Front Wheel Bearings - to grease or not to?

[WHX?? 48,703]

When going thru my front end I decided to replace the front wheel bearings, the real common 1 3/8" x 3/4".  After getting a set of four off ebay they came with the grease seals on both the outside and inside. Question is should I remove the seals on the backside and continue to grease thru the zerk or let them ride as sealed bearings? My inclination is to let them ride as sealed bearings.

[slammer302 2,155]

i would let them ride sealed it will keep dirt and water out longer i would think and would not be so messy when taking the front wheels off for repairs

[pacer 3,165]

Let em ride.... When I need to do work on the front wheels, I try to get them changed over to sealed.

Where did you get yours from? at times I cant seem to find them...
 

[Racinbob 11,029]

I'd go with your inclination and leave them as is. That's the way they were designed and you won't be introducing dirt.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,019]

If you go with the double seals remove the grease fitting and Loctite a short Allen set screw with the same thread in it's place. If the double sealed bearings happen to meet up with a grease gun in the future it will push the bearing back out of the hub and off the axle. I have some of both and no question now where they are. The grease will not enter the inner seal.

Garry

Edited June 15, 2015 by gwest_ca

[doc724 925]

I agree with Garry.  I did this to mine.  BTW, I got my bearings from Motion Industries and I bought the good ones, cups machined from bar stock v. drawn from plate.  They were about $10 each, about double to cost of the cheaper ones.  Personal preference.

[857 horse 2,581]

i had no idea,,,,you could get sealed bearings.....
Wow,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,now i gottah find them.....

no more greasy front wheels....anjd i like the allen plug screw in the zert hole.....
first thing on my tractors ARE the front wheels......

thank-you Horse people...good advice,,,,i just hope they come with chips and a drink.......

[rmaynard 15,393]

I use sealed bearings on all my show tractors to keep the hubs clean, but regular unsealed bearings on my workers. My reasoning is that the workers gets down in the snow and mud and having the entire hub filled with grease keeps the water out. Having no grease inside the hub invites water and ultimately rust.

[WHX?? 48,703]

Thanks guys ......I got mine off of ebay Pacer... you can find them just about anywhere tho, Just google or ebay the part no  110513. I thought i saw a bearing & seal cross reference chart by a member on here but can't find it now, don't know if the were on there or not.  I think they were about 15 bucks for four of them. Quality not the best tho, made in china all over them. Make sure you ask if they are sealed tho if thats what you are lookin for. These the Inner seals pop in & out real easy with a dental pick and the inner one is pretty cheesy. Definitely not high speed so don't put them on your drag racing tractor.  Next time i'll pop for the better 10 clams a piece ones that doc724 mentioned.

I can't believe that a grease gun would push them out Garry ...I had to pound the snot out of them to get them out

Maynards got a good point too, I wash or at least hose down my 246h damn near after every mowing and this is one of my work tractors. Toro guy i used to get parts from loved me cause i was always in for stuff that was rusted because of water infiltration from my analness. I even put the deck wash fitting on a couple of my machines. Probably not a good idea less ya like changing spindle bearings... damned if ya do and damned if ya don't kind of thing.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,019]

A grease gun puts out some serious pressure because the piston is so small. That is one way to remove seized brake caliper pistons. If the grease gun piston is 3/8" and the 1-3/8" bearing is on a 3/4" axle the gun exerts 9.5 x the pressure on the bearing surface area alone. The bearings I used there was no way to get the seals out.

Garry

[WHX?? 48,703]

Point taken on the power of a ordinary grease gun! Going to have a make a Tim Taylor high performance version for disassembly of other stubborn items. Those must have been better quality bearings Garry. Were they the flanged style? Since the ID/OD dims are common I had though about finding some plain high speed bearings and pressing them in flush with the hub and shimming for some end play. Gotta be better and srongerr than the low speed ones, especially if one has front mounted attachments. The bearings I got had a couple of thousands slop right out of the box.

While I was at it I installed bronze washers in the axle pivot and under the spindles to take up some slop and wear.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,019]

I believe these were the ones I got but it may have been Napa. They were finished much nicer than these appear.

Two seals
https://www.bantasaw.com/catalog/viewproduct.asp?i=&p=391

One seal
https://www.bantasaw.com/catalog/viewproduct.asp?i=&p=380

Garry


 

[WH 312-8 Fan 9]

This topic just blew my mind as far as seals and bearings. I'm a novice in some ways when it comes to actually using bearings and seals, replacing them and also how to replace them and crossing them over. I've worked parts counter before and was fairly good at crossing over bearings, races, seals etc. Sadly, never got much hands on experience installing them though.

I agree with the mess. My dad's 312-8 always made a mess up front with the front spindles, but at least you knew there was grease in there. He was always good about greasing it. Never thought about playing with the notion of installing a different bearing that would allow for grease seals thus giving you a "sealed bearing". I never considered that simply adding a grease or oil seal on either end of a bearing would make it sealed. I guess I thought a sealed bearing was an entity to itself.

Anyway, I think I rambled a bit there, but I appreciate this post. Makes me want to find the perfect balance between work and show for my 312-8. 

I love this forum. Great place to learn stuff.

[Tankman 3,518]

I like the grease gun 'specially with grandsons doin' the work. Keeps them busy.

Have heard remove the inner seal on the bearings so grease can get in, leave the outer seals on. Makes sense to me.

Thrust washers are a must to keep slop out. I like these and keep some stock, always.  https://qbcbearings.com/BuyRFQ/ThrustB_Washer_SL_SB_I.htm#

As noted above, water 'n dust in the wheel isn't good. Filled with grease is.  

[WHX?? 48,703]

Your Welcome 312-8 fan, ramble on if you like Never thought of having a balance between show & work for a horse before but I have a feeling alot of guys here have.

Thanks for the link Tank, I see your alergy to slop is acting up.....  going to see if I can find a kit with some of the common  sizes & different thicknesses horses use...save a trip to parts places that way....

[WH 312-8 Fan 9]

Jim,
i suppose what I consider a cross between a work and show tractor is one that isn't restored to factory spec because it's been personalized with other stuff. I'm not talking like a guy bought everything they have at Auto Zone and threw it on there or anything. But the tractor would also still be used to cut grass.

I've love to upgrade the floor mats to the newer style on my 312-8 and also add a cup holder among some other things. I've already upgraded to LED tail lamps and priced out LED 2x3 work lamps that would mount ahead of the pedals and point to the area along side the hood on each side. It'd be a couple hundred bucks though. shame, I had some re-purposed insecticide tube brackets from planters at work that would work great for mounting work lamps. Not in the budget to finish the project right now.

that makes me wonder if we offer a thrust washer kit. We have a lot of other kits for heat shrink, cotter pins, electrical ends etc.
 

[kudzu3 323]

I'm fairly new at this WH thing, but I've always liked to remove bearings, clean them good and re pack them. That way I know that they are clean and have plenty of grease, however, I don't like pumping them full with a gun until it squirts out, makes a mess.

[WHX?? 48,703]

You go for it 312 fan, personalization is what make a tractor into the working machine you need and a 312 loves to work. Just don't ride it hard and put it away wet., regular maintenace can go a long way.

I agree with you kudzu3, my problem is I usually wreck the bearing getting it out!