Am I the only one who stopped greasing wheel bearings after a 20 year vet in Fresno called it a waste
He asked me how many hubs I've actually seen fail from old grease versus how many I've seen ruined by water getting past a dried out seal, and I didn't have a number for him. Now I'm second guessing something I've done since my first tune up at 16, so what's your take on sealed vs serviced hubs?
Honestly I used to be the guy who repacked every bearing at every brake job, felt wrong not to. Then I started paying attention to what actually came through the shop and it flipped my thinking, like nine out of ten bearing failures I saw were rust and water, not old grease. The grease itself holds up way longer than people give it credit for, its the seal that quits first, and once that seal goes the grease is toast no matter how fresh it was. So greasing a hub with a worn seal is kind of pointless, you are just putting new grease in a place that is already letting water in. Now I check seals and play it by ear instead of just doing it because thats how I was taught. That old guy was onto something.