Do wheel bearings need to be packed?

Properly greased bearings dissipate heat, alleviate the friction and weight on your wheels, and enable smooth motion over thousands of miles. But that grease eventually breaks down or dries up — and does so faster in dry or dirty conditions — so it's necessary to repack your bearings every so often.

What happens if you don't repack wheel bearings?

Ultimate damage: If you don't replace a damaged wheel bearing before it fails completely, the wheel will completely seize up. If this happens while you're driving, the results can be catastrophic. This is not a component to take chances with.

Do you pack the hub with grease?

1 and 2), pump a ring of grease into the entire circumference of the wheel hub and coat the hub cap inner wall. The housing should only be half full of grease. Too much grease causes churning and higher temperatures. Semi-fluid grease must be used with a vented hub cap.

Do you grease new wheel bearings?

During installation, grease is often packed into these bearings by hand. Not only should grease be packed into the bearing, but some grease should be applied to the housing and on the wheel end's inside surfaces where the bearing sits. This will help prevent corrosion.

How often should wheel bearings be repacked?

The axle manufacturers recommend that you repack your trailer bearings once annually or every 12,000 km.

How to pack wheel bearings

How much does it cost to pack a wheel bearing?

You can expect to pay $50 to $75 per wheel when it comes to having your wheel bearings professionally packed. It may be expensive, but it's worth the assurance that it's done right.

Do you need alignment after replacing wheel bearing?

Yes, you will need alignment if you unbolt the knuckle. If you separate the ball joint, remove the axle from the knuckle, you can press the bearing in/out with the right tool. I've done it a couple times borrowing a tool in order to keep my alignment.

What makes a wheel bearing go out?

Driving conditions – driving through deep water or mud can cause your wheel bearings to fail. Water, mud or other contaminants such as dust or road salt could get past the seals and enter the bearing, polluting the grease and wearing away the bearings.

How much does it cost to replace wheel bearings on a Jeep?

What's the cost for wheel bearing replacement on my Jeep. For a national average across all vehicles, the average cost to replace the wheel bearings (for 1 wheel) is about $350.

How long does it take to repack bearings?

Repacking wheel bearings is cheap (less than $15) and you can do it yourself in a few hours. Pick up new grease seals, cotter pins and the wheel bearing grease at any trailer supply shop.

How often should I repack the wheel bearings on my travel trailer?

RV wheel bearings should be repacked with grease once a year or every 10,000 to 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. If you travel frequently, this is a useful metric to go by, even if it means having your RV wheel bearings repacked a couple of times each year.

Can you over grease a bearing?

Too much grease volume (overgreasing) in a bearing cavity will cause the rotating bearing elements to begin churning the grease, pushing it out of the way, resulting in energy loss and rising temperatures.

How often should you grease a bearing?

Using the chart and the formula, the bearing only needs 8 grams of grease every 10,000 hours. If your grease gun delivers around 1.35 grams per stroke, that means the bearing needs 6 strokes every 13 months; you could average it out to a stroke every 8 weeks or so.

How do you know when to repack trailer bearings?

If the wheel spins freely and quietly, proceed with repacking the bearings. If you hear friction or a growling sound, you most likely have a bad bearing or spindle. If this is the case, take the trailer to a service center to get the trailer bearings replaced.

How much grease should you put in a wheel bearing?

For traditional greases (NLGI Nos. 1 and 2), pump a ring of grease into the entire circumference of the wheel hub and coat the hub cap inner wall. The housing should only be half full of grease. Too much grease causes churning and higher temperatures.

What does it mean to pack wheel bearings?

Repacking a bearing is the process of removing the parts of the wheel to access, clean and add grease to the bearings. Over time the trailer bearings will take a large amount of abuse and wear, although they are designed to last for a long time, they will wear out prematurely if they are not routinely taken care of.

How long will noisy wheel bearing last?

However, a wheel bearing can last an average of anywhere from 136,000 to 160,000 km which is about 85,000 to 100,000 miles.

How long should wheel bearings last?

Most wheel bearings last about 85,000 to 100,000 miles before they need to be replaced. Some vehicles have wheel bearings that last a lot longer, and some vehicles need them replaced fairly quickly. It all depends on the quality of your wheel bearings and your usual driving conditions.