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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Best Wheel Bearing Grease

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Best Wheel Bearing Grease -- page: 1 2     carcrazy 08-02-2017 @ 1:49 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1674 Joined: Oct 2009 We are getting a '48 F-1 roadworthy and wondering what is the best lube to use in the front wheel bearings. This vehicle will be a daily driver and all of the wheel bearing components are brand new. The original maintenance schedule called for repacking the front wheel bearings at 10,000 mile intervals. Modern cars go much longer than this so with modern lubes can this interval be lengthened? The two questions are: what is the best wheel bearing grease to use and at what interval do the bearings need to be repacked? Flatbob 08-02-2017 @ 1:58 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 437 Joined: Oct 2009 I have close to 8° of caster, don't think that's the problem. 42guy 08-02-2017 @ 2:36 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 108 Joined: Oct 2009 Just make sure you get grease for drum brakes is what I was told and what I use. Drbrown 08-02-2017 @ 9:41 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 571 Joined: Nov 2013 Rear wheel bearing grease for the old flathead needs to be a thicker stringy type grease due to the loose tolerances of this bearings rollers. Modern wheel bearing grease will not lubricate properly and has a tendency to work out of the bearing. To best aviod this, replace wheel bearing seals at each service. Found this mentioned in forum threads .... Front and Rear Wheel Bearings: Drum Brake Grease (Sta-Lube SL3131) This message was edited by Drbrown on 8-2-17 @ 9:48 PM sarahcecelia 08-03-2017 @ 6:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1193 Joined: Mar 2013 Regular old "Chassis Grease. "You can buy a small can in the auto parts store. Regards, Steve Lee len47merc 08-03-2017 @ 6:32 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Drbrown's recommendation of SL3131 is on the mark. NAPA (among others) carries and/or can order it for you. Also Amazon. Steve TomO 08-03-2017 @ 7:32 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 I would not use chassis lube in any wheel bearing. Use the SL3131 for longer bearing life and stick to the original specs for repacking the bearings. Tom carcrazy 08-03-2017 @ 1:25 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1674 Joined: Oct 2009 After doing some investigations of the various wheel bearing greases available, I have decided to use Valvoline Ford-Lincoln-Mercury Moly-Fortified Multi-Purpose Grease. It is to be used for Disc Brake Wheel Bearings, Steering Linkage, Chassis, Suspension, and Universal Joints. It features extreme high temperature protection, 0 to 375 degrees F. It is an NLGI #2 Grade Lithium Complex EP Grease that meets Ford M1C75B, ASTM D-4950 and MACK MG-C Long Life Performance Requirements. It features the NLGI's ratings of GC for best wheel bearing grease and LB for best chassis lubricant. It is also compatible with drum brakes. len47merc 08-03-2017 @ 1:41 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 carcrazy - no one, including me, answered your repacking interval question. Regardless of your selection of greases, for which I and others have stated an endorsement, suggest you pop a front wheel hub off at 1,000 miles and see what you've got. If comfortable keep on gettin' it, if not, repack them all. After using the 3131 on all 4 wheel bearings and performing my own data collection exercise by checking them at 1,000 mile intervals up to 5,000 miles (2+ years of driving the '47) without repacking I can say that I'd have been comfortable continuing on with them further but for peace of mind I asked myself why not simply repack them. I don't drive the car more than 2,500 miles/year, usually just to local events or for Sunday drives of less than an hour so no extraordinary heat concerns. In prepping though for the drive to Gettysburg last year the bearing grease only had 2,000+ miles on it but for my peace-of-mind, knowing I had a 1,000 mile round trip ahead, some of it at extended 55-60 mph runs at potentially (and ultimately what turned out to be actual) 95 degree+ temps, I cleaned and repacked them all. Overkill? Probably, but I didn't even think about the bearings on the drive so it was worth it to me. Perform your own data collection exercise at whatever interval you are comfortable with and when you reach your own peace-of-mind set point you have your own answer you can take to the bank. EDIT - recall also that the 10,000 mile number was based on an estimate of the miles to be driven/year at the time. Our EFV8's typically do not see near the miles/year likely estimated back in the day, so there is a TIME element to the change frequency for all lubricants as well. Hypothetical and facetious question to make the point: Would you repack the bearings on a car that had sat for 30 years even though the repacked bearings were known to have only 1,000 miles on them? Hence, this is a call you will have to make for your vehicle, your driving habits, and your chosen lubricant. Fwiw. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 8-3-17 @ 1:53 PM TomO 08-03-2017 @ 6:44 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 Carcrazy, the grease that you chose is a great grease to use on modern cars, but it did not work very well in my 40 or my friends 40. Until recently, I drove my 40 about 3,000 miles a year on local roads and highways at speeds up to 60 mph. I am getting old and do not travel as much as I did before. I used that grease about 15 years ago to pack the bearings in a friends car and my own. On my car, I repacked the bearings after 2 years and saw some signs of it leaking past the seal, so I repacked mine with Sta-Lub SL3131 and have had no problems with it. I like to take the drums off every couple of years, just to make sure that every thing is OK and repack my bearings at that time. The SL3131 looks clean and I do not have any traces of grease outside of the drums. My friend does not drive his car on the highway or for distances more than 50 miles round trip. He had brake problems this spring and when I pulled a wheel, there was grease on the backing plates and shoes. I think that the disc brake grease migrates past the seal, because it is thinner and not as sticky as the SL3131. I strongly suggest that you reconsider your choice and go with the grease that is closer in properties to the original grease used by Ford. The SL3131 has better lubricating properties than the 1940 grease but it is just as sticky. Tom

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