Wheel Bearing Grease - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

SirNik84 · #1 07-06-2009, 01:04 PM

Jim B told me once, "The most heated debates in the Diesel Discussion is over what kind of oil to use."

well this my be another heated debate...

I'm rebuilding my rear wheel bearings. I'm about an hours drive from the dealer, and I don't have the Mercedes Grease specified in the wiki
http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/W123RearWheelBearings

I know I should have ordered it when I ordered the bearing kit.... My question is (hear comes the flames)

Is there a grease available at the local auto parts store that meets or surpasses the specifications of the Mercedes wheel grease (Mercedes part number 002 989 51 10)

I'm working OT at work, yet want to finish this project tonight, so not going to the dealer would be a plus. yet at the same time my car has over 350k on it and I'm pretty sure the rear wheel bearings have never been touched... thats impressive performance, I'd like my new wheel bearings to last this long.

Skippy · #2 07-06-2009, 02:06 PM

Going out on a limb here, but I think any high temperature bearing grease will be ok. Just don't use the general purpose (non-high temperature) grease and I think you'll be fine.

Matt L · #3 07-06-2009, 02:07 PM

I am sure that any wheel bearing grease that is designed for disk brake systems will work for your car.

The problem is that you should not mix greases that use different bases, so no matter what grease you use, be sure to get all of the old stuff out. It's possible that even the MB grease has changed bases over the years.

tbomachines · #4 07-06-2009, 02:16 PM

Shouldn't really matter as long as it is high temp. As Matt said above, make sure that you remove all traces of existing grease. I would soak them in engine degreaser overnight, it should dissolve all of the gunk in there. Then repack and you'll be fine.

tangofox007 · #5 07-06-2009, 02:28 PM

There is nothing about wheel bearings that is peculiar to Mercedes. There is no particular reason that it would be essential to use genuine MB grease. That said, rear wheel bearings are not the place to "go cheap" when it comes to grease.

I have had good luck with Exxon Ronex MP grease.

winmutt · #6 07-06-2009, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tangofox007

That said, rear wheel bearings are not the place to "go cheap" when it comes to grease.

I second that motion.

pawoSD · #7 07-06-2009, 02:43 PM

I've been using Mobil 1 Synthetic High Temp wheel bearing grease on all of our cars....so far no issues with many many miles traveled on it.

SirNik84 · #8 07-06-2009, 04:40 PM

The boss left for lunch and told us to fend for ourselfs (the last few days its been eating in the office trying to finish off the project) well I took that opportunity to go buy the Mercedes grease. The dealership is only about 30 minuets away with light traffic, so I made a mid day dash. I hate living in the city!

Anyway, I agree with not going cheap, I'm borrowing the wheel bearing tool, so I don't plan on doing this again, at least not for a LONG time. So the investment in the fancy Mercedes grease is a good one in my mind.

Thanks for the replies, Its good info to know.

TchTchr · #9 07-06-2009, 07:24 PM

I got mine at NAPA - I just asked the guys at the counter. It is MUCH thicker than the general purpose stuff I had at home.

Darkmonster620 · #10 07-06-2009, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippy

Going out on a limb here, but I think any high temperature bearing grease will be ok. Just don't use the general purpose (non-high temperature) grease and I think you'll be fine.

Have you tried vaseline?
In tech school, they told us that when no 'automotive grease' available to use vaseline.

RML · #11 07-06-2009, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkmonster620

Have you tried vaseline?
In tech school, they told us that when no 'automotive grease' available to use vaseline.

I have not seen an analysis of what is in Vaseline vs. hi temp wheel bearing grease, but that sounds pretty shaky to me. And how can there be no automotive grease available? I would think that you would obtain the proper wheel bearing grease before you took your wheels and hubs off. It is not generally an emergency procedure. Well maybe if you are in a war zone and there is a sandstorm and your wheel bearings are clogged with dirt and sand and you need to get back to the base. But why would you have Vaseline with you? Maybe in the emergency medical kit?

SD Blue · #12 07-06-2009, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkmonster620

Have you tried vaseline?
In tech school, they told us that when no 'automotive grease' available to use vaseline.

This may suffice if you are using it to lubricate something, such as a hinge, but definitely not suitable for a wheel bearing. I believe they must have been referring to general purpose grease. Wheel bearings require high temperature grease.

Matt L · #13 07-06-2009, 11:48 PM

Vasoline might get you home, if you have no other choice.

Darkmonster620 · #14 07-07-2009, 08:35 PM

Well my german might not be perfect, but I do recognize a Vaseline jar.
The WerkMeister, made us take appart a rear wheels, clean the most grease out, and lube it with vaseline...We then took an Autobahn trip across the Black Forest up A7 to Frankfurt and back, we then dissembled the wheel bearings and ...voila, nothing bad happened. He made reinstall everything as it was and then kept on using the vehicle for 45 days like that...

I used to work for a shop that had connections and they sent me to Germany for 3 months for a 'Praktikanten something', sorry, let my wiener fall of, but, we did use Vaseline out of the jar.

dmorrison · #15 07-08-2009, 12:51 AM

Anything can run for a while with poor grease or no grease. The T37 jet engine was run without oil to see how long it would go. They shut it down after 5 days and the main bearings had not failed.
But would you trust your life to those bearings now?? Or your rear wheels to an inferior grease??
Any high temp, name brand bearing grease should be good.

More than the grease, the setting of the lash on the bearings is probably a more important considerations. Make sure you get the bearings tightened within limits.

Dave