I am getting ready to replace a noisy front wheel bearing on my '78 Cabriolet. It has been quite awhile since I have done this. How much grease should be used? When I took off the drum I found the whole inner cavity filled with grease. Is that necessary? Should one use more grease than a little more than what it takes to fill the race?
Not enough grease is bad, too much grease is not so bad.
The extra grease will displace moisture and dirt
Fill the entire center cavity, and pack both inner and outer bearings with a good quality grease.
If you find any grease in the cap, wipe it away as grease does not belong there.
If you are doing the side with the speedometer cable, pack the end of the cable and the bore it goes into with grease so that when you re- install the cable the grease will seal up the hole.
Chris
Pack the bearing full of grease, if you have no packer tool (Advance Autoparts, cheap), you can just squeeze grease into it between the palms of your hands. Messy, but works. Fill the cavity with fresh grease. Same for the dust cup that protects the axle nut.
Jan
Nah, fill the cap too. The grease takes up the airspace that otherwise would allow room for dirt and moisture. Plus if any grease was to escape from the bearings towards the cap, it would not have room there to go to since it's already full of grease. So the grease in the bearings will stay in the bearings, because it has nowhere to go. On both sides, the potential cavity for it to go to, is already pre-filled with grease you put in.
you don't need to pack the entire cavity with grease... if you do, you will squeeze alot of it out and into the dustcap as you drive... pack the bearings well then apply a liberal amount on the race and bearing...when you install them you will push the excess into the cavity automatically. this will be more than enough to keep the grease in the bearing when it's hot and to keep the bearing well lubed...
Well that is what Nitrile gloves are good for! ;-)
Sooo many cooks telling you to pack grease here and pack grease there. All ways are probably good as long as you get grease in the bearings! Look at the amount of grease that comes out and see if the cap was full of grease. Usually I don't put a lot of grease in the cap since it will usually come out from the bearings and the bearings usually keep what they need. I do fill up the cavity inbetween the two races so that when I install the outer bearing some grease comes out. I like to leave a little air space in the cap just incase the grease decides to come out. ;-)
Also you need to practice tightening the bearings. Either follow your repair manual or others will give their advice here. It can be done by "feel", or by washer-movement with a screwdriver, by torque-ing and releasing. I do it by tightening it down slightly with a wrench, then releasing it some and hand tightening it. Some use the wheel wobble method of just the slightest wobble (play) of the wheel. You want it to easily spin quietly and not really wobble. AGAIN check to see how yours are BEFORE you take the wheel off. ;-)
BTW Did you mention WHICH grease you are using? OK I see more answers coming in the future! lol
--------------------------------------------------------------------- That is the correct method -- see the factory service manual.
You want to be careful here because this procedure is exactly OPPOSITE that used on American vehicles.
Heat and rpm will cause grease from the packed cavity to be forced into and THROUGH the bearings, where it collects in the cap.
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Volkswagen appears to think so. See the FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL. Do NOT put your faith in any of the after-market maintenance manuals. While Haynes does a good job of it, the early Chilton manuals included a nice boiler-plate session on anti-freeze and radiator maintenance.
-Bob Hoover
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