Quote:
Originally Posted by abus319
I'm in the condition assessment phase of the 3500 and pulled the front wheel hubs to have a look at the brakes and bearings. I ran into a couple things I didn't expect.
There was no grease in the hub only what looks and smells like gear lube. I am only guessing here but viscosity is something around the 250 range. Is this grease that broke down or actual gl? The service manual says it should be S-2, high temp grease.
The second question is the seal on the rear bearing. It has some kind of apparatus with tabs, in the hub that seals against a rope type seal mounted on the axle. There is no mention of this in the manual or how to remove it to inspect the bearing. I didn't want to try to drive it out until I knew a little more about how it works.
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By rear bearing I assume you mean inner bearing of the front hub.
I have seen this seal before and it's just the way the casing is manufactured. It was made in two pieces. You are safe to tap it out however I would personally get new seals for two reasons; when I worked in the brake repair shop we never reused an old seal, after it was disturbed it was replaced because the chances were the vehicle would end up coming back with a leaking seal and possibly ruined the new brake linings which we would have to eat the cost on fixing it all; second there is no way of knowing ahead of time how much damage you would do to the seal or its casing when attempting to remove it, it might come out nicely or it could be tough, damage pretty much means the end of it.
Seals are cheap so get your hands on a couple of new ones to be on the safe side. If it was only a farm or acreage truck it wouldn't be a big deal.
As for the lube I would say you are correct about old grease breaking down, if the bearings are nice just repack them and throw some extra grease inside the hub.
I'm doing brakes and all that fun stuff on my old girl right now too, beatup 65 GMC 4x4!!!
Good luck
Thomas