Repacking wheel bearings...What cleaner and what grease? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Mike J · #1 01-19-2006, 10:56 PM

I am repacking the wheel bearings as part of replacing front pads and rotors, and a ball joint.

I can't find the thread, but W Hunter said grease must tolerate 450 degrees operating temp.
I have some DuraBlend that says 400 degrees, but also I have some lithium "Red Sticky" grease that claims a 540 degree "drop point."
Is the "Red Sticky" good stuff? Is "drop point" meaningful?

Also, what do I clean the bearings with? Been told to use acetone, rather than gasoline...
I have both. I know to be thorough, and very dry prior to packing in the grease.

I want to do this ONCE. Sorry, I need to be more disciplined in saving the results of searches.

Brian Carlton · #2 01-19-2006, 11:09 PM

I prefer to use this grease:

http://www.performanceproducts4benz.com/productpage.aspx?pid=103904&name=Lubro+Moly+Wheel+Bearing+and+CV+Joint+Grease

To completely clean the bearings, use mineral spirits (paint thinner) to take off all the old grease from the rollers. Make sure that it completely dissolves all the grease inside the bearings.

Then when they are totally clean, use the acetone to eliminate the residue from the mineral spirits. The acetone will evaporate very quickly and leave perfectly clean and dry surfaces.

Don't handle the acetone with bare hands if you can avoid it. The stuff likes to permeate your skin and do all kinds of damage, long term.

Once the acetone is used, it becomes time for perfect cleanliness........your hands......the spindle.......etc.

kmaysob · #3 01-19-2006, 11:15 PM

use soap and water. my grandpa taught me this years ago. using chemicles causes the grease to not stick to the bearings as well.
i use mobil one grease. it seems to work pretty well. ive got about 10,000 miles on the grease with no problems

Brian Carlton · #4 01-19-2006, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmaysob

use soap and water. my grandpa taught me this years ago. using chemicles causes the grease to not stick to the bearings as well.

Let me get this right............a perfectly clean and dry bearing, with no residue, will not allow grease to stick on the rollers..........but a bearing cleaned with soap and water will allow this??

Let me ask you a question..........do you think they use soap and water at the factory when the bearing is installed when brand new.........to allow the grease to stick better??

pawoSD · #5 01-19-2006, 11:23 PM

My dad repacked the bearings on our 83 when we did the front brakes a year ago, all we used was brake cleaner etc to clean them off, then Castrol High Performance/Temperature Wheel Bearing Grease to pack them, worked great, 12k later, still hummin smoothly.

Brian Carlton · #6 01-19-2006, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

My dad repacked the bearings on our 83 when we did the front brakes a year ago, all we used was brake cleaner etc to clean them off,

The brake cleaner is similar to the acetone. It's quite volatile and evaporates quickly. If you are using the spray cans, you'd need quite a few cans to get all the grease out from inside the rollers. It's better to let the bearing sit in a solution of some type (gasoline.....mineral spirits....kero......fuel oil) to dissolve the grease over a bit of time (1 hour or so). Agitation of the bearing and movement of the rollers will be beneficial for this.

Then use the brake cleaner to finish the job.

kmaysob · #7 01-19-2006, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Let me get this right............a perfectly clean and dry bearing, with no residue, will not allow grease to stick on the rollers..........but a bearing cleaned with soap and water will allow this??

Let me ask you a question..........do you think they use soap and water at the factory when the bearing is installed when brand new.........to allow the grease to stick better??

maybe it worked just the same either way. my grandpa worked for years packing all diff kinds of bearing on diff things. where he got the info idk. but it works great and is soft on the hands. i have been cleaning my bearings with soap and water for years and never had problems. maybe its just the same as brake,carb,wd40,gas,diesel,jet fuel, acetone, whatever, but i know it works and again is easy on the hands.

Brian Carlton · #8 01-19-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmaysob

i have been cleaning my bearings with soap and water for years and never had problems.

I don't believe that you'll get a problem when you use soap (dishwashing soap??) to dissolve the grease. The issue occurs when you rinse with water. The bearing will be clean enough.......for sure.......but you run the risk of leaving water within the rollers unless you thoroughly blow dry the rollers.........not all that easy to do.

Will the residual water cause damage to the bearing over the long haul???.............probably not........but.......seriously........you don't want it there if you can avoid it.

Just rinse them in acetone, or brake cleaner........one time........after your soap and water cleaning process........to get rid of the residual water.

Edited: Roy mentioned another reason to me via PM as to why water is undesirable. If you leave a bit of water in the hub, and the hub exceeds 212F. for any reason (heavy braking causing a significant temperature rise), the water is going to flash to steam and possibly damage the seals when it escapes the hub.

PaulSpringmann · #9 01-19-2006, 11:30 PM

I use MB wheel bearing grease; it comes in a tube with the right amount for 2 wheels. It was about $7 last time I re-packed bearings. Part number is 001 989 23 51 10; (this does not look like an MB number, but this is what my "Factory Approved Service Products" dated October 2000)

I use brake cleaner to clean out the old grease.

whunter · #10 01-20-2006, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike J

I am repacking the wheel bearings as part of replacing front pads and rotors, and a ball joint.
I can't find the thread, but W Hunter said grease must tolerate 450 degrees operating temp.
I want to do this ONCE. Sorry, I need to be more disciplined in saving the results of searches.

That was in the deleted super oil thread.
I use acetone to clean the bearings.

Aaron · #11 01-20-2006, 04:34 AM

I use our solvent tank at the shop to clean bearings then I spray them thoroughly with brake cleaner and let them air dry. DO NOT blow compressed air through the bearing cages!

As for grease, we use either MB grease (neon green stuff) or Agip Superplex EP high temperature grease.

And I always hand pack bearings. I am not a fan of the bearing packer devices. Done it by hand for years, messy but effective.

Diesel Giant · #12 01-20-2006, 05:33 AM

I think most standard wheel packing procedures recommend NOT using a solvent on the bearings. I think that pressure pakcing is the best way to repack them. The problems with solvents is that it is very difficult to remove all the grease and then all the solvent.

pmckechnie · #13 01-20-2006, 07:27 AM

I personally don't wash bearings either, and I pack them by hand. I force the grease through the bearing until all the old grease is pushed out. As far as using soap and water, that is fine just add one more step. Rinse them in HOT water so the part gets hot, shake off as much water as possible, then the heat in the part will dry it the rest of the way. Learned this trick from an old army sargent when I was in the service. After a day in the field me and my rifle took a shower together. Rinsed the rifle in hot water, let it dry, cleaned it with just a hint of oil and never had a problem. By the way, an old dishwasher (not the one in the kitchen) makes a great parts washer.

rwthomas1 · #14 01-20-2006, 08:24 AM

My prefered method is to use Kerosene as a solvent in a bucket or the oil drain pan. Cleaning the bearings thoroughly is easy with an old toothbrush. Cleaning them thoroughly is the only way to see if the rollers are damaged in any way.

I fail to see how blowing them out with compressed air will damage them. As long as you do not spin the cages with the air stream theres no problem doing this and they are ready to be packed when you are done. This is how they taught me in VoTec years ago.

I always hand pack the bearings. The MB grease is nice but I use Mobil 1 or Amsoil synthetic in all my vehicle bearings. Never had a problem. Both of them will meet or exceed any spec you can provide.

The most important part is to correctly set the preload on the bearings. Do a search on this. It has been discussed before and there are several ways to do it and get it right.

RT