Trailer bearings which grease?

[bigb]

I haven't re-packed wheel bearings in a long time-except on the boat trailer. My son is bringing his 2 axle flatbed trailer over tomorrow and we are going to do the bearings. Which grease are you guys using on a utility trailer for highway use? We will be hauling off road vehicles on it. I don't know yet if it has disc or drums or if that even makes a difference on a trailer like it did on some of the cars back in the day. There are so many different greases out there and it gets confusing. When I first learned to drive I just bought "wheel bearing grease" end of story.

[duramax-rob]

any wheel bearing grease. if it has brakes, use hight temp.

[smithdoor]

Tapper bearing in trailers uses what call long fiber grease.
If is in water a lot they make a grease for that purpose but cost more.

Dave

I haven't re-packed wheel bearings in a long time-except on the boat trailer. My son is bringing his 2 axle flatbed trailer over tomorrow and we are going to do the bearings. Which grease are you guys using on a utility trailer for highway use? We will be hauling off road vehicles on it. I don't know yet if it has disc or drums or if that even makes a difference on a trailer like it did on some of the cars back in the day. There are so many different greases out there and it gets confusing. When I first learned to drive I just bought "wheel bearing grease" end of story.

[smithdoor]

It does not have to be synthetic but most today is synthetic.
The long fiber is important it also works truck and car wheel bearing.
I buy by can is cheap than tube just use rubber gloves or I big can of soap both works.

Dave

I haven't re-packed wheel bearings in a long time-except on the boat trailer. My son is bringing his 2 axle flatbed trailer over tomorrow and we are going to do the bearings. Which grease are you guys using on a utility trailer for highway use? We will be hauling off road vehicles on it. I don't know yet if it has disc or drums or if that even makes a difference on a trailer like it did on some of the cars back in the day. There are so many different greases out there and it gets confusing. When I first learned to drive I just bought "wheel bearing grease" end of story.

[farmersammm]

Packed the bearings on the little deckover trailer back in 2014 when I built it. Hasn't been touched since. Valvoline synthetic. Syn Power Full Synthetic.

Personally, although it's great grease, I think that about 50% of the success is due to setting the bearings right in the first place.

I use the same grease on the coupler, and hitch ball. Excellent wear prevention. I've got a lot of miles on this, and wear is minimal.

Make sure not to mix synthetic with regular grease, it will not work properly. The synthetic will break down. Every bit of old grease has to be removed from the bearings before repacking with synthetic.

Temp range on this stuff is -40 to 400. You really can't beat that. And it's not stupid stiff like so called hi temp grease. Hi temp grease doesn't work for crap till it gets hot. This stuff is fully functional at all temps.

Anyways..........I like the stuff

[_Weldman_]

Lucas Oil Red N' Tacky grease, never had a problem.

[M J D]

Lucas Oil Red N' Tacky grease, never had a problem.

Same here. I use the lisle bearing packer, really forces it in and very little waste.

[CAVEMANN]

I scored some #2 SLICK 59 GREASE, I used it until wheel bearings were sealed & no longer serviceable, I still have about half of a 35 lb pail here somewhere. Awesome grease, it was originally developed for the arm on the space station, full synthetic.

[farmersammm]

Same here. I use the lisle bearing packer, really forces it in and very little waste.

There is no better bearing packer on the Planet, or in the entire Universe, than the palm of your hand. Load up, scrape, load up, scrape.

And....................you gots silky smooth hands for touching those silky smooth parts

[farmersammm]

Tacky grease will earn you a night sleeping on the back porch

[farmersammm]

With the dog

[farmersammm]

IMHO

[bigb]

There is no better bearing packer on the Planet, or in the entire Universe, than the palm of your hand. Load up, scrape, load up, scrape.

And....................you gots silky smooth hands for touching those silky smooth parts

Just how I was taught, by an old timer, and I always did it that way, but after the Lisle bearing packer was mentioned I Googled it and now I am thinking about it.

[M J D]

There is no better bearing packer on the Planet, or in the entire Universe, than the palm of your hand. Load up, scrape, load up, scrape.

And....................you gots silky smooth hands for touching those silky smooth parts

You got to get out more. With that thing you could probably get a front hub done in less than a week or 2.🤣

[William McCormick]

I like the general-purpose grease by STP it has a nice consistency more like the stuff I used to use and never had a problem with. It says it is only good between 0 to 275 degrees but it seems to hang in there. I am sure I would love the twenty-dollar Mobile one grease too but I hate to experiment. And it would probably take a few days to get.

Some of those red tacky greases after they get warm they move away from the bearings and just sit there. The STP grease is different it likes to get to the hot spot and stay there.

I just did a wheel bearing on a Hyster forklift after a leaking brake cylinder had to be replaced, and I used the STP grease. I like its consistency. The outer bearing is bathed in the differential gear oil as well and this seemed like a good match-up to what was still there. There was no raised loading dock that I could use to work on the brake at chest height. So I did the job on the floor, Wow is all I can say. It is so hard to work like that compared to having it at chest height.


Sincerely,

William McCormick

[bigb]

Well errr... we got er done. A bit more work than bargained for. My son had loaned the trailer to a friend who ran it to the dump and back with the breakaway cable pulled out because it was stretched too tight. He told my son the wheels were smoking apparently not knowing what the breakaway cable does, he thought maybe the bearings needed grease Shoulda took pics, actuators were just two melted blobs, no friction material on left side and the right ones fell off, adjusters fell out, basically nothing left. Fortunately it is a Dexter and the trailer store had everything we needed including complete brake assemblies, backing plate and all $65 each, just unbolt the old ones, bolt on the new ones and connect the wires.
Since my son wanted to learn all about wheel bearings since he has several trailers, and I didn't want to let Samm down, I taught him the palm method like I was taught (before he was born). Got the grease from the trailer store as well, what they use, it was red and tacky but not Lucas RednTacky.
No more loaning equipment.

[duaneb55]

A real "friend" would pay for the repair parts and any labor.

[bigb]

A real "friend" would pay for the repair parts and any labor.

Maybe, that's between my son and his friend. I've never been a loaner of vehicles, too picky about my stuff. I've heard the stories about guys loaning their diesels out to friends only to have the friend put gasoline in them

[M J D]

Good to hear you got the bearings packed. It sucks about the trailer tho. It just goes to show that even very simple things can be screwed up by others.

[paid-for]

not trying to hijack but i have been using a mystic branded high temp grease with molly the usual high temp stuff i have used in the pas has been the typical red stuff do you think the moly is still acceptable for tapered roller bearings?

[12V71]

not trying to hijack but i have been using a mystic branded high temp grease with molly the usual high temp stuff i have used in the pas has been the typical red stuff do you think the moly is still acceptable for tapered roller bearings?

Just sayin' here... But for years I have been using #2 Chevron gun grease with moly to pack wheel bearings without any failures. That includes semitrailers that are grease packed by customer request.