tweetyduck Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Whats the normal interval for re-greasing wheel bearings ? No wading involved. Normal road and track driving. Caps all stayed on. Grease is slightly brown which i presume is dirt ingress. Done 6500 miles since replaced them all with Timkin. Should i strip and clean/replace the lubes. Also i know swivel grease is (meant to be) for life but really what should i be doing with that ? How many miles, preventative more than corrective, cost not a problem really as its only time and a few ££. Advice and Opinion Please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Some greases are light brown anyway, so a bit decieving really, unles you know the original colour of the grease. Water ingress will mix with grease at higher temperatures and make it milky. Replacing the grease is very time consuming, and I don't know of anyone that does it. To do it properly - you woul;d have to remove the hub, remove the rear bearing seal, then wash out the bearings with petrol or similar, then regrease/new seal/reassemble. Unless you are sure that water has contamintaed the grease, then I wouldn't bother. A good quality grease fitted at the outset is much preferable in my opinion - such as JCB blue. As far as I know, swivel grease is the same (no service change interval), and once again - unless it's been contaminted, then leave well alone. You can flush out the swivel housing and replace the grease, but it's not necessary unless there's good reason. You are looking for perfection? There's not that many people that go that far, so advice on your question is likely to be a bit limited Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I do mine every 6,000 miles or six months. I don't knock the inner out unless the seal has to be changed. I just pus new grease into the bearing. I'm on the same bearings as my Defender came with at 124,000 miles and it's now on 225,000 miles What does help is a desertspoon of Wynns Charge in your favourite tin of grease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Thanks both. Already have the Wynns in there Mike... (i do listen occasionally) Not looking for perfection Les just rather not do it in south america in the rain one night on the side of the road. So i might give them a strip and clean during the summer. It won't take long per corner. As you (Les) mention theres not really much point but the external grease is darker brown than when it went in. It was light brown and now dark so its got some contaminates in the outer portion. I'll whip off the flange and take a look inside. If it all looks OK i'll leave it be for now. After all its only a £10 for some grease and a few hours to do all four corners. The swivels are doing OK really and i'm pleased that they aren't leaking at all. I might drain one and re-fill it to see what 12 months looks like. Just for experience sake. Where to get the JCB grease ??? TA. Any other opinions welcomed. Prevention is better than cure. Thanks both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Plant hire places is probably best to buy JCB blue grease. I get mine for nothing, so I'm not entirely sure where you can buy it. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Neil, -- case of 24 carts unopemed here on ebay jgb blue grease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Thanks both. I will get myself some of that. Not sure i need 24 though. I'll ask around. now off to remove the dash to fix the vent..........never ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crwoody Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I got two tubes of the JCB blue from the same supplier last year, so they do sell it individually, worth getting in touch with them if you have no joy otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted April 3, 2011 Author Share Posted April 3, 2011 Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Finally got round to doing this. Stripped , Cleaned Greased and reassembled in a weekend. I used JCB blue and have since seen its not recomended for wheel bearings but its in there anyhow. Oh well. Theres a couple of posts in some farmer forums and one from a JCB type person. The BLUE is HP and they recommend the BROWN which is EP. Can't see it making much difference myself. At least its Blue so i can see if its contaminated later on. There doesn't seem to be conclusive info one way or the other but Les's advice is good enough for me. Thanks, it only took me six months..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 ..... Thanks, it only took me six months..... I notice you said earlier on in the thread you were going to do them in the summer, it's not really your fault that summer didn't arrive this year till last weekend.... sounds like you met your stated schedule Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 that sounds like the excuse i was looking for........ Some jobs are waiting till i win the lottery...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Some jobs are waiting till i win the lottery...... Well thats blown it....you'll win now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Well thats blown it....you'll win now You'll notice tweetyduck has made the mistake of not stating which prize.... enjoy your tenner and getting covered in grease again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantd5 Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 You'll notice tweetyduck has made the mistake of not stating which prize.... enjoy your tenner and getting covered in grease again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I do mine every 6,000 miles or six months. I don't knock the inner out unless the seal has to be changed. I just pus new grease into the bearing. I'm on the same bearings as my Defender came with at 124,000 miles and it's now on 225,000 miles What does help is a desertspoon of Wynns Charge in your favourite tin of grease. every 6000 miles Mike, Isn't that a little OTT ? Anyway, if you convert to oil lubed bearings you don't have to bother re-greasing, ever (and an RTC3511 seal is worth it's weight in gold, even on a greased hub) I've run Patrol front wheel bearings for 150,000km on Neo Z12 (no longer available) and the bearings were fine, but going that far is not something I'd recommend and it's only achievable with a super grease like Z12 or CV2. (BTW, they are the originals and that vehicle has now done 365,000km) If intent on using grease, use the best high temp EP grease you can get your hands on. Look up the specs sheet, you want an NLGI #2 using either a lithium complex or if possible a calcium sulfonate complex thickener. You want a high drop point (350*F minimum, 500* is much better) and aim for something with a high Timken OK load number, 40lb is adequate, 60lb much better. Neo's old Z12 was rated at 70lb. A high weld load (400kg or higher) and small wear scar are good too. I'd suspect JC 'blue' is just a general purpose chassis grease, you'd probably want to replace it frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 no idea what you've just said but JCB blue is a lithium complex grease with a 245C drop point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Sounds OK then, use at will (We don't have too much JCB stuff/dealers around so aren't familiar with it unlike the UK) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 every 6000 miles Mike, Isn't that a little OTT ? NO !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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