[Zmagnette] wheel bearing lubrication

Fri Mar 7 18:25:36 MST 2014

Well, on the right side, I started to attempt the hub removal.  I 
tried the old trick of putting the brake drum on backwards, and using 
it as a sort of slide hammer.  That didn't work.  I tried a three arm 
puller and cranked it a bit, until it slipped off the hub.  A three 
arm puller isn't necessarily the best thing to try to engage on a 
square part.  I was a bit cautious and not really committed to 
getting deeper into this today.  I am sure I can come up with a 
better puller for this in the future.  The factory puller pulled the 
studs, rather than trying to hook around the back.  Anyway, I would 
say that this hub is the exception to the "does not take much" 
rule.  For now, I cleaned up the mess I could reach.  I took new 
grease, and applied it to the outer bearing as well as I could.  I 
put it back together and the rest will be a project for another 
day.  It is definitely still on the to do list, though.  As for the 
inner parts that I never reached, the manual says that the inner ball 
race bearing spacer and oil seal will remain on the stub axle, and 
must be withdrawn with the aid of a separate extractor.  It's not the 
inner bearing, it is the spacer they think will be stuck.  They list 
special tool part no. 68895.  I have no idea what that is.  I don't 
expect to find one, of course, but it would be interesting to see 
what they had in mind.  I didn't try the left side at all, but I did 
make note in the manual that the left side of the car is left-hand 
thread.  That could be frustrating without that bit of 
knowledge.  There is also a statement to remove the grease retaining 
disc and felt washer.  The grease retaining disc is, I guess, what I 
would call a metal washer.  I didn't find any felt washer and I don't 
remember seeing one in any of the diagrams.  Anyway, thanks for the 
advice and I'll get back to this another day with a bit more time and tools.

-Steve T.

At 05:39 PM 3/7/2014, Fletcher Millmore wrote:
>Steve-
>If the grease is noticeably thin (or dry and solid), then yes, 
>replace it. It likely got that way from too much grease and too much 
>heat. Grease is just oil in a soap base, meant to meter the oil to 
>the parts - what you see is the base disintegrated. Probably the OE grease!
>
>Some hubs (random on identical cars) require a puller, and some do 
>not. This appears to be a tolerance issue; there is NO reason that 
>the bearings should be a "tight" fit on the spindle. It usually does 
>not take much to pull the hub; two prybars behind the hub often do 
>the job. Or bolt the wheel back on with the spindle nut removed, and 
>smack it with a mallet from the back. Since a tight fit is not 
>needed, I always clean up the spindle with emery, so that the 
>bearings are a nice slide fit.
>
>If the inner bearing is stuck, it will pull the seal out of the hub 
>as it is pulled, but normally doesn't damage the seal, which is 
>likely dead of age anyhow.
>
>The inner spacer is a free fit on the spindle, no problem. Worth 
>polishing the seal track with 400 and oil -high polished tracks eat 
>seals. In addition to what I described below, I pack the space 
>immediately behind the seal (bearing side) with grease; this is to 
>provide lube to the seal, and to block water from getting to the 
>bearing if the seal doesn't seal.
>
>FRM
>
>On 3/7/2014 5:13 PM, Steven Trovato wrote:
>>OK, so here's my wheel bearing update.  Everything looks just fine 
>>so far, except the grease in there now is very liquid.  It's no 
>>surprise at all that it is making its way onto my wheels.  If I 
>>want to do an official bearing inspection and service, I better 
>>make sure I have some new grease seals around. I'm going to have to 
>>use a puller to get the hub off, I checked. I am also going to have 
>>to remove the inner spacer and oil seal from the stub axle if the 
>>manual is to believed.
>>And this is supposed to require some other magic special tool.  I'm 
>>sure there is a way to do this with readily available tools, but I 
>>am not in there yet, so I don't know quite what will be 
>>required.  So, I can either forge ahead, or clean things up a bit 
>>and put it together as is for now.  I agree with Fletcher about not 
>>disassembling a known good hub, but I don't think there is any way 
>>to keep the current nasty thin grease from leaking out without 
>>cleaning it all out and putting some reasonable modern grease in 
>>there.  On the other hand, if I just put it together, everything 
>>seems functional and safe for now.
>>Decisions, decisions.
>>
>>-Steve T.
>>
>>At 03:30 PM 3/1/2014, Fletcher Millmore wrote:
>>>Doesn't matter who made the bearings- all ball bearings are the same.
>>>
>>>Too much grease is evil. It just creates heat - which melts the 
>>>grease out, and all over the wheels, or brakes if it goes inside.
>>>
>>>I pack the bearing, and smear all internal surfaces - including 
>>>the cap - with grease to prevent rust.
>>>
>>>Remember that modern greases are far more stable than the old 
>>>stuff, and last more or less forever - far longer than you will.
>>>
>>>Once you put a hub together correctly, properly greased, it should 
>>>easily go 24000 miles, and likely 100,000.
>>>I never take a known good hub apart for inspection - it just wears 
>>>out the bearing fits, and introduces dirt.
>>>IF the car is parked under water, or the brakes hang and get 
>>>really hot, then it makes sense to "inspect and service" the bearings.
>>>IF the outer bearing looks a bit dry, smoosh some grease into that 
>>>bearing. The only place that grease went is along the hub taper to 
>>>the inner bearing.
>>>
>>>FRM
>>
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