Greasing the front wheel hubs.. (With pics)

[Jdeshler]

Okay, Iv read for years now that the front wheel bearings can and can't be greased.. We will lay this to rest today.. I changed both of the wheel hubs on my 01 yukon 4x4 yesterday and decided to dissect the hubs..






I didn't get a picture of the inside of the abs port on the new chinese hubs but the grease is definitely minimal and it will take several good pumps of hi temp grease.

The hub CAN BE greased through the abs port! You can see that the sensor sprocket is in the same chamber. END of dispute

 

[drakon543]

Can they be greased yes should they be greased not really unless your into doing alot of extra work. They come pregreased and sealed so the grease that is in them is supposed to stay in it. Once the hub has gone bad its usually due to the bearing wearing out which creates extra heat which practically liquifies the grease and the grease comes out which makes it worse. Once the seal has been broken (taking it apart to grease it for this discussion) its difficult to get it to seal back up. Which would end up with you regreasing it every few months. So technically the my response would be yes and no at the same time. Ive regreased one or 2 just to milk it a few more months but its only delaying the inevitable necessity to replace the hub anyway.

 

[Jdeshler]

Viscosity breaks down from cooking oil to hi temp oil.. There are a lot of people that like to do this as a preventative maintenance before they ever have a chance to go bad. That would likely get 50,000 more miles or more. I have been in industrial maintenance for years and once a week we pump grease Into everything that moves.. If someone tries to do this to fix their vibration issues then that is obviously silly because its too late.. As I said above, I put 2 brand new bearings on and there was barely enough grease in them.. When you pack new bearings you pack them, not put a little squeeze around the bearing like these chinese companies do.. Resealing the abs sensor isn't a problem because it has a metal shim and an oring to ensure a seal.

 

[07Burb]

For the money, I'll just buy the Timken's off Rock Auto for $140 a piece and move on. The usually last 50k miles or so and is not a hard job. Interesting information, though.

 

[Jdeshler]

I would definitely go for the better ones if I could! I'm gonna see how far I can go on these 2 for 70$ ebay specials..

 

[TheAutumnWind]

SO I can just pump grease into the ABS port?

Shit. I should've done that when I replaced my abs lines.

 

[Jdeshler]

SO I can just pump grease into the ABS port?

Shit. I should've done that when I replaced my abs lines.

You sure can.. It's going to become a regular practice for me too.

 

[TheAutumnWind]

You sure can.. It's going to become a regular practice for me too.

Next time I have the wheels off im going to do it.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[drakon543]

Was unaware you were referring to pumping grease through the abs port. Then yes if you can get to the abs port without removing the hub from the vehicle then its a simple matter. If you cant get to the abs port while its on the vehicle thats where you can have a minor issue. On occasion while removing the hub from a vehicle the rear ring may separate from the hub assembly and break the outer seal. If that rear outer ring comes off i would suggest looking into a new hub after a bit. If the hub stays together there is nothing wrong with jdeshler's suggestion. If anyone starts making this a habit make sure you thoroughly clean the cup on the spindle the hub sits in. This will help keep the rear of the hub from sticking inside the spindle and coming off.

 

[TheAutumnWind]

Was unaware you were referring to pumping grease through the abs port. Then yes if you can get to the abs port without removing the hub from the vehicle then its a simple matter. If you cant get to the abs port while its on the vehicle thats where you can have a minor issue. On occasion while removing the hub from a vehicle the rear ring may separate from the hub assembly and break the outer seal. If that rear outer ring comes off i would suggest looking into a new hub after a bit. If the hub stays together there is nothing wrong with jdeshler's suggestion. If anyone starts making this a habit make sure you thoroughly clean the cup on the spindle the hub sits in. This will help keep the rear of the hub from sticking inside the spindle and coming off.

You can get to it with the hub on the vehicle no problem.