I had a hard time understanding why the mfg says to repack the wheel bearings every year even though I usually put on less than a thousand miles a year on our 30' Cardinal 5th wheel. But after talking to many people who know wheel bearings I decided it needed to be done every year.
The last time I used Mobil 1 synthetic grease. I had to redo one and discovered no matter what solvent I tried, even gasoline, nothing would clean the grease off. I called Mobil 1 and they said to use brake cleaner and even that didn't work. Has anyone had luck in cleaning synthetic grease off?
I have a couple of thoughts and would like your input. If this grease is that good I'm thinking of just going several years between repacking. When it is time to repack I thought of not cleaning them but just pack fresh grease in and try and get as much of the old grease out. Do both ideas sound good to you?
When I lived back East, I would repack the bearings every 2-3 years or 10,000-12,000 miles of towing. The bearings and the grease always looked pretty good so I have slacked off now that we live in the southwest and humidity is not a problem. I have been out here going on 5 years and haven't re-packed once. Keep a good check on the dust cap and the rear seal, these two items are supposed to keep dust/water out and keep the grease inside the hub. Synthetic grease should extend the time between servicing, but keep in mind any grease can become contaminated if the seal or dust cap fail. Keep a good eye on the tire and rim (front and back), if you start seeing grease slinging out on the rim or tire, you have a bad seal or cap or you have over packed the hub with grease.
I have included a couple of links and I really don't have any suggestions on how to removed syn. grease. Good quality brake cleaner has always worked for me but you have already tried that. Good Luck.
zapman said
03:43 PM May 22, 2011
Thank you, that helps put my mind at ease and the web sites will help.
I had a hard time understanding why the mfg says to repack the wheel bearings every year even though I usually put on less than a thousand miles a year on our 30' Cardinal 5th wheel. But after talking to many people who know wheel bearings I decided it needed to be done every year.
The last time I used Mobil 1 synthetic grease. I had to redo one and discovered no matter what solvent I tried, even gasoline, nothing would clean the grease off. I called Mobil 1 and they said to use brake cleaner and even that didn't work. Has anyone had luck in cleaning synthetic grease off?
I have a couple of thoughts and would like your input. If this grease is that good I'm thinking of just going several years between repacking. When it is time to repack I thought of not cleaning them but just pack fresh grease in and try and get as much of the old grease out. Do both ideas sound good to you?
http://www.ehow.com/how_5852133_clean-up-synthetic-grease.html
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f50/tt-wheel-bearings-88867.html
When I lived back East, I would repack the bearings every 2-3 years or 10,000-12,000 miles of towing. The bearings and the grease always looked pretty good so I have slacked off now that we live in the southwest and humidity is not a problem. I have been out here going on 5 years and haven't re-packed once. Keep a good check on the dust cap and the rear seal, these two items are supposed to keep dust/water out and keep the grease inside the hub. Synthetic grease should extend the time between servicing, but keep in mind any grease can become contaminated if the seal or dust cap fail. Keep a good eye on the tire and rim (front and back), if you start seeing grease slinging out on the rim or tire, you have a bad seal or cap or you have over packed the hub with grease.
I have included a couple of links and I really don't have any suggestions on how to removed syn. grease. Good quality brake cleaner has always worked for me but you have already tried that. Good Luck.
Thank you, that helps put my mind at ease and the web sites will help.