/Tech/Pdsheet/Qu...gLubricant.PDF

http://www.bakerprecision.com/neowhl.htm

http://www.nextag.com/wheel-bearing-grease/search-html


CV Joint grease:

http://www.prostreetonline.com/oem/q...tion=000268367

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pro...asp?RecId=3008

Bri Bro

What I have been using is made by Valvoline and is a semi-synthetic Durablend grease which as a lithium thickener, is moly-fortified and is a dark color. Its applications include wheel bearings and CV joints.
http://www.valvoline.com/products/Du...d%20Grease.pdf
The Valvoline full synthetic is also a dark gray color and has applications of wheel bearing and CV joints.
http://www.valvoline.com/products/Synpower%20Grease.pdf
Redline makes a grease that is red in color and it applications include wheel bearings and CV joints.
http://www.paragon-products.com/product_p/rlcv2.htm