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Post by supersonics on May 7, 2023 10:23:08 GMT -5
I have a 2021 Sonic Lite 169VMK and doing maintenance for this camping season. I expected the wheel bearings to be packed with grease from the factory but when I decided to pump new lithium grease to purge the factory grease out, I was shocked that there were no grease being purged as the new grease was pumped in. Both wheel bearings were bone dry!
My SL169VMK has about 3300 miles on it. There is no grinding noise as I spun the tires. What risks do I have running these bearings on new grease? Heading out on a 400 mile round trip this coming week.
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Post by WrkrBee on May 7, 2023 12:53:27 GMT -5
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Post by darrenb on May 7, 2023 22:29:53 GMT -5
The factory doesn't fill the cavity with grease, just the bearings. When you use the zerk fitting it pushes grease through the axle to a hole by the rear bearing, then it has to fill the space between it and front bearing before it comes out the front. So the initial time the zerk is used will require a LOT of grease, but that doesn't mean the bearings themselves were dry.
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Post by supersonics on May 8, 2023 10:26:11 GMT -5
wrkrbee, thank you for your response and the very informative link on this subject. |
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Post by supersonics on May 8, 2023 10:28:16 GMT -5
The factory doesn't fill the cavity with grease, just the bearings. When you use the zerk fitting it pushes grease through the axle to a hole by the rear bearing, then it has to fill the space between it and front bearing before it comes out the front. So the initial time the zerk is used will require a LOT of grease, but that doesn't mean the bearings themselves were dry. darrenb, thank you! I’m going to learn a lot here. |
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Post by navylcdr on May 8, 2023 14:38:39 GMT -5
Have you actually pulled the hubs and inspected the bearings?
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Post by WrkrBee on May 8, 2023 19:40:07 GMT -5
The factory doesn't fill the cavity with grease, just the bearings. When you use the zerk fitting it pushes grease through the axle to a hole by the rear bearing, then it has to fill the space between it and front bearing before it comes out the front. So the initial time the zerk is used will require a LOT of grease, but that doesn't mean the bearings themselves were dry. If the factory doesn't fill the cavity with grease, why should you? It proves that only hand packed, or the equivalent, bearings are needed. The rest of the grease is wasted and serves no purpose for bearing lubrication. |
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