Al/Don,
ALL of the old grease should be removed prior to putting the new
bearings into the hubs. Everything should be "clean and new looking"
before assembly. Old grease will contaminate the new grease and lead to
more rapid breakdown
I didn't notice whether there was a description on packing the bearings
but a good bit of time spent pushing grease into the bearing will be
required. Speaking of grease, my personal preference is Sta-Lube Disc
Brake grease.
I pretty much have done the bearings on all of my cars over the years
and have found that two or three finger-fulls of grease in the hub area
is mostly gone by the time the next packing session comes around. I
also fill the outer grease cap with a good finger-full.
If you are using the felt inner grease seal be aware that you will be
tightening (re-tightening) the shaft nut three or four times as the felt
compresses.
The caveat to all of this is the result of experiencing a friends first
wheel bearing job. The front of the car dropped a bit and we drifted
towards the curb. Getting out we watched the wheel bearing pour out of
the hub. A torch was needed to fix the problem. The moral of the
storey use lots of grease (it's cheap) and torque the nut to the proper
point.
Stephen Hanselman
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