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| 88 front wheel bearing question (Page 1/2) |
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cam-a-lot
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MAY 13, 08:04 AM
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I have seen a few posts of people re-packing their bearings. Mine are original and work fine- no noise at all, no leaks
Would it make sense to remove and re-pack them anyway, since the grease is ancient? Or should I just leave them alone and wait for them to fail?
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Gall757
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MAY 13, 09:45 AM
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I am leaving mine alone. They seem to do fine unless you go racing.
If you can re-pack them, confident that they will not be dirty or leak, OK, but they were not designed for that, and you may do more harm than good.
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css9450
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MAY 13, 11:04 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by Gall757:
I am leaving mine alone. |
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Same here. I also keep a bunch of spares.
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cam-a-lot
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SEP 17, 07:49 AM
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Any more thoughts on this? I thought I saw a post a few years ago on how to repack the 88 front hubs. It seems to be a good idea to replace 31 year old grease.... perhaps I am wrong
Has anyone actually done this successfully and documented it? I have a couple of sets of 88 front hubs that are fine and I could experiment with one
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Larryinkc
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SEP 17, 08:09 AM
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fieroguru
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SEP 17, 11:37 AM
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I always repack them when I get them. It is a preventive maintenance thing. They will eventually fail... that is a guarantee. It is simply a matter of time (and I drive my 88 8-10K miles per year). If you can properly repack the bearings with fresh grease vs. 30 year old grease, that should give you additional service life from the OEM bearings.
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2.5
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SEP 19, 11:39 AM
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While mile mark do they usually fail? On non tracked 88s....
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pmbrunelle
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SEP 19, 12:21 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Gall757:
If you can re-pack them, confident that they will not be dirty or leak, OK, but they were not designed for that, and you may do more harm than good. |
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That logic makes sense for newish parts, but I disagree for 30-year-old+ dried grease time bombs.
At some point, these late-model maintenance practices (don't maintain "sealed-for-life" stuff) become unsustainable. As the Fiero matures into a classic car, what works for most cars on the road (i.e. sub-15-year-old cars) no longer applies.
Do you think a bearing can operate for 40 years without fresh grease?[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 09-19-2019).]
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Will
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SEP 19, 04:03 PM
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Where do the volatiles in the grease go in a sealed bearing?
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pmbrunelle
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SEP 19, 07:38 PM
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The simple answer to that, is that the "sealed" bearing isn't hermetically sealed, especially as it ages and dirt helps to abrade things between the seal / journal.
It is considered good practice to repack wheel bearings after fording water with a car/truck... it is assumed that water can enter wheel bearings during fording. If the bearing is leaky, then the volatiles can leak out.
Once, I bought an industrial surplus gearmotor that was about 20 years old. It looked like it spent its life indoors, and wasn't scratched up. In that case, when I opened up its gearbox, I was greeted with a pile of thick goop, and a pool of liquid. Apparently the grease separated into its components. In that case, the gearbox stayed sufficiently well sealed to contain all of the ingredients.
I don't think an automotive wheel bearing with water and dirt exposure remains a "closed system" over its lifetime like my industrial gearmotor example.[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 09-19-2019).]
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