Wheel bearings question

[namsag]

Replacing wheel bearings all around soon on '90 GW because who knows if they've ever been checked and I would like to avoid some of the misadventures I have read about on this forum. Brakes have been redone within the past year. What else should I take the opportunity to look at/replace while we're in the neighborhood?

[goldhammer]

Pull the spindles off and there is a needle bearing in the back side of the spindle. Replace if nec., or wipe with a fingerfull of grease if good.

Don't forget the races on the wheel bearings if you are replacing them.

Check the ball joints for any play and the same with the joints in the steering linkage.

[joe]

Good plan, front wheel bearings should be greased every 20-25,000 miles to avoid trouble. Sooner if you do a lot of water crossings. Spend the time to wash ALL the old grease out of them. Then blow them dry with compressed air, ya don't want any solvent left in there. Inspect for scoring, bluing, scratches, grooves etc. If in doubt replace the bearing. I personally like repacking the bearings with my fingers over the less messy bearing packing tools. But to each his own. While in there it'd be a good idea to check the u-joints on the axle shafts.

[tgreese]

What I was told ...

Dry the bearings with compressed air, but don't spin them with air. Supposedly it will damage the bearings.

I now have a bearing packer that works from my grease gun, and it's really slick. If the bearing is new (or I suppose you get the bearing good and dry) you can see the grease ooze out around the rollers. Hand packing seems like guesswork compared to the bearing packer.

[mokurt]

Replace all the seals.
Remove all the grease from the hubs and spindles.Also check for any scoring on the spindles.Check the torque on the spindle hardware.

Inspect and pack the new bearings.Grease the spindles and hubs.

[mdill]

No real sense in replacing good wheel bearings, but seals and repacking is a maintenance item, for the spindle seal I end up buying the bearing kit (almost never use the bearing but it is the cheapest way to get the seals) BK1 (?) that and inner axle seal is the usual parts list, if you just got the truck check the ball joints as everything you need to do grease the bearings is needed when you do ball joints (why go in twice if once will do)

[Revhendo]

Originally Posted by tgreese

Dry the bearings with compressed air, but don't spin them with air. Supposedly it will damage the bearings.

DO NOT spin the bearing with compressed air. I don't know if it will damage a bearing, but if you have a bad one, it can very likely come apart on you. That ain't something you need to see more than once.