it depends on what they cost, if they are still common bearing numbers, it's not going to hurt anything, don't throw the old ones away if you do, like I suggested clean and repack them,put them in a ziplock bag and put them in the trunk for an emergency,
Yes I would if you don't know how many of that 43k in on them. Cost is irrelivant. Bearings for that car are cheap and available. Then you know where you stand. Still get the good high temp grease as suggested! This is not where you should cut corners!
Yes clean them for one reason being if you are unsure if they were packed before with moly or lithium based,the 2 are not compatible and if mixed will cause failure.I use mystic jt6 it is lithium and readily available almost everywhere.
"I would if you don't know how many of that 43k in on them." Sorry bud but I don't know what you mean by "in on them"? I took possession of her with 21K and I KNOW the bearings are original. I'll change them out any way. Just hate to waste a good part.
you don't have to waste them, if they are cleaned and greased you will have them if you need them on the side of the road somewhere
I'd go for new ones. They're not expensive and then you know what you have. I just make sure mine are made in USA or Canada. My 2 cents.
There are some believable stories about mixing different greases resulting in a new, not very grease-like substance. Bearing and grease manufacturers encourage complete cleaning unless the exact same make and type of grease is being used. ball/roller bearing manufacturers have long cautioned against cleaning bearings with chlorinated solvents (brake clean) because they evaporate so completely that the highly finished steel surfaces are left vulnerable to immediate surface rusting. I think great solvents like lacquer thinner and the alcohols run the same risk. Their recommendation for tough old grease is a heated caustic bath. The surface damage is not likely to bring on failure in the short term. But Even slight surface damage makes it easier for fatigue to begin the spalling process sometime down the road. Still, if things look good, I often just add whatever is in the gun that day. I clean with kerosene, possibly preceded by a few blasts of carb cleaner to loosen up the tough gunk. "Use recommended solvent" - not very helpful http://www.vsm.skf.com/~/media/Files/enUS/Automotive/TechTips/TT08_013.ashx some actual solvent recommendations here http://www.skf.com/files/520034.pdf
I don't think the short time between cleaning them with brake cleaner and immedietly packing them full of grease is going to do any damage, just don't let them sit unprotected
Off the subject of what grease to use. While doing precision bearings I began using WD 40 instead of air to blow out bearings. 1. it doesn't dry or rust the bearing. 2. If you lay a clean Kim wipe or paper towel down you will be amazed at the fine particles the WD 40 will carry out. If you will not be using them soon just put them in a baggy an they will be protected by the WD 40.
Clean them,...because you can inspect them better. Fresh grease , properly packed, and you're good to go !!! 4TTRUK
Thank you all for your input! I read a few older posts regarding bearings and ya know...I'm AMAZED that you guys are repacking bearings every few years or so!! I would probably NEVER have even thought of doing this if I hadn't gotten on to this site. In my entire life(57), on all the cars I've had and my parents had, I've never had to deal with bearings in any way. Never had a bearing "issue" of any kind. Why is that? The 2001 Ford everyday car I use now has 140K on it and no wheel/bearing situations. My '81 shovelhead has maybe as many na d I've never changed bearings. (Now you've all got me worried!!;-) I'm going to put in new ones on the Falcon but I'm just curious as to why it such a concern on YOUR vehicles.
I was told never to do it and I saw the reason why. I worked with some wiseass who was getting a kick of how fast it spun, then it let go and the rollers were all over. I used to use carb cleaner or Safety Kleen, shake most of the solvent out and use a low-pressure air gun to get the rest out. Bob
Some newer cars, the bearings are sealed and never need to be greased. I'm fastidious about my wheel bearings, every brake job, they get cleaned, looked at closely and re-packed. Then installed and adjusted carefully. I never had a failure until a few years ago on my OT Chevy wagon. On a cold winter day on the way to work, my RF outer bearing self-destructed. I was able to save the spindle, but the outer bearing and rotor were toast. Bob
newer bearings last a lot longer and are sealed, these old bearings are more open to getting contamination and damage during use, it's also cheap insurance, and most of us like to get our hands greasy anyway, I just had to do this same thing on my off topic 90 Lincoln, everything in the brakes was toast from the former owner, as well as the bearings, who puts plastic caged bearings in anyway? I found good all metal Timken ones to go in instead
I'm looking at the bearings for my car on Rockauto and they don't look anything like what I have!? The originals have a taper. The new ones do not.....the race is straight across, no taper. What's going on??? They also offer inner & outer bearings????? What does that mean? I just took off the spindle nut and removed the bearings. Is that considered "outer"......if the bearing is right under the dust cap? By "outer" do they mean you are looking at the bearing once you remove the dust cap? But that doesn't make sense!
The pictures don't always match the product. The outer is the smaller one, under the dust cap. The inner rides on the inside of the hub, closer to the steering knuckle. Bob
JEEZ!!! SO I might have just bought and replaced ONLY the outer ones and would've had to do it all over huh!!! I didn't even see the inner one when doing this. Live and frikkin' learn!!!
I look all the bearings over carefully, just because they're old doesn't mean they're bad. You need new oil seals for the hubs if you dive into the inners. I always take everything out of the hubs, make sure the bearing races are not scored and not falling out. Wash the whole thing out with solvent and do the bearing repack thing from A-Z. Bob
TX Lost! I hope I did this right! Anyway, where is the INNER bearing? And how do I reduce the image size?
The inner is still in the hub, pop the grease seal out with something like a brake spoon. I always removed the outer and washer, put the nut back on and yank the drum so the bearing catches on the nut, gotta replace the oil seal anyway. Bob
HEY, im going through the same thing after i put new wheel cylinders and shoes on my 51 plymouth cranbrook(moredoor!) and ive noticed that the bearing itself is good but not much grease in the hub? i was wondering what type of grease too use on her almost ready for a good cruise!!!!!
The dust cover is in pic 2. bobss396......so the inner bearing is still inside pic #1? I tried removing the ring with my fingers but it keeps moving/slanting so I can't just lift it out easily. I get one side up but the opposite side gets stuck. I need to get a brake spoon? No way to just lift it out with spread needle nose or something similar?
I've been using Kendall disc brake wheel bearing grease for years. Any other name brand is just as good. Bob
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