[Jeepwm69]

We all know that if you get anything other than OEM wheel bearings they come with some garbage in them that's supposed to pass for grease. Most of us will tell you to pack them with fresh grease before you install them.

That said.....

I've seen some people say that if you put too much grease in a wheel bearing that it will cause the ball bearings to slide instead of roll, which leads to flat spots and premature bearing wear.

I actually got one of these a couple of years ago. I liked the fact that it greases from the inside out, which means it pushes the old grease out of the bearing.

I've got these 420 knuckles cleaned up and have a set of Pivot Works bearings to go in, and I'm trying to decide if I should pump them full of Mobil 1 syn red grease or leave the stuff in there that came in them

Pivot Works actually has a "lifetime warranty", which in reality means they'll replace them once after they wear out. I haven't worn out a set yet but this is only then 2nd machine I'll be using them in.

Thoughts?

 

[Jeepwm69]

I also find it interesting that OEM bearings and Pivot Works bearings do not have seals in them. They are left open, while all the others seem to have seals in them.

I wonder if the seal does more harm that good, holding in water and moisture rather than allowing it to run out of the bearing.

 

[shadetree]

I also find it interesting that OEM bearings and Pivot Works bearings do not have seals in them. They are left open, while all the others seem to have seals in them.

I wonder if the seal does more harm that good, holding in water and moisture rather than allowing it to run out of the bearing.

after market bearings had to come up with some kind of way to make them last longer ?!..lol. oem from honda does not have seals in the front wheel bearings, odd to say the least ?, but..hey..what do I know ! .

 

[fishfiles]

You know I am a PivotWorks guy , I check their list before I buy OEM , I leave the grease that comes in them , figure if they will warranty them for a year , they must be putting good grease in them ==== LOL , maybe the grease is the secret to a years worth of no problem , maybe they got some high tech / NASA grade grease and their bearings are really Chinese junk LMFAO

 

[mrbb]

wonder if the aftermarket world started putting seals on them to hide the fact they so often don;t put any grease in them LOL
the cover is just to prevent you from seeing dry bearings !

 

[shadetree]

wonder if the aftermarket world started putting seals on them to hide the fact they so often don;t put any grease in them LOL
the cover is just to prevent you from seeing dry bearings !

makes no diff to me, when I get new bearings, I always pack them.

 

[retro]

I have new Pivot Works bearing sets here for the 450 Foreman I'm restoring and I intend to clean them out and repack with Mobil 1 before installing them. Its a decades old habit... I know what I got when I pack them myself with my own grease. If I didn't I wouldn't get any sleep until I did!

I am finishing up with routine winter maintenance on my Rancher right now... all fluids were just changed, oil cooler flushed, all wheel bearings were removed, flushed, inspected and repacked. New seals tapped in, ball joints & tie rods shot with Mobil 1 and resealed, starter motor & shift motor torn down for inspections, cleaning & Mobil 1 relubing, shocks all the way around got new seals, pivot collars & MOS2 grease on the bottom of them, valves adjusted, compression checked, carb torn down for a quick looksee & flush with berrymans, made a thin Viton gasket for the primer pump, checked on my homemade stainless petcock screen and flushed the fuel tank, relocated the winch contactor behind the steering stem, yanked the exhaust to look at the color coating the inside of the header pipe, etc.

The point I'm making is... that I'm gonna teardown, put eyeballs on, clean & relube everything regularly anyway... so makes no sense to me to leave/trust factory grease/oil in any bearing, ever. I don't mind buying new seals every year, putting eyeballs on parts as they age/wear and doing the work (thats fun), but I can't stand buying replacements for failing bearings. Thats my fault if/when it ever happens and that puts my irish temper in orbit!

 

[retro]

You made a great point about overfilled bearings Jeep. No more than 5/8 full behind seals is usually plenty. Overfilled ones make a mess on neighboring parts when grease comes squirting out past seals. The balls will skid (becoming grease plows) at high RPM too, if their raceways remain blocked by excessive lube.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

I have new Pivot Works bearing sets here for the 450 Foreman I'm restoring and I intend to clean them out and repack with Mobil 1 before installing them. Its a decades old habit... I know what I got when I pack them myself with my own grease. If I didn't I wouldn't get any sleep until I did!

I am finishing up with routine winter maintenance on my Rancher right now... all fluids were just changed, oil cooler flushed, all wheel bearings were removed, flushed, inspected and repacked. New seals tapped in, ball joints & tie rods shot with Mobil 1 and resealed, starter motor & shift motor torn down for inspections, cleaning & Mobil 1 relubing, shocks all the way around got new seals, pivot collars & MOS2 grease on the bottom of them, valves adjusted, compression checked, carb torn down for a quick looksee & flush with berrymans, made a thin Viton gasket for the primer pump, checked on my homemade stainless petcock screen and flushed the fuel tank, relocated the winch contactor behind the steering stem, yanked the exhaust to look at the color coating the inside of the header pipe, etc.

The point I'm making is... that I'm gonna teardown, put eyeballs on, clean & relube everything regularly anyway... so makes no sense to me to leave/trust factory grease/oil in any bearing, ever. I don't mind buying new seals every year, putting eyeballs on parts as they age/wear and doing the work (thats fun), but I can't stand buying replacements for failing bearings. Thats my fault if/when it ever happens and that puts my irish temper in orbit!

I want to see pictures!

 

[Jeepwm69]

You made a great point about overfilled bearings Jeep. No more than 5/8 full behind seals is usually plenty. Overfilled ones make a mess on neighboring parts when grease comes squirting out past seals. The balls will skid (becoming grease plows) at high RPM too, if their raceways remain blocked by excessive lube.

Sooo, with that in mind, this bearing greaser from Machined Intigrations will likely overgrease the bearing, no?

It fills the bearing with grease from the inside out, which is what I liked about it, as it pushes the crap and old grease out in the process.

Is skidding a problem on something like a utility Honda? I don't drive fast. Most of my riding is under 20mph, but that's still spinning pretty fast in a wheel bearing.

 

[retro]

I doubt if overstuffed wheel bearings on Hondas could lead to any skidding rollers/balls problem since they operate at very low RPMs. I honestly would not be concerned about that. More likely is any excess grease will probably find an escape past seals. In an extreme case, I once saw an overfilled bearing set in a knuckle pop a seal out of that knuckle when the axle was installed, cause the bearings and knuckle were overstuffed.

I wish we could find a way to grease them without tearing everything down. I might be willing to live with squirting seals in some cases, if I could shoot them.

 

[diyer]

I put OEM bearing on my front axles.
Repacked with my choice of synthetic grease.

My way to repack wheel bearings such as my boat trailer is;
remove
inspect and races
clean with gasoline to remove old grease
wash with bio-degradable cleaner to remove gasoline (Super Clean, Purple Power)
blow water out with air
repack by hand

 

[Jeepwm69]

I wish we could find a way to grease them without tearing everything down. I might be willing to live with squirting seals in some cases, if I could shoot them.

Some of the 300 guys will drill a hole in the knuckle, add a zerk, then grind a corresponding slot in the outer bearing race where it will line up with the hole with the bearing installed before putting the bearing in. That way they can grease without removing anything.

Something I've considered doing.

 

[retro]

That is a great idea! Maybe you could add a vent hole (another zerk or a plug you could screw out, to let old grease out) between the bearing and seal? If there were two vent plugs next to the outer seal you could even blow air into one of them to force old grease out the other, avoiding the seal squirting problem...?

 

[Jeepwm69]

I think you should do this @retro, and do a write up on it so the rest of us can follow your instructions!

:icon_ devil:

 

[retro]

Haha... I actually logged out and ran away right away after that last post, cause I started thinkin' about routing short steel lines (over-the-counter brake line flared tubing?) snug up against those knuckles (so they don't get ripped out/crushed by crap) and retained with tiny brackets where zerks/plugs could be more easily accessed.... some hydraulic brake line hose could be added onto the steel line for remote greasing/venting. Why not right..? LOL

 

[Jeepwm69]

Here's an interesting tidbit. I pulled a set of worn out pivot works bearings a few days ago (first set of these I've worn out, but they were installed in 2014 so I'm not complaining).

Called them, they said send them in with the original receipt/invoice and they're replace them. The recording while I was waiting on a live person said "All Balls" and I thought WTH?

Apparently a larger conglomerate that owned All Balls, Winderosa, and some other brands bought out the Pivot Works parent company, who also owns Hot Rods, Hot Cams, and some other brands.

Pivot Works, Inc.