#2isgreen

Ok so it looks like another lesson learned the hard way, I used kendall super blue axle grease when I put my bearings in my rear axle. Now I find out I should have just used gear oil? I'm sure its all flushed out of the bearings and mixed in with the rear gear oil. I would like to know if I should worry about my limited slip diff clutch being contaminated by all that grease.
Should I drain and refill?

Also,
Where are people finding brake boosters that are not remans. I've been looking and checked: napa, pep boys, car quest, advance, and rock auto, and nobody has new units.

BC847

I wouldn't sweat over it as grease is nothing more than lube-oil with a thickener (soap, talc, etc). Packing the bearings as such is one thing, filling (packing) the bearing housing like one would the front bearings might be something else.

I guess my biggest concern would be if the normal lube oil could get into the bearings, thus eventually diluting the grease and eventually going back to normal operation.

Having said that, I suppose I would go ahead and open it back up, flush out what grease I could from the bearings and refill the hog's-head with fresh oil and friction modifier.

That friction modifier may in fact conflict with the grease. That may in turn, goof around with the clutches of the limited-slip assembly (if you have one).

#2isgreen

Ok then here is my plan. I am doing the 1 ton shoe this weekend, if there is grease on the bearings when I take the drums off I will clean it. If the grease has washed away I will change the fluid.
What friction modifier should I use? I have royal purple gear oil in there now

thrashingcows

When I serviced may Dana 60 in the crewcab I couldn't find a definite answer to oil/vs grease for the axle bearings. So I decided to grease them anyway with Castrol high temp axle bearing grease, and then fill the diff with the appropriate fluid.

I had the rear drums off not long ago, after about a 10K miles, and there was still some soupy grease mixture around the bearings. I cleaned them up with some clean towels, filled the hub with more gear oil, (No grease this time) and put it all back together. Have not had any problems....but I don't have a LS in my Dana either.

If your doing the 3" brake upgrade and your still concerned, then I'd clean as best you can...without pulling the new rear seals...and then drain your fluid and start over. Maybe do another fluid flush in 6 months just to be sure you've cycled out all the potential grease from your housing.

james1

About a year ago I had a Cardone reman booster fail after less than a week in operation. Rather than go reman again, I decided to go new. Mother Mopar has discontinued the booster but my local Dodge dealer's computer showed about five units remaining on dealer's shelves. I ordered mine from a Dodge dealer somewhere in Kansas and got a great price. Have your local Dodge dealer check his computer. Good luck.

bgilbert

Pack your wheel bearings for god sake! Too many rear axles I've been in without any signs of grease or oil and needed wheel bearings! I'm in the grease my wheel bearings camp, unlike Mr. BC .

user name

You are in the right camp. Dana and Dodge both tell you to grease the bearings. now the amount of grease if overdone might be a bad thing.

In other words you did it right don't second guess yourself.

MARF75

No , eh?

BC847

Well I'll be daggum! I learn something every day.

(From the '93 FSM):



It looks like you're OK then, #2isgreen. When goofing around with my rear-axle bearings, I've always completed the work by placing the truck on a steep incline so as to ensure axle lube-oil ran over and into the bearing cases.


Thanks for the correction folks.

#2isgreen

Update:
I got into things tonight and found that life works in funny ways. Yes I had a squeak and so I thought a wheel cylinder wasn't releasing right, but what I found was very unexpected. Keeping in mind that I did a full brake job about 4 months ago (minus wheel cylinders) I was surprised to see one of the "J" clips that hold the "hold down spring" was TOTALLY gone. I guess the little flared head came off. There was absolutely no sign of it other than the metal filings everywhere. This caused the hold down spring to free roam inside the drum for goodness knows how many miles. The brake adjustment wheel is destroyed from impact with the hold down spring and the shoe is ruined from riding out of alignment. Atleast the shoe is only worth a $13 core for my sweet new 3" set up. Back to napa tomorrow for a spring kit and hopefully I can get the loaded booster bled and installed.

Ps the hardware kit I used 4 months ago was from rockauto.

Thank you all for your help, I can return my gear oil in the am and save some money.

Jim Wilson

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but you don't grease bearings in a wet axle- It would be like greasing the hubs on an oil bath trailer axle all it would do is thicken the gear oil. It might take 1000 miles, but the fluid in the axle will be one fluid that is maybe 95W(depending on amount of grease packed in) once it has mixed. Aside from that, the oil is better in that it keeps the bearings cooler than the grease. The hubs fill with oil when the truck is moving and then drains back out when the truck stops. If anything, the grease will shorten the life of the tappered roller bearing. You should not grease the bearings of your full floating wet axles. I see what the page above says, but don't believe everything you read. I looked at the Dana 70 service manual and to my surprise, it said to grease, yet it also said the front knuckles got gear oil. I think there is a communication problem between the engineers that design the equipment and the writers that put the manuals together.

loudhornsrule

Do Not Grease Camp Here. Makes no sense. Dip them in gear oil ,and put them in. Fill rear axle full and haul a'' .

BearKiller

If at all possible, I always "pack the bearing even though it is in an oil-bath"

And, you can never go wrong with Kendall Super Blu L427; it should be against the law to use anything else.

NJTman

I"ve read a bunch of different articles and threads about this very subject. The grease is there because most of us aren't going to spend the time making sure the gear lube reached the bearings / hubs when pulling an axle, and the writers of the service manuals don't want bearing failures based upon instructions they write.... so..

What I do.... and I'll be doing this this week, as I have to change my gear oil for it's annual "just before the snow season change"... is relatively simple.

After refilling the diff, I put a jack under the once side of the axle, and jack it up high as I can get it. I let it sit for about 10 minutes or so. I remove the jack, and put it on the other side, raising up the truck on the opposite angle for about 10 minutes.. This puts gear oil into the other hub. I drop the jack down level, wait about 10 minutes, and check the level. I add if necessary.

With the jack now under the center section of the axle, I lift the whole axle up and put jack stands under both sides, and lower it down onto the stands. I put a chock under the front wheels, and I start the truck. I put the truck in drive, and let the wheels spin for about 5 minutes. Sometimes I'll even rev it up a bit to get them moving, always being ready to hit the brakes if something odd happened. Turn the truck off.

Pull the jacks and stands and head to a large parking lot. Amsoil Tech help says that when you have a LSD rear axle, that it's helpful to go do a few "tight circle eights" in a parking lot to allow the clutches to separate, and get the new gear oil in between. Since Amsoil doesn't require any additives to their gear lubes, this is how they minimize chatter after changing your fluid. Amsoil has additives for clutches in all it's gear oils, so no extra is required.

Time consuming ? Yeah, but at least I know my bearings are oiled up good.

sooty

me too, I pack the bearing only, not the cavity, next time apart, no trace of grease, but plenty of gear oil.