Wheel bearing grease for re-packing?

[Surt]

One of the first things I did after buying my Bronco a few weeks ago was to swap out the brake pads and rotors. It improved the driving and braking immensely, as I figured it would, but I now have a phantom squeak the eventually has itself worked own to just a rhythmic ringing like a metal rod being rotated round in an empty barrel. I've greased the calipers and the all the metal-on-metal contact points for the pads, but the noise continues.
I figured maybe the issue was when I swapped out the hubs the spindle nut had too much grease wiped off of it as I ran around town with it wrapped in a towel trying to find the correct socket to remove the other one and aid in their re-installation. I dropped by O'Reilly's on my way home from the gym today, and after consulting with the counter attendant they sent me home with this:



http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...bearing+grease

Is this the correct grease? It looks nothing like the grey stuff currently in my hubs/axle. It says it's a "lithium based complex" but can the two be mixed? Will it eventually turn the same color as the stuff currently in there? This can of stuff looks like Lemon Jell-O.

[JScatt]

I think you need to start from scratch on this one.
Tear it back down, remove the bearings from the hub and completely de-grease them, soaking them in gas works best.
Inspect them for wear then repack them with Mobil1 synthetic wheel bearing grease.

[Ewgoetz]

Originally Posted by JScatt

I think you need to start from scratch on this one.
Tear it back down, remove the bearings from the hub and completely de-grease them, soaking them in gas works best.
Inspect them for wear then repack them with Mobil1 synthetic wheel bearing grease.

+1

But before you start with all that. Take a look at the rotor and the dust shield and make sure the dust shield isn't touching the rotor. Also may want to jack the wheels off the ground and spin the wheels and see if the rotor touches the dust shield.

[Surt]

Thanks for the input, guys. I'll get back in there tomorrow when I dive back in to replace all the nuts. The metallic noise just sounds too light and thin to be a nut inside a hub under 60 pounds of torque. I'll take the wheel back off and give the dust shield a few taps with a rubber mallet and then hand-spin to see if it fixes anything. The rotor/pad change was such an ordeal (my first time dealing with having to transfer hubs over to new rotors) that it was just a day's worth of chaos and pain, looking back.

If'n that doesn't cure the ills, I imagine I have to go get a special tool to remove and re-install that inner bearing? Might as well do a once-over on my ABS ring too.

Also, in the event I do have to do an entire re-grease cycle, how do I clear out the inside of the hub?

[JScatt]

Get plenty of rags and just wipe the inside of the hub clean.
I use a rag soaked with gas, that gets it real clean.
Gas= the best de-greaser.

Like EW mentioned above, spin the wheel to see/hear if you can isolate the squeak.

Either way I would clean and re-pack the bearings.

[Surt]

Yeah, that's definitely on the docket for later now that I have you guys' advisement to do so. I had my hamstring grafted into my new ACL and my torn meniscus debraided earlier this month, though, so if I can put off anything involving squatting or kneeling in the wheel well like for a week or three without risking any horrific damage to my poor Bronco I'd kind of prefer that.

[Kingfish999]

maby you tightened the spindle nuts incorrectly. what meathod did you use to tighten the spindle nuts? deffinitly pull the wheel and see if you find the noise. that looks like some cheap grease. i wouldnt use that on my trailer. after driving, feel the hubs and see if there hot. they wil be warm but not too hot to touch

[Ewgoetz]

Originally Posted by Surt

The metallic noise just sounds too light and thin to be a nut inside a hub under 60 pounds of torque.

Umm that sounds a bit tight. What instructions did you use to torque them?

[hizootiemizark]

Also take a look at the metal inserts that the brake pads rest on (cant remember the correct name), I had a lip break off of one on the driver side and it worked its way inward until it was touching the rotor. And recently after doing my front breaks I put new ones on (from A zone) and one was sticking up too high and touching the inside of my stock wheels. It made a sound just like your describing. May be something simple.

[Steve83]

Color doesn't matter - each mfr. uses a different dye just to ID his product. If it says "EP" and "disk brake", it's correct. And you don't need to wash&dry the hub or bearings - as long as there's no glitter in the old stuff, just pack new grease into the bearings, and go. Click this & read all the captions:

[Kingfish999]

60 lbs of torque on the inner nut?!? your suppose to back off a 1/4 turn from there. they should be around 20-30 max. the outter ut is suppose to be 150 or basicly as tight as you can get it without a breaker bar.

[Surt]

Originally Posted by Ewgoetz

Umm that sounds a bit tight. What instructions did you use to torque them?

You're right, it was. I don't think I put them on entirely correctly. I tightened them to 60 ft-lbs, then backed off until the wheel spun freely, not a full 90 degrees then retighten. How much should I torque it to this time around?

http://www.supermotors.net/registry/media/173628

[Surt]

Originally Posted by Steve83

Color doesn't matter - each mfr. uses a different dye just to ID his product. If it says "EP" and "disk brake", it's correct. And you don't need to wash&dry the hub or bearings - as long as there's no glitter in the old stuff, just pack new grease into the bearings, and go. Click this & read all the captions:

Oh, how appropriate that I just cited another of your pictures.

[Alvin in AZ]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...correct-grease

And they don't even mention calcium, sodium or barium based greases.

Clean 'em good the first time then after that you can press-in more of
the same-brand-and-type-of-grease-you-used-before. Just be sure
your-old-grease is displaced by your-new-grease when pressing it into
the roller part of the bearings. :)

Alvin in AZ
ps- http://www.reliabilityweb.com/art04/..._of_grease.pdf
pps- Barium based grease is the only one of those types I don't happen
to have here at the house. I've always read the labels to see what type
they are. :)

[JKossarides]

I prefer using Mobil 1 synthetic grease for u-joints and bearings, I'm surprised they suggested that brand instead, take that back and exchange it if it's not too late, Mobil 1 is far superior IMO...


Good Luck ~